A turtle’s natural movement is it shuffling around on its back and front legs. These animals aren’t known to stand up when moving around like humans are, so, if your pet stands up this will understandably confuse you
This article looks into why your turtle may be standing up
Table of Contents
Why is my turtle standing up?
If your pet does something unusual, if the animal suddenly decides to stand up rather than walk on all fours, then this will understandably pique your interest
Here are the reasons why your turtle may decide to stand up:
It wants food:
If your pet stands up when you are around then the animal likely associates you with food and is standing up in preparation to be fed.
Turtles can associate people or actions with food, the action that it associates with food may be seeing you, or, the action may be getting food when it stands up
As a result, the animal may do this more and more in order to get food from you when it seems you
What to do
You can choose to indulge the animal by giving it food when it comes near you, this will only confirm the animal’s thinking and get the animal to associate standing with getting food.
You can alternatively not give the animal food when it does this, or, you can leave food out when the animal isn’t watching.
It wants to escape
Another reason why your turtle may be standing on its hind legs may be that the animal is trying to escape to get to better conditions.
Turtles can become uncomfortable in their enclosure if you don’t have the right conditions in the tank. They need the correct humidity, temperature, hiding spaces, basking space, food and more
If the enclosure is not ideal then the animal will try to climb out of their enclosure to seek a place that has good conditions
If your pet is suddenly doing this then your pet may simply be a female who wants to lay eggs outside of the enclosure, or, it may be a male turtle trying to escape to try to find a mate.
What to do:
You’d need to make sure that your pet’s tank conditions are correct for the animal. Make sure that the turtle has a 180 gallon tank if it is older, and make sure that the tank has the proper depth.
Make sure that the animal has a basking area where it can dry off and make sure that you’re using a bulb that produces heat and UV rays, replace this light every 6 months. The bulb should be a 40-60 watt incandescent bulb.
The ambient air temperature in your pet’s tank should be around 83 degrees Fahrenheit and the basking area should be warmer around 90 degrees.
Make sure that the water has a good filtration system and also change your pet’s water on a regular basis, this is needed even with a filter.
What foods your pet eats is also important, feed the animal a variety of foods including insects, canned dog food, worms, boiled chicken breast, snails insects etc, and make sure that the animal has cuttle bone
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Is My Turtle’s Tank Water Red?, Why Does My Turtle Run From Me, Why Is My Turtle’s Shell Turning Yellow?, Why Is My Yellow Belly Turtle Not Eating?, Why Is My Turtle In Its Shell?, Why Does My Turtle Look Fuzzy?, Why Is My Turtle Poop White?, Why Is My Turtle Poop Red?, Why Is My Turtle Underwater?