Your turtles doing something that they don’t usually do will worry you, understandably, but once you figure out why your pet does certain things you’ll stop worrying.
This article is a look into why your turtle is swimming up and down
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Why is my turtle swimming up and down?
Turtles love swimming, they love being in the water, but if you notice that your pet is swimming oddly, if it seems to be swimming up and down, then you’d understandably be quite confused.
Here is why your turtle is swimming up and down:
Getting some exercise:
Your turtle swimming up and down is perfectly normal, these animals like to swim up and down as a way of getting some exercise in and as a way of burning off energy.
Once your pet decides to do something it will continue this behavior for a while and it will take the animal a long time to give this behavior up.
What to do:
You may want to get your pet out of its tank, and allow it to roam around your home for a little while, as a way to get it to exercise.
When doing this, remember to turtle-proof your home. Also, create barriers to control what part of your home your pet can access.
Make sure that your pet doesn’t gain access to any toxic materials or harmful objects in your home.
Trying to get out:
If your pet seems to be frantically swimming towards the glass walls of the enclosure then the animal is simply trying to get out of the tank.
These animals don’t understand glass, they don’t understand that the glass in front of them is a physical barrier that they can’t swim past
A turtle, that’s swimming up and down against the glass, can see that there is somewhere else to go beyond the glass but the animal doesn’t understand that it can’t get there
The animal may also swim this way because it is excited/is expecting food
What to do:
You can help the animal understand that there is a physical barrier in front of it by applying opaque tape on the tank glass, this will help the animal understand that it can’t go past that point
You can alternatively transfer the animal to an opaque tank if you have one available, this will stop the animal from swimming against the tank
Avoid giving your pet turtle more food if it is swimming up and down begging for food.
If the animal is trying to escape you can allow it to roam around your house for a little while to stretch its legs and get some exercise in