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Turtles like to boogie

post #1 of 6
12/21/10 at 4:09pm
Thread Starter 
One Day I want to my friends house and we were talking and the radio was on, then all of sudden, her turtles [ in the aquarium] started.. Dancing? They were swimming in circles and shaking there heads, it's kinda hard to describe, but it sure made my day!
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post #2 of 6
12/22/10 at 7:49pm
Turtles dancing? You should have caught it on video!
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post #3 of 6
12/22/10 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 
I wish I video taped it, We kept laughing it, she has three turtles, SYNCHRONISED SWIMMING.
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post #4 of 6
12/22/10 at 8:50pm
She needs to sex her turtles and probably separate them depending on what she has. It's not cute" dancing", what you are describing is the type of movements/gesturing they do between mates or between turtles that are (eventually) going to fight. This constant stress between them can lead to one or all going off food, illness, or the weakest turtle being bullied by the other two.
Breeding is far too complex and dangerous to be allowed if an owner doesn't even understand turtle behavior.


ETA: Just in case anyone still doesn't get it. This is the turtle equivalent of a couple cats staring each other down, fluffing up, circling, and growling/yowling. But the turtle will often resort to nipping and food stealing in their more subtle bullying/fighting.
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post #5 of 6
12/23/10 at 7:42am
Thread Starter 
There's one female and two males, it's nothing like that though. and it's there only pets so no cats would attack them or anything. By dancing they swim around the aquarium and shake there heads.
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post #6 of 6
12/23/10 at 8:18am
Cats? What? I only compared the turtle behavior to the equivalent in cats because people here will understand that.
You cannot have two male turtles together in a small area like that, they will fight. No if, ands, or buts about it. If bred, the female will produce eggs and want to lay them. With an inexperienced keeper this can kill the female turtle.
This is serious. Just because they're turtles doesn't mean that their behavior means nothing and can be ignored.

Again, this is a type of dominance display linked to sexual maturity and crowding, not a cute dance. Left unchecked the aggression will escalate and at that point serious bites can be exchanged. Turtles have fairly strong jaws and can even bite the feet off of other turtles, especially if the aggressor turtle is slightly larger.

Btw, I am an turtle keeper with several years of experience. I know turtle behavior.
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