# Do tortoises make noises?



## nyan tort

Hi

I'm a total noob @ tortoises but I am currently setting up a nice indoor habitat for a Hermann tortoise (my mom is as excited for this as I am!). It will be my third pet buddy(I had 2 goldfish when I was little).

Well... I can't really find videos on these guys making any sort of noises. I saw a huge tortoise make a growly sound but a Hermann is like 1/40 of its size lol.

Thanks


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## ALDABRAMAN

Ours do.


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## zesty_17

yes, my box turtles make a voluntary clicking sound, and there is to be a presentation on this very topic at this year's TSA conference next week! I am very excited about this pres. See www.turtlesurvival.org for information


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## Jacqui

I think with most of them you never hear them unless they are breeding. Some do this noise that's sorta growl/whistle when scared and are trying to scare you instead, but it's just actually air being forced out not a true voice noise. Some "whistle" when under stress, wrong environments, and such too.


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## laramie

I have heard Wilbur makes little noises. It seems he makes noises mostly during his soaks. Welcome to the forum.


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## Cfr200

Fred my 14 month old Sulcata makes squealing like noises quite often, kind of sounds like a mouse. When she was eating today I heard her a few time making noises it seems a little strange, but it happens. It took me sometime to figure out what was making the noise.


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## african cake queen

hi, my pancake only make noise when the male is being pesky with his female. he sound like a monkey.'lol' lindy

hi, my pancake only make noise when the male is being pesky with his female. he sounds like a monkey.'lol' lindy


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## dmmj

they fart, they hiss, they make groaning noises while mating, water turtles are real good at farting, yes they can be quite noisy.


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## Laura

yes, but nothing a neighbor will notice. 
if you have them inside and are a light sleeper and sleep late, you might hear them crawling around...


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## Az tortoise compound

dmmj said:


> they fart, they hiss, they make groaning noises while mating, water turtles are real good at farting, yes they can be quite noisy.



Yes sir. A few of our Sri star hatchlings also make a clicking sound and I have an adult leopard that gets aggravated and grunts when she cant open the sliding glass door


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## pandacakes

My leopard makes clicking sounds, does the exhale hiss sound when something scares him and farts in his water dish... he's like a tortoise jacuzzi sometimes.


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## drgnfly2265

I've heard Bowser hiss when she goes in her shell real fast, make squeaky noises, and farts, lol.


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## cemmons12

Cooper only makes 1 noise thus far, if he goes into his shell real fast he makes a hiss noise which is him force'n the air out of his lungs to get that head in as fast as he can. But here again he is only 8 months (or so).


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## Yvonne G

Oh, but let's not forget the swish, clump, swish, clump, swish, clump that they make as they dig in the corner. Laura said your neighbors wouldn't notice any tortoise noise, but Maggie would beg to differ. Her next door neighbor complains quite often about Bob's noise if Maggie's a little late in the a.m. in opening the door to his shed.


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## cemmons12

emysemys said:


> Oh, but let's not forget the swish, clump, swish, clump, swish, clump that they make as they dig in the corner. Laura said your neighbors wouldn't notice any tortoise noise, but Maggie would beg to differ. Her next door neighbor complains quite often about Bob's noise if Maggie's a little late in the a.m. in opening the door to his shed.



Very true emysemys! Cooper wakes me up a lot thru the night digging and such, but we just over look that. He is just trying to get to China I guess!  or he is just trying to make sure that I get up in time for work even tho he starts about 2 and a half hours before the alarm goes off, but at least he see's me off in the morning. Lol!


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## Watermelon

Heard mine click and my sister has heard Phoebe 'fart' apparently.


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## drgnfly2265

Here is the video of Bowser farting. Listen at :12 into the video...

http://youtu.be/kPhgOABSrL4

They are crazy critters...


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## DesertGrandma

This is what I have to look forward to, haha.


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## Watermelon

drgnfly2265 said:


> Here is the video of Bowser farting. Listen at :12 into the video...
> 
> http://youtu.be/kPhgOABSrL4
> 
> They are crazy critters...



lol NICE!!!!!


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## zesty_17

Update on today's TSA presentation on Vocalizations in Turtles. YES TURTLES TALK! It was a very exciting presentation of extremely preliminary studies of turtles using low frequency sound waves to talk to each other. Brazilian fresh water turtle Hatchlings have been recorded talking 3-4 days before hatching, during hatching, and also to each other and the mom that hangsout in the water 2-3 months waiting for her babies to hatch to show them the way to feeding grounds! The research is being done by Richard Vogt and his colleges in Brazil, they are also studying tortoise and other turtle vocalizations in captivity as well! More info is on the TSA website, as well as his contact info if you have questions. Extremely enlightening about the maternal behavior of the females & hatchlings. He did say though that unstimulated, captive turtles may not "talk" as much, because they don't have anything to say unless a stimulus is produced... something to think about.


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