Clicking

[tiny-tort]

I've searched the forum for "clicking" noise and have only found little bits and pieces, some suggest it could be a resp illness and someone else said it was normal? My little tort is eating well, a good sized dish of fresh food a day but he/she makes a clicking noise all the time. It also kind of pumps its head and front legs slightly in and out when it is awake .. I know I was freaking out when I first got it because of its inactivity and lack of eating but after 4 days it came around and I cancelled my vet appointment. Wish I didn't .. I have a new appointment for Wed to get it checked over, I want to make sure it's healthy and I want to know whats going on with the clicking noise .. suggestions? He/she is a 2011 hatchling and was housed with quite a few 2010/2011 greek and herman torts so from what I've read resp illness is common .. if my tort does have it is it easily treated?

 

[yagyujubei]

It's not a respiratory problem. I think the clicking is just a beak noise. One of mine used to do that, but I could never narrow it down as to which one. The pumping is normal, especially in little ones. I think he's just fine. Sometimes a vet visit is as much for the owner as it can alleviate your fears.

 

[tiny-tort]

Yes I would rather have it checked over and on record at my herp vet just to make sure everything is all good, small price to pay just to make me feel better lol From what I was reading I thought maybe the clicking and pumping was an exaggerated attempt to breath but his little eyes are clear and so is his nose. From time to time we get little rescue animals and one was a baby squirrel with fluid in its lungs and it make a clicking noise like that so when some forum posts were talking about resp illness it got me a little concerned.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Re: pumping the head and limbs
All amphibians and reptiles use the gular, or throat sac to force air into and out of their lungs, since they don't have a diaphragm to breathe the way mammals do. If the head is resting, then this buccal pumping makes the head move up and down a bit, so that it seems as though the head is bobbing up and down. Turtles can bob their heads intentionally when communicating with others, but that looks different than this simple, reflexive action.

Also, because the chelonian shell is actually a large and immovable ribcage, turtles cannot expand and contract their chest the way lizards do. So, to compensate, they move their front and rear legs in and out, again to force air into and out of their lungs. Most chelonians have a fixed carapace and plastron (top and bottom of the shell), so they rely solely on gular and limb movements for ventilation. A few types of turtles have a kinetic shell, like American box turtles, which have a hinge running across the middle of their plastron. This hinge allows the plastron to rise up and press right against the carapace, forming a perfect seal, like a box (hence the name). Because box turtles have this special hinge, in addition to buccal and limb pumping, they can also breathe by raising and lowering their whole shell. This seems normal to us, because it resembles the typical ribcage movements of other vertebrates, including humans. However, only a few other turtle and tortoise species have similarly kinetic shells that allow them to breathe this way.

In turtles, the lungs are fairly small, and reside high up inside the shell. If a turtle gets flipped over, then the lungs get weighed down by the rest of the visceral mass or gut that normally lie beneath the lungs, making it more difficult to breathe. Turtles can hold their breath for several minutes, so it's okay for a while, but eventually they need to be right-side-up to breathe normally again (and avoid overheating if need be). Breath-holding is actually adaptive for aquatic species that dive underwater, and for terrestrial species that have to stay hidden inside their shell until a predator finally gives up and goes away.

Re: clicking and croaking
I've kept box turtles, redfoot tortoise, and Russian tortoises, and they have all clicked and croaked from time to time. They do this by rubbing their upper and lower beaks together, which makes a sound. They've all had normal beak length, too, so I think these sounds are completely normal. I don't know if it is intentional or merely incidental. I think the clicking might be incidental, but the croaking might be intentional. Either way, both sounds are common.

 

[SILVERSTAR]

i have heard clicking in two of my torts,most recentlt my male sri lankan but only when hes eating leading me to beleive its jus his beak rubbing together and its prolly a good thing maybe thats how it gets worn down i dont wanna get one of those torts u gotta trim the beak of,that usually only happens when they dont get proper diet tho.

 

[Paige Lewis]

If the clicking is just when he eats then it is perfectly normal but if it is regularly when he breathes then i would definitely get it checked out, mine has just had a big battle with a respiratory infection, he is absolutely fine now so do not panic and it may not even be that but as your tort is still eating and seems fine otherwise, then it is worth getting it checked now. My tort had made clicking noises from when i first got him 1 and a half years ago and was eating fine but eventually he did develop a respiratory infection that made him very ill and i wish i had had it addressed earlier than i did as it has taken over 3 months for him to fully recover from it, so if i were you i would take your tort to an exotics vet to have it checked out but again don't panic as he is still acting normal even if it is an infection it is in the very early stages and will be easy to sort out, good luck and let us know how he is doing.

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I also want to add that my tort never had any nasal discharge and his eyes were always clear, i am not trying to make you worry i just want to share my experience to help you.

 

[tiny-tort]

Reptiles may not have diaphragms but I've never seen any of the herps I keep or breed (leopard geckos, crested geckos, iguanas, chameleons, bearded dragons, etc) move their heads and limbs when breathing, of course a tort is very different and I'm not use to his little behaviours yet. And the clicking is not just when he is eating .. he does it a lot for no apparent reason nearly all of the time when he is awake. I'll get him checked over this coming Wednesday when my herp vet is back just to be on the safe side

 

[Skyler Nell]

My little one makes clicking sound as well, I think it has to do with the beak! And My greek does the arm and head thrusts too.

But, it wouldn't hurt to go have him examined!
Give yourself some peace of mind

Best of Luck!

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Reptiles may not have diaphragms but I've never seen any of the herps I keep or breed (leopard geckos, crested geckos, iguanas, chameleons, bearded dragons, etc) move their heads and limbs when breathing, of course a tort is very different and I'm not use to his little behaviours yet. And the clicking is not just when he is eating .. he does it a lot for no apparent reason nearly all of the time when he is awake. I'll get him checked over this coming Wednesday when my herp vet is back just to be on the safe side

Yeah, you're not going to see lizards move their limbs to breathe because, again, they do have a ribcage that can expand and contract, just like ours. The ribcage of a turtle is fixed, so they must move their limbs instead. As for the gular pouch, it does expand and contract in lizards just like in tortoises, but because the head is held up off the ground, the head doesn't move. In the case of turtles, the head is resting on the plastron, so that causes the head to move when the gular pouch inflates. Again, perfectly normal.

As for clicking and croaking, I wonder if turtles do this when they are in a good mood. It seems like they do it when they have just fed, or when temperature and humidity are high, or when they are comfortable and in a safe place. It's almost like they do it when they feel good. Maybe they are feeling secure and uncompetitive, and are willing to share what they have with other members of their species? Not sure, just a hypothesis. Anyway, sounds normal, but I'm sure a visit to the vet wouldn't hurt.

 

[snoit83]

My 8 month old sulcata clicks all the time... she / he seems to do it early in the morning before and after her, I just gorged myself, nap and before bed.
My 3 year old guy never clicked until his URTI so I don't really know. However he didn't start doing it till he was feeling better.
Either way, keep us posted on what your vet says. I think we all want to know ;-)