I've got a baby sulcata who is ~4 months old named Belthasar. Within the past two or three weeks I've been hearing him making more and more squeaks and clicks in his day to day routine. He usually squeaks a bit while soaking, but I get the impression he's still acclimating to the process because his attempts to escape the soak have been dwindling as the days wear on (soaking every day if not twice and I get the impression he never soaked before I got him around the end of August). I really just notice that he squeaks a bit just while eating (in between bites, almost like he's sighing) and while stomping around sometimes. When it's really quiet I can hear him in his enclosure burrowing and the occasional squeak or click. He seems very energetic, climbing and stomping around almost all day. His poops and unrates all look very healthy and regular. His diet is grass, hibiscus leaves, collared greens and turnip greens primarily (usually different mixes on different days). I use calcium and multivitamin supplements every other day or a few times a week. Humidity is at a steady 60-80% and temps are 99° in his basking and 75° in the cooler part. Is he just talkative or is there possibly a problem?
Talkative tortoise?
- Thread starter CorwinD
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I would raise the temp to no lower then 80. Cold and damp will make hm sick. Does he have anything like mucus coming from nose, mouth or watery eyes? It may be nothing, but I would keep a close eye on him and get the heat up and also bumping the humidity to stay at 80% with the higher temps is ideal. If you haven't yet, Toms,threads for carding and housing a sully is below in my post.
Also, a large variety of tortoise species are vocal..so vocalization alone is not unusual...
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The only noises mine make is when they pass gas.
I wish it were something more pleasant like you're experiencing.
I wish it were something more pleasant like you're experiencing.
AZSid
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Remington vocalizes while soaking. I swear to God, she sounds like a duck. It is the funniest thing and the kids get a major kick out of it!
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There was a link a while back of the different sounds that different species of tortoises make.
(Male Redfoot tortoises make "chicken" clucking sounds when courting a female.)
(Male Redfoot tortoises make "chicken" clucking sounds when courting a female.)
that's what I do when I see a female must be kindred spirits or something
SGT Fish
Active Member
a friend of mine was subbing in a classroom that had a lot of exotic animals in it. including a large sulcata. He got freaked out because it was moaning loudly while he was in there alone and didnt know it was there. Sad thing is, the picture he sent me showed a large pile of strawberries and an apple in the enclosure. I told him thats not good, but he wasnt sure who was taking care of it and couldnt tell me the school he was at
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Unfortunately I think that a lot of vocal noises are a breathing issue of some sort. Serious or not.
alex_ornelas
Well-Known Member
Have ur torts ever passed has then burp at the same time Oliver dose it hilarious and loudThe only noises mine make is when they pass gas.
I wish it were something more pleasant like you're experiencing.
Charlie is completely quiet. I don't think I've ever heard a peep out of him.
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No. That sounds terrifying.
That link to the turtle noises sounds a lot like his, except his is just more high pitched. I just imagine that's because he's so teensy. I'm in the process of fixing his humidity issues (new humidifier is in the mail) and the ambient temperatures have been fixed as well with the addition of a CHE to combat Oklahoma's cold weather. So I'll keep a close eye on him and if he persists in being vocal, I'll just assume he's a chatty guy, right?
They don't normally make noises and squeaks can be a sign of the start of a respiratory infection.
I would warm this guy's ambient up to 85-90 24/7 and leave him that warm until two weeks after the noises stop. Then back it down to 80-82 and keep a close eye/ear on him.
I would warm this guy's ambient up to 85-90 24/7 and leave him that warm until two weeks after the noises stop. Then back it down to 80-82 and keep a close eye/ear on him.
Godfrey's Mom
Member
Godfrey huffs loudly and will give a low grumbling growl sound. Usually when he can get to something he wants or he gets picked up.
Okay after just a few days he certainly isn't as vocal. Still whines while soaking every now and then, but after getting his temps back to normal and his humidity up he's back to basically silent. I'll be honest, I was kind of hoping he was just a vocal tortoise. But I'll take healthy over talkative.
Since getting his humidity up into the constant 80% his substrate is pretty damp. Is that okay? I'm just worried about him sleeping in the damp substrate (organic soil and coco coir, primarily coco coir) and it making him sick or something.
