Do turtles hiss?

Question

Today I picked up my turtle and she made a very strange noise that sounded extremely similar to a cat hissing. we have four turtles, 3 girls, 1 boy, and I've never heard any of them make this noise until today. This one making the noise is usually startled very easily freaks out and splashes water everywhere. other than that, she gets along with all the others and is friendly with people (other than being startled easily). Anyways, I was wondering if this is normal if the turtle feels threatened or scared, or if there might be some respitory problem and we need to call the vet.

Answer 1

yes. when she doesn't see you coming and you pick her up she will hiss when startled. it is her way of gasping when startled

Answer 2

Yes turtles hiss!!!

Answer 3

They can if there really pissed off.

Answer 4

yes they do when they don't want to be harmed or bothered

Answer 5

Yes, they do hiss.

Answer 6

No they hiss. Don't feel weirded out by it. Maybe this one doesn't handle stress as well as the others but i have heard of them hissing.

Answer 7

Turtles do hiss,

Any questions.. I can answer

Answer 8

I've never heard a turtle hiss, but they do snap when they feel threatened so be careful,

Answer 9

yes

Answer 10

no they do not hiss

Answer 11

This happened to me too with my baby box turtle! Yes turtles hiss. And they sneeze too. And unfortunately they kinda sound the same. It never hurts to take yours to the vet just to make sure!!

Answer 12

yes they do when they feel threatened.

Answer 13

Yes, turtles can hiss.  What you're hearing is the very fast expulsion of air from her lungs, so the scared/startled turtle can quickly retract her head into her shell for protection.

Since I know you don't want to scare your turtle, you might try making sure she is aware you are there before you grab her.  Make a noise, and make sure she sees you.  Then lightly touch her carapace (top shell) before you grasp her to remove her from the tank/habitat.

Just go slow, and give her time to come to trust you, and she will eventually stop hissing.

I hope this has been helpful.

Enjoy your pets!