Turtle (RES) constantly trying to swim through glass?

Question

He is medium sized, in a 60 gallon tank, alone. He will try to swim through the glass, it looks like, constantly until I put my hand against it. Why is he doing this? Is he lonely?

Note- food is not the problem (At least I don't think)

Answer 1

turtles don't understand glass

Answer 2

mine does the same thing

check the water temperature as well

mine chirps once in a while when he gets scared but I wouldn't think anything of it if it's not constant

I'm about to get an 85 gallon tank and I'm definitely going to get him some buddies with some fish too.

Answer 3

he wants out he is bored.

Drop his feeder fish in the water so he gets exercise and protein from the fish meat and calcium from the bones..Some helpful info:

I have had my 2 slider  girls for 36 yrs. Plus an 8 and 5 yr old and now a 2 yr old adopted from this site.. And in a pond for almost 7 yrs now. Got them on my 18th birthday! The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle. Remember 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. I have used kiddy pools and plastic pond liners from most nurseries and worked great.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for 8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always. These turtles in captivity do not hibernate their eating may slow down some but they will not hibernate.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. And are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about  3” across.

You need a good filter system! Gravel larger than they can swallow.

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily drop 20 or so in the tanks and watch them disappear in a few days! When I got these two 36 yrs ago all we had in back then  were goldfish to feed , so after 36 yrs and still going strong. They can eat goldfish!

This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

I spend about 175.00 a month on fish ,goldfish and minnows. An Extra  75.00 on leafy greens and dried cubed tubiflex worms.

They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. lakes or ponds or your tank to avoid predators like coyotes,  foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass.

TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

They can have garden worms, meal worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, dragon flies and  anything that moves, but only as a treat.

They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.

You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles from their nose.

**Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.

Contact the “www.anapsid.org/societies, for a turtle vet /  rescue in your city and state.

I wish you luck.

http://flickr.com/photos/29035692@N03/se...

Answer 4

True i feels lonely in one large 60 gallon tank i advise you to purchase another turtle about the same side and if you havent already, add a platform so the turtle(s) can climb out of the water and dry off for a while and i have seen my 2 turtles play together like putting their 2 front hand in front of them doing somthing like mercy. and about the food... you would also like to buy him/her some baby shrimp, mini krill, and live fish but not salt-water fish, fresh water. They do also eat crickets. I also have a fish tank with alot of fish in it, and whenever the fish die, i feed it to the turtles. They eat it like they have been wanting it for years. ya and the glass pblm... ehhh, just trying to escape i guess cuz every time i give my turtles a fish, the just grab it and try to run off with it so he can eat it himself and try to get away from any others. SO WHAT I AM TRYING TO SAY IS GET ANOTHER TURTLE ABOUT HIS SIZE OR AGE SO HE DOES NOT FEEL LONELY!! AND SCARED!! And for some reason i think the chirping is a diseas cuz if you look it up, turtles dont make any sounds cuz they dont have any vocal cords. OH and also try to play with ur turtles once in a while like take him/her out to your yard and let him/her get out for a chance. these turtles are pond turtles who get out of the water and on some real grass once in a while or put them in your bath tub with some water in it and some toys for about 3 hours then put them back in your tank. SO GET ANOTHER TURTLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!