Why do red eared sliders bite

There are various ways that you can use to stop your pet turtles from biting each other. Large habitat, sufficient feeding, good water quality, using barriers, large basking areas are some of the ways to name a few. Turtles are not easy to pet and actually require a lot of work to take care of. They are however, beautiful animals and deserve the best from us.

Skip to content Turtles are considered to be peaceful creatures. Apart from fighting over territory issues, they bite each other during mating. They tend to bite because of the following reasons: Habitat : Habitat is one of the key factors for any pet to be comfortable and happy. If you have multiple turtles, ideally, a bigger tank should be preferred. If you have a small tank and your turtles have outgrown the tank size, then there are chances that they will bite each other because of the lack of space.

Environmental Stress : Even external factors like loud noise and temperature do unsettle your turtles to the extent that they will start biting each other. Turtles do not like too much handling and prefer to stay on their own. Mating Process : During mating, it is very common that the male turtle bites the female one. Again, keep in mind that the bite in such a case is gentle and is not harmful to your female turtle.

Does Not Get Along : Turtles live a solitary life and are not social animals that require company. Turtles do look very simple but are actually complex animals. Each species of turtles have their own unique traits that differentiate them from one another. If you have 2 different species of turtles, then chances are that they will not get along well.

In such a case, they might sometimes bite each other. They bite each other mainly for the following reasons: Dominance or Social Status : Showing dominance is commonly observed in most of the animal species. A male will always show dominance over other weak counterparts by shaking their claws or biting them. They usually create a higher social status for themselves and try to maintain it. Territorial Issues : Like every other creature, turtles also do not allow other animals to enter their territory.

Whenever some a predator like a crocodile enters their territory, they often try to stop them from entering by biting and fighting with them unitedly.

Rejection for Mating : Mating commonly occurs in all species. However, when a male red-eared slider touches the female turtle for mating, and if the female turtle is not interested in mating, she opposes it by biting. Starving : This is a very rare scenario. But, cannibalism does happen in case of food shortage.

If an elder turtle is hungry and cannot find food, it will eventually attack and eat the younger turtle in the pond to satisfy its hunger. You can take the following steps to stop your turtle from biting each other: Big Habitat : Unlike fish, turtles require a lot of water in the tank. The minimum water in the tank that is required is 10 gallons for every inch of the first turtle length. Develop and improve products.

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I just got a 8 year old Red eared slider turtle from a friend that is moving out of state. Is there any thing I need to know. Your email address will not be published. Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Skip to content AquaticPals. Aquatic Turtles Saltwater Menu. Are Red-eared Sliders Friendly? Do Red-eared Sliders Bite? Is their bite dangerous? Probably not. The real danger of keeping red-eared sliders As you have seen most of the red-eared sliders are friendly towards people.

Final Thoughts Red-eared sliders are one of the best pets you can keep.