Watching turtles in the wild, you’ll notice that they move very slowly and smoothly through the water.
These animals are known as the hippies of the sea
If your pet turtle begins swimming frantically and starts to splash around, you would be correct to feel puzzled and question
Why Is My Turtle Splashing Around?
Turtles have been known to splash about when they feel threatened by something nearby.
A happy, healthy turtle is very calm and relaxed, if your turtle begins swimming frenetically and splashing around, then this may be what’s going on with your turtle:
Attention seeking behavior
Once turtles have gotten your attention, they may splash around to get your attention.
Once they’ve got your attention, they’ll continue to splash around until you get closer.
They’ll also get excited when you get near them.
It’s a way of them being excited seeing you
Turtles may also crawl along the ground to get your attention and climb up to the aquarium when you arrive at the tank.
It’s a way of showing how much they love so, yes, it’s a good sign!
What you should do
You can provide some extra attention to your pet by playing with it and letting it follow your finger around for a while.
Eventually, your pet will tire and stop the splashing.
Your turtle can get bored without stimulation, so adding some toys to its water bowl or swapping out what toys are currently inside the bowl will keep him entertained.
Turtles love toys, especially ones that move around and provide stimulation.
Choose a toy that won’t harm your pet and make sure it’s large enough for your pet to chew on.
You can also include fake and real plants, along with worms, snails, and fish, but not too many.
Don’t walk your turtle around the house as a form of entertainment, there are too many things around your home that can hurt your pet so it can be dangerous
Additionally, letting the turtle roam freely inside your home can lead to it becoming too cold and this can cause it to develop a respiratory illness.
They need food:
Turtles who splash around are usually hungry, so they might be asking for their next meal.
Your pet may recognize you as a food source and get excited when you approach thinking that it is about to be fed.
They’re probably thinking – Yes it’s food time!
Due to their excitement, they can’t control themselves so they start to splash around!
Here’s what to do
If this occurs, try feeding him/her a small amount of food so they don’t splash around too much.
If the turtle splashes around too frequently, then you would need to check to see whether the turtle is consuming enough food.
Turtles eat about twice their body weight each day.
This means they require approximately 2 cups of food per pound of their body mass.
Note: You should remember, your turtle splashing around doesn’t always mean they are hungry and want food
Sometimes they are just happy to see you so they splash around as mentioned in this article
The turtle will eat as much food as you put in front of it but this isn’t always good.
Overfeeding a turtle can lead to obesity and fatty liver disease.
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