Can Turtles Scream?

A turtle is one of the most docile and quietest pets to keep at home. Therefore, pet owners often wonder whether turtles can scream. The truth is that turtles can make different types of noises. Turtles might make hissing or shrieking noises when they are new to your home.

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At times, you might even notice your turtles letting out a faint scream. But can turtles really scream? If they do, what makes them scream? Does a screaming turtle indicate that it is in pain? Find out the answers from this article.

If you want a straightforward answer, turtles cannot scream. Since turtles don’t have vocal cords, it is impossible for them to scream. But when they make certain movements, the air inside their body moves abruptly. In such situations, it seems like your turtle lets out a scream.

At times, you will find turtles opening their mouths wide open. However, you won’t hear them making any sound. It happens because turtles usually make low-pitched noises.

You will usually notice turtles opening their mouths open in an attempt to scream when they are retracting into their shell. The scream helps the turtle to create space inside the shell for it to retract. Additionally, the scream helps them protect their lungs from damage.

If the air isn’t expelled, it will hit the turtle’s lung every time the creature tries to retract. If that happens quite often, it causes severe damage to the lungs.

Turtles are usually silent pets that use body language or non-vocal signs to communicate. In most cases, turtles making sounds is not a positive sign. It indicates that they are in pain or detecting a threat.

Are Turtles Capable Of Making Noise?

A turtle can make noises in different situations. But in a majority of scenarios, the noise made by turtles is inaudible. However, you will be able to hear your turtles making noises in a few rare moments.

If your turtle is new, you might hear it making hissing noises. But if your turtle continues to make sounds, you should visit the vet. It’s important to check the physical condition of the turtle to ensure that it is not sick. Additionally, check the turtle cage for signs of potential threats.

What Are The Different Sounds Made By A Turtle?

Turtles can make different types of sounds according to their mood and health. The sounds can range from hissing, chirping, and screeching to grunting, barking, or honking. Find out how a turtle is likely to sound in different situations.

How Do Nervous Or Stressed Turtles Sound?

A nervous or stressed turtle is highly likely to shriek or hiss. If you try to hold your turtle after welcoming it home, you are likely to hear it shriek hiss. While you can keep a turtle as a pet, they won’t let you touch them like dogs and cats.

In the beginning, it will consider you a threat. A scared turtle usually hisses or shrieks to scare off its threats. They will stop making the hissing sound once they get accustomed to their owner.

But even after keeping your turtle at home for a long time, you should avoid unnecessarily touching your turtle. They might stop making audible shrieks or hisses after some time. But they will continue to feel stressed every time you touch them.

Turtles also get stressed when they think they are under attack from any other animal. The sound made by turtles to defend themselves against attackers might not seem too scary. But it is usually enough to intimidate the attacking animal.

While trying to defend itself, a turtle will retract into its shell. After that, it will quickly try to get out and bite the animal before quickly retracting into its shells again.

How Do Nesting Turtles Sound?

Adult turtles let out hissing or belching sounds when they are close to their nests. This habit is particularly evident in leatherback sea turtles. The purpose of making these sounds is to scare off insects or animals from their nests.

Sea turtle hatchlings also produce a special noise while hatching. But the sound is inaudible to our ears. The sound is a way for the hatchling to communicate with one another and come out of the sand together. If they come out together, they need less energy to dig the sand.

Additionally, turtle hatchlings make this sound to warn one another about the potential threats and reach the sea safely.

What Sounds Can Be Heard From Aggressive Turtles?

If you keep multiple male turtles inside one cage, they will become extremely aggressive. When they become aggressive, they let out heavy breaths and produce a hissing sound. It is particularly common in male snapping turtles.

Male turtles always have a hostile attitude toward one another. Keeping too many male turtles in one cage triggers their territorial side. They use aggressive sounds and gestures to intimidate one another.

To prevent your pet turtles from becoming aggressive, get separate cages for each one of them instead of a large one. It will ensure that male turtles can stay at a distance from one another.

What Sounds Indicate That My Turtle Is Sick?

You will also hear unique sounds from your turtle when they are mating. The sound that turtles make while mating is pretty hard to describe. But the closest description is a constant crying or grunting noise. Land tortoises and large-size turtles make this sound quite frequently.

Remember the sound made by the Velociraptors in the 1993 Jurassic Park movie? That sound is actually a recording of turtles making mating noises.

Some male turtles also produce different sounds to attract female turtles. For instance, male red-eared sliders call their mating partners by making different noises. Therefore, you will hear a red-eared slider turtle making a chirping or clicking noise when they are all set to reproduce.

What Sounds Do Mating Turtles Make?

At times, turtles making hissing sounds can also be a sign of respiratory distress. If you notice your pet turtle hissing without any apparent reason, check whether they are having trouble breathing.

Turtles will also make hissing sounds when they catch a cold. If the water temperature is too low for a long time, your turtle will fall sick. Therefore, it’s important to keep the temperature of the turtle tank the same as your pet’s natural habitat.

Will A Turtle Make Noise When It Gets Hurt?

The hard external shells of turtles protect them from harm. But they still get hurt. Predators might attack turtles, or they might get scratched by rocks. Turtles get agitated the minute they get hurt and produce a hissing sound.

If you hear your turtle hissing constantly, you should check for physical injuries. Moreover, take it to the vet and get it checked.

Can Turtles Cry?

Turtles might produce crying sounds in different situations. For instance, some turtles sound like they are crying while mating. At times, turtles cry when they are in pain or distress.

Additionally, crying noises from a turtle are a sign of a serious respiratory infection. As mucus blocks the airway of the turtles, they end up making crying noises.

But it’s important to remember that turtles don’t have vocal cords. Therefore, they cannot cry like other animals. Instead, they make noise through their thin airway while crying. A turtle crying usually sounds like groaning or short screams of pain.

By now, you know that turtles don’t have vocal cords. That’s why you will never hear them making loud noises. However, they make soft and often inaudible noises in different scenarios.

If you notice your turtle making noise, try to figure out the reason behind it. In case your turtle makes continuous hisses or groans, you should visit the vet and get it checked. Since a turtle’s noise can be a sound of distress, you shouldn’t ignore it for too long.