Yawning is quite a crucial part of everyday’s life for human beings. Usually, we yawn because our organism needs to bring more oxygen into the blood. Besides that, it helps to reduce the carbon dioxide out of the blood. Obviously, it also stretches our lungs and lung tissue, which is something really good. But what about other animals? Can reptiles such as turtles yawn? And why do they do that?
Well, similarly to what people do, turtles yawn and they do that in order to increase the oxygen intake. Besides that, it is also a very popular way to determine whether your turtle is tired. However, we need to remember that this behavior is not always a sign of healthiness. Sometimes it might be the symptom of serious issues related to respiratory troubles.
Obviously, we have to remember that yawning is quite important for them for some other reasons. Luckily for you, I decided to prepare an in-depth guide and explanation of this strange, yet very important (from the turtle’s health point of view) behavior. I’ve spent quite a lot of time searching for the truth and to understand whether excessive yawning that my turtle had been experiencing was a real problem. So, here is what I figured out and why I have got to present to you.
Here are the main reasons for turtles to yawn
Let’s start from something basic, which is a common knowledge most of us can find on the Internet. You see, turtles yawn for the similar reasons as humans do. It means the following:
They need more oxygen
Oxygen intake can be greatly improved by yawning and this is why most of the time your turtle will yawn. Once it opens the mouth wide, it provides much greater air flow and, as a result, it fills the lungs with all the oxygen it needs. Thanks to that, they increase the amount of oxygen in their blood. Obviously, turtles need to yawn to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in their body.
They want to stretch their mouth
When in the wild, turtles need to have their necks and mouths as flexible as possible in order to be much better at catching their own food. As a result, they usually stretch their mouth muscles in order to be a bit more agile. Interestingly, it is not as common as some people may think, but it is still possible that your turtle is just “exercising” their mouth and, at the same time, their neck.
However, it can also be the symptom of a major issue
If you feel like your turtle yawns too much, then it may be the reason to get more interested with the issue. You see, I found out that if a turtle yawns a lot, it may be the sign of a respiratory illness. And this health problem is quite popular among the turtles. The easiest way to figure out whether there is a real issue with their breathing is by looking at their eyes and nose.
Usually, there is an excess amount of discharge that can be found near their eyes, nose, and sometimes even their mouth. Yawning is meant to help them get more air into their lungs. Sadly, finding out the reason why your turtle has a respiratory illness is not the easiest, because it can be the result of too cold temperature in its habitat, wrong diet, or any other damage your turtle has received.
Can the turtles yawn underwater?
From the scientific point of view, there is no reason for your turtle to yawn underwater. Obviously, they open their mouths when diving and they can do that for a wide range of reasons. For example, they truly love eating and they are known as opportunistic eaters. It means that if you enter the room while they are diving, they will automatically open their mouths and beg for some food even before they resurface.
They may not yawn underwater, but they definitely open their mouths and, sometimes, they do that very wide. One of the reasons is to drink water. They use it to extract some of the oxygen from water to stay a bit longer underwater. It is also closely related to buoyancy. By opening their mouth quite wide, they reduce that force and enjoy a bit more comfortable (and at the same time longer) swim.
Yawning too much – is it dangerous to my pet?
As I stated above, yawning too frequently and too often may be the result of serious illnesses. Quite often turtles struggle with respiratory problems, and one of them is a respiratory infection. Besides that, turtles may also have ulcers in the mouth. Needless to say, there can even be a situation where your turtle will have pneumonia. As a result, yawning too much, though itself is not dangerous at all, may be the sign of life-threatening disease.
For this reason I recommend visiting a vet the moment you realize that the amount of yawning you see as well as many other symptoms indicate health issues. Especially, if they do not indicate a normal yawning behavior, where a turtle wants to increase the oxygen intake and reduce the carbon dioxide in their blood.
As far as other symptoms are concerned, take a closer look at the discharge that can appear near the nose, mouth, and eyes. What is more, turtles are lethargic when they feel sick. Another way to determine that the reptile is not feeling well is that it does not sun bask and does not want to eat. Since they love both these things, you can be sure that there is something definitely wrong with your turtle.
Now you know why turtles yawn!
Making sure that you know exactly what is going on with your turtle is surely of utmost importance. There are some obvious signs that something is wrong with the reptile. However, some cases may not be as unambiguous as others. That is why we always should look for information regarding the turtles and their behavior on the Internet. Especially in sources that guarantee credibility.
One of the examples of ambiguous behaviors is yawning. It can be the result of standard and non-threatening actions such as increasing the oxygen intake or stretching out the turtle’s mouth. However, some other situations, though quite rare, may indicate troubles with breathing. This, in turn, may indicate the respiratory troubles your turtle is having. Sadly, it can change into life-threatening diseases.
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