Why is my turtle trying to escape?

Turtles are animals that love exploring the world that surrounds them. It goes without saying that keeping them in an aquarium does not sound like a good idea as far as their exploring nature is concerned. However, turtle owners around the world do everything they can in order to create the most suitable place for their pet. Still, some turtles are trying to escape. What is the reason for such a behavior? Well, the blame is, probably, on the way the tank is prepared.

However, there is quite a lot to add about this kind of behavior. You see, turtles may make escape attempts due to many different reasons. And if you want to understand these reptiles more, I suggest you read this article. Here, I am going to make use of my knowledge and do all I can to lay out the most common causes for a turtle to try to escape and some ideas how to fix it. 

The article will present things that are most commonly associated with escape attempts turtles make. Besides that, I decided to use my own experience to reflect on the problems, which were the basis of this behavior in the case of my own turtle and the methods I used to solve it from happening again. To make things more attractive, I decided to discuss the less common reasons for turtles trying to escape, to make sure you verify all the possibilities.

There are four main causes for a turtle to try to escape from its tank

Inappropriate habitat

Preparing the right conditions for your reptile is of utmost importance to make sure it doesn’t try to escape its tank. Obviously, the water and some rocks is definitely not enough for your turtle to be fulfilled. It has to have access to a wide range of objects that will allow your reptile to explore and get to know the things that surround it. 

Obviously, we have to start preparing the right habitat from making sure that your turtle has enough space. This is one of the most common mistakes turtle owners make – preparing a tank that is too small and, as a result, is not enough for the demands and requirements of the reptile. We ought to make sure that the tank can contain enough water – it is approximately 10 gallons of water per every inch of the turtle’s shell. 

Wrong diet

Another reason why your turtle may try to escape the tank is because of the food you provide it with. You see, turtles may not be very picky. However, if they are not provided with the appropriate nutritional values, then they will begin scavenging for something more suitable for their diet. Besides inappropriate types of food, sometimes people forget how to portion the meals.

One of the easiest ways to figure out whether you are giving your turtle enough food or not is by the so-called head method. It basically involves finding the item that is approximately the same size as the turtle’s head. If we fill up that object, we will find out the exact amount of nutrients you need to give to your turtle for it to stay healthy and happy. 

Pregnancy

Strange behavior, such as ramming different objects or aggressive behavior may be the result of pregnancy. Interestingly, it is also quite often connected with changed basking behavior (the turtle may even stop basking). Other reptiles try to dig everywhere and some other creatures want to escape the tank in order to find a more suitable place to lay their eggs.

In order to understand whether the turtle you have is pregnant, we need to remember about checking its gender. There are many tutorials on the Internet that help you understand how to check and verify whether you are dealing with a male or female. Obviously, in the event of the pregnancy, there is not much you can do in order to calm her down. Just make sure that you are patient. Interestingly, even if you have just one turtle and it’s a female, she can still lay eggs – they simply won’t be fertilized. 

Stress and anxiety 

Besides that, we should also look at these reasons

Bad basking area

Not enough place for your turtle to bask is one of the additional reasons you should look at. Make sure that the place you pick for basking is not too close to the heating bulb and not too far. Obviously, you have to remember that the basking area is large enough for the reptile to lay down there comfortably.

Wrong temperature

It concerns both the water and the basking area. You have to remember that turtles, contrary to what humans do, have to regulate their temperature via external factors. And it means that if they are too hot, they go into the water to cool down. However, if they are too cold, they are going to bask.

Exit spot

Despite the fact that some people believe turtles are fearful, the truth is that they are curious by nature. It means that if they find an expit spot that you haven’t located before, they will do all they can to reach that spot and explore things and places they haven’t explored before. 

So, what to do in order to stop such a thing from happening?

Obviously, make sure you attend to all these issues. It means that look at the tank, see its size and the volume, the temperature there is, as well as the amount of additional objects that may interest your reptile (Why do turtles headbutt?). Besides that, you should also 

Now you know why your turtle is trying to escape!

As you can see, there are dozens of different reasons why your turtle may try to escape. The truth is, turtles are not great at captivity. They just love to explore in spite of their skittish nature. That is why you have to do everything you can in order to guarantee the most suitable place for your pet to live. Don’t forget about staff that make the place entertaining -> Did you know about turtles entertaining by stacking? and worth checking out. Always pick attractive objects that will allow your turtle to explore.

Obviously, your main goal is to eliminate all the reasons that I mentioned above. First, take care of the tank itself, the temperature in there, the basking area, and many other things that will improve the habitat. What is more, make sure you don’t overhandle your turtle and there are no large stress or anxiety inducing factors. Only then will you be able to reduce the chances for your reptile to run away or at least try to run away.