Hermann tortoise croak sounds

[swatata]

Hello!

I'm a new owner of a Hermann tortoise for about 2 months now, have not had experience with tortoises before, the tortoise itself is around a year old currently. After a month since I've had it, and it settled into it's enclosure well, I noticed that it has started to make frog like croaks from time to time. Usually those are most common when eating or after drinking (read that it could be just air trying to get out) but sometimes it does it while its just sitting and going around the enclosure with opening its mouth like it is trying to talk to someone. Has been doing that frequently for the last week or so. The most similar video I found of another tortoise making that sound is this: https://youtu.be/l1zvrTzTMgg

She hasn't had any discharge from eyes/nose/mouth or make any other sounds while breathing, has been eating really well with supplements and is enjoying basking (and looks to be happy in general). I only have trouble soaking her in warmer water cause she always try to escape and gets very nervous, but she goes into her drinking water dish and stays there from time to time. Temperatures under the Heat/UVA/B combo lamp are around 32-34 degrees Celsius and at the other part of the enclosure they go down to around 26-28 Celsius at night. I am trying to keep the moisture between 40-60%, once I mist it goes up to around 70%. I am living in a country where it is her natural climate so nothing too much out of the ordinary temp wise. She has been in an indoor enclosure as temps during the night would not have been suitable for her outside.

My main question is, is the croaking which is 99% similar to the one in the video above, something to worry about? I've been trying to record her doing it, but it's at random. Have been reading a lot and see all kinds of different opinions, but really would like someone with more experience to give theirs.

Also, here she is, her name is Terry

[lin]

Hiya, congratulations on becoming a new tortoise owner and what a lovely little one Terry is.

I couldn’t really hear the noise Terry was making but do you find he does it mostly when you’re looking at him or you’re nearby, perhaps made a louder than normal noise. The reason I ask this is because a new tortoise still settling in will display the symptoms you are describing if it is on edge, open mouth (we call it gaping) and gasping to breathe. You could, if you think it might be this, just sit back and very quietly observe somewhere Terry can’t see you and if you think it is this he will be fine. However, what you are describing are also classic symptoms if a lot of illness from RTI (respiratory tract infection) or even worms so for your peace of mind, if you have the slightest hunch that it could be something other than settling in and for your own peace of mind take her along to a vet that is qualified to treat tortoises.
I guess you don’t have a vet yet so here is out list where you can find recommended vets near you.
Please let us know how she gets on over the next day or so and fingers are crossed it just her settling in. X

I forgot to suggest trying to drop the temps a little because Terry could also be a little dehydrated or dry. Aim for 30 deg C. Is Terry in an open top table, inside or outside. He also needs shade for if it’s too hot.
Lin

https://www.thetortoisetable.org.uk/tor ... s-by-area/

[swatata]

Hello and thanks for the reply!

I have not noticed a difference between reacting when me or my girlfriend are nearby, it seems to be pretty confident when we are around it, does not bother it if we are feeding from out hands as well. I managed to record this morning while she was giving a bit of food to start the day before letting her eat from her bowl and managed to capture the exact sound it made https://www.youtube.com/shorts/azAwyPOgSu0

It is around the middle of the vid, could be heard with a turned up volume. It is doing a loud noise when opening and closing it from time to time as it is in the video, never seen it open its mouth for more than a millisecond unless its yawning.

She is placed inside an apartment in an open top enclosure as temperatures are still quite warm. I do have shade for it to hide whenever it needs to, lamp is placed on one end and the other side of the enclosure is quite shady.
Thanks for suggesting vets, but I will need to find one that is in my country as I am not based in the UK.
I have also raised the lamp to get the temperatures lower to around 30 C.

[lin]

Hi
Yes, I caught it that time, thanks for your patience and perseverance
It sounds like a squeak and I don’t think it’s anything to be concerned about. It could be part of the beak rubbing so it might be a matter of looking closely and waiting to try a detect what part of the beak it’s coming from, or just thinking out lout. It might be a noise like we make when we grate our teeth when we wake up and stretch.
What do you think?
Lin

[swatata]

Yeah, I feel like it could be just expressing herself. I do remember hearing it before as well from time to time, but she hasn't been making while sleeping or acting out of the ordinary. Thanks for the responses, will keep an eye on her!

P.S.: The plant database in the website is amazing, it is of so much help!

[JustSonja]

Hi all! I’m a new tortoise owner, I’ve had previous experience with a red-eared slider (she lived with me for 27 years), but I’m new to tortoises. My tortoise had her first raspberry today, and a couple hours later they (don’t know the sex) started making the croaking noise. Upon inspection, everything seemed ok, and the noise stopped when I brought them into the room with me. My slider used to do this at times, but I never figured out what it was about, except maybe that it was a way to get my attention, but she started doing it around 20.
Everything else is normal with my tortoise , eating and behavior wise, but I have what is probably a dumb question:
Are they capable of attention-seeking behavior? I’ve had the Beast for about two weeks now, has no problem with me or even my dog. They’re two years old and grew up among other tortoises and dogs with frequent human (and dog) contact. They have no problem crawling under me, the dog or the covers and falling sound asleep (I live in their natural climate zone), and seem a bit down when left alone. Could the croaking be a way to get my attention? I know I’m probably projecting here, but I feel like they tend to calm down (I.e. they go into explore mode) when they’re with me outside the terrarium, while they tend to get a bit frantic after eating in the terrarium. All in all, they really seem to enjoy contact (that’s basically how I picked them) and even being held and carried (the temp in the terrarium is always between 28–32’C so I’m thinking it’s not about warmth). I know tortoises are solitary in nature, so I guess what I’m basically asking is how much can nurture affect them and can they get lonely?

[Nina]

Hi Sonja and welcome to The Tortoise Table.

Could you tell me what species your tortoise is? Most commonly kept species of tortoise should not eat fruit (their digestive systems don't cope well with the natural sugars in fruit), although there are a few species who do have some fruit in their diet.
If I know the species of your tortoise, then I can send you a care sheet for it.

The fruit shouldn't have caused the croaking noise though, so I'm not sure what that was (unless it got lodged in his throat or something). I don't think that they actively seek attention by croaking, and croaking is not a natural noise for tortoises, so it's a bit of a mystery.

I know that your dogs and your slider and tortoises have been getting along really well, but just a word of caution. It's never wise to leave a dog and a tortoise alone together. Every year or two we hear of cases where a dog and a tortoise have lived happily together for 10 or 15 years, and then one day the dog decides that the tortoise is a chew toy and inflicts terrible damage to the tortoise, and sometimes kills it. It's not the dog's fault, and it's up to the owner to make sure that they are kept separate so that this can't happen. It sounds like you are very experienced with reptiles and dogs, so you probably don't need that warning, but I just thought I would mention it.

Can I ask what your terrarium is like -- is it an open enclosure (perhaps with netting or something) or is it an enclosed structure (like a glass and wood vivarium)?

You are so lucky to live in a climate that is sympathetic to your tortoise (here in the UK the climate is not kind to them!). If you can post a photo of your tortoise we'd love to see it (we never get tired of looking at photos of tortoises). Sorry I can't be of more help with the croaking noise -- maybe someone else will have some ideas.

Nina