My Russian tortoise seems to always be bobbing it head. It almost looks like it has hiccups? But when he sleeps he doesn't have that head bobbing hiccup looking problem. I don't think anything is wrong but I was just wondering if this is natural or it's out of the ordinary?
Bobbing its head?
- Thread starter A.Yaj
- Start date
- Status
Sometimes its just a nervous head bob..
We get this question all the time. He's just breathing. 
All turtles breathe by moving their throat pouch up and down, because they do not have a flexible rib cage or a diaphragm. By pumping their throat, or buccal pouch, they are forcing air in and out of their lungs, the way our diaphragm does. Turtles also pump their arms or legs for the same reason: to move air, since their rib cage has evolved into a fixed shell. Some turtles, like box turtles and hingeback tortoises, do have a movable shell, and you can watch it move when they breathe, kind of like our rib cage. But they can still use buccal- and limb-pumping to breathe as well.
Actually, you see buccal pumping in most amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Most frogs and salamanders use it to breathe, as do lizards. Even birds pump their throat pouch to cool off, rather like panting in a dog.
The only reason buccal pumping looks funny in turtles, is that they rest their chin on their lower shell (plastron), so when the throat pouch expands and contracts, it makes the head bob up and down, and it makes the turtle look like it has the hiccups. But it doesn't. It's completely normal.
All turtles breathe by moving their throat pouch up and down, because they do not have a flexible rib cage or a diaphragm. By pumping their throat, or buccal pouch, they are forcing air in and out of their lungs, the way our diaphragm does. Turtles also pump their arms or legs for the same reason: to move air, since their rib cage has evolved into a fixed shell. Some turtles, like box turtles and hingeback tortoises, do have a movable shell, and you can watch it move when they breathe, kind of like our rib cage. But they can still use buccal- and limb-pumping to breathe as well.
Actually, you see buccal pumping in most amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Most frogs and salamanders use it to breathe, as do lizards. Even birds pump their throat pouch to cool off, rather like panting in a dog.
The only reason buccal pumping looks funny in turtles, is that they rest their chin on their lower shell (plastron), so when the throat pouch expands and contracts, it makes the head bob up and down, and it makes the turtle look like it has the hiccups. But it doesn't. It's completely normal.
A.Yaj said:
It is neither hiccups, nor a nervous head bob. That's just how turtles breathe, and it's completely normal. Please see my explanation above.
GeoTerraTestudo said:We get this question all the time. He's just breathing.
All turtles breathe by moving their throat pouch up and down, because they do not have a flexible rib cage or a diaphragm. By pumping their throat, or buccal pouch, they are forcing air in and out of their lungs, the way our diaphragm does. Turtles also pump their arms or legs for the same reason: to move air, since their rib cage has evolved into a fixed shell. Some turtles, like box turtles and hingeback tortoises, do have a movable shell, and you can watch it move when they breathe, kind of like our rib cage. But they can still use buccal- and limb-pumping to breathe as well.
Actually, you see buccal pumping in most amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Most frogs and salamanders use it to breathe, as do lizards. Even birds pump their throat pouch to cool off, rather like panting in a dog.
The only reason buccal pumping looks funny in turtles, is that they rest their chin on their lower shell (plastron), so when the throat pouch expands and contracts, it makes the head bob up and down, and it makes the turtle look like it has the hiccups. But it doesn't. It's completely normal.
Sorry I didn't see yours yet. But okay I feel better I'm not the only one haha. But thank you for telling me!
I'm sorry but my tortoises do not always do the head bob, I only see if if they are suprised by something I do or if they are in a new environment. So yes it can be a nervous head bob even if it's associated with breathing.
Yes i see this all day when my sulcata is basking, it looks like they have a calm hiccup.
That's what you see when they are breathing!
That's what you see when they are breathing!
I like to think it's betty's way of saying "oh no you didn't" even though she is only breathing
dmarcus said:
It is not nervousness. A nervous turtle retreats into its shell out of fear. You are observing increased "head-bobbing" when they are intrigued by something because they are breathing more, so that they'll have the energy to investigate. It's no different than the more rapid breathing in any other excited animal, including us. The more excited turtles are, the more rapidly they will breathe, and the faster their head will appear to be "bobbing" ... but only if it is resting on the plastron. If the head is held erect, the gular pouch will still pump, but the head will not move.
Tortoises can engage in true head-bobbing, however, in which they approach one another with their neck held out horizontally, and deliberately jerking their heads up and down. This is a signal to display aggression or sexual interest. They jerk their heads up to intimidate a rival, and males rapidly bob their heads to court a female. The bobbing pattern is species-specific, and affects mate selection.
The good news is that it sounds like your tort is normal!
- Status
