Meowing Turtles

[vampstorso]

I'm not kidding.

Many times I've been home with the kids asleep and heard meowing. It's happening right now.
It's weirded me out, I'd go looking outside for cats to no avail. Only recently did I realise...it's my husband's turtle!

I googled it and sure enough it said scientists recently found turtles meow, amongst other things.


Do your turtles meow? I'd never heard of this! I really thought I was loosing my mind.

It's an adult female eastern long neck.
It totally sounds like a sad cat.
Creeps me out.

 

[pinefamily]

Never heard a turtle meow, but I know our rabbits bark. They make a little barking noise when disturbed.

 

[Magixs]

Can you link me to where I can see/hear it?? Thanks,

 

[MANNING]

I'm not kidding.

PERFECT OPENING LINE

I'd like to see and hear this!

 

[Foozil]

does it sound like this?

 

[vampstorso]

does it sound like this?

Good job finding a video! Sometimes I forget about the beauty of YouTube


It's incredibly similar, just a little deeper and hence more depressed cat sounding. Like you'd hear from an annoying cat outside your window at night haha
That one sounds a little more bird/cat like...but yes definitely the same thing! Just a different noise because of species. But the same!

I'll have to find some time to research why they do it.

My husband seems to think I'm mental. But I know it's the turtle as I was leaning down next to her tank when she did it recently and it all just clicked! She was doing it last night and of course I told him to go listen and she stopped. I look crazy enough on my own without her help lol



Edit: just read the videos description mentioning it meowing due to RI.
I don't think our girl is unwell, but will look further into it. And actually read the article I mentioned about scientists and see if they also mention illness.

 

[MANNING]

Here's another.. maybe more like a cat

 

[PythonLegs]

Sounds like a pretty standard mating call to me..

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Australian turtles don't emit any sounds above the water audible to the human ear... unless suffering from a respiratory infection or injury.

 

[Damo1]

That's pretty cool

 

[azzmilan]

Australian turtles don't emit any sounds above the water audible to the human ear... unless suffering from a respiratory infection or injury.

I have seen that said before but am currently trying to google a combination that brings that up , like something scholarly . Do you know of anything ?

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

I have seen that said before but am currently trying to google a combination that brings that up , like something scholarly . Do you know of anything ?

No mate, Australia's freshwater turtles communicate via head bobbing and various poses which is most evident during courship.. they can and do emit low frequency sounds under water as a form of echo-location (the same as bats do in the night sky - there's some recorded examples of this somewhere I can try to dig up) to navigate their way in turbid waters or in pitch black darkness. They also communicate by the release of pheromones but there's definitely no vocal projection like say a frog does to call for a mate...

 

[MANNING]

Wasn't really sure where to put this but I've already posted a turtle vid in this thread.
@vampstorso- hope you don't mind

 

[danyjv]

Wasn't really sure where to put this but I've already posted a turtle vid in this thread.
@vampstorso- hope you don't mind

Funny as


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[snaketay]

Never knew those kinds of turtles meowed!! Really cool!!!