Other Turtle Discussion :: Pee as a Defense?

[gdesigner]

Do turtles pee on you as a defense mechanism, because my Spike sometimes pees on me when I'm holding her for a couple of minutes, lol. I was just wondering if she consciously does it on purpose.

[my.lovely.turtle.]

I have no evidence but I'm guessing it is because they are scared.

[jozzep]

I have no evidence but I'm guessing it is because they are scared.

This would make more sense.

[my.lovely.turtle.]

Peeing usually happens if they are being held for a long period of time, maybe even a short while. They are not the type of pets to be held all the time. Some turtles startle easier than others.

[emma]

Mine do sometimes, if I hold them for 10 minutes or longer.

[gdesigner]

Lol, yea it only happens sometimes, and most of the time it happens in less than 5 minute.

[worldpeace]

Unlike you guys' turtles that pee after a few minutes, my female does it as soon as I pick her up from the tank. I was tired of cleaning up mess after mess, so what I do now is pick her up and hold her over the tank for about 30 seconds so she can pee in the tank and not on me or the floor. And yes, I do think that it's her defense mechanism. The funny thing is, the male has never peed while being out of the tank and he's the shy one of the two.

[marisa]

Yup.

[KnTucker]

Hehe... worldpeace my turtle does the same thing! I hold her over the tank for a bit too. However, she's stopped doing it now for the most part. I do believe it's because they get scared. When I first started taking care of her she did this all the time as she didn't know me. But today I got my first confirmation that she's getting used to me...Not only did she not pee, she also let me scratch her shell and moved her butt back and forth to get the most out of it! =D

[Kemul]

I think the turtle peeing could be sign of being scared, stressed, or excited.
In my turtle's case, I think of it like a puppy being excited when picked up,
because of the flailing of front and back legs.

[sagoy]

My turtles do that to me as well. It's the move called "Water gun"... lulz

[AllTheCandies]

LOL WATER GUN.
mine do this sometimes. Stoli peed all over my bed the other day...

[sagoy]

When they get older, and much wiser with experience, they'll learn how to use "Hydro pump".

[blackforces get you]

haha. i see it as a defense. mine dont pee till after i pick them up. that tells me they dont wanna be picked up

[theartbook35]

Sadie on rare occasions will pee on my mother. Hurricane, she vacates her bowls almost every time we pick her up. Typhoon doesn't pee on me, or bite me, or even try to get away, for that matter.

There's no such thing as a litter box or toilet for turtles. When ya gotta go, ya gotta go. I'm sure it's probably a defensive thing too. Ultimately, snakes are more affectionate than turtles, lol.