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Do turtles make sounds to communicate with each other that we can't hear?

I don't think so - mine use body language. I have heard only one sound, and it came from only one of my turtles, and that was a hissing sound directed towards my son.

Other than that its alot of head bobs, and paw waggling

oooo res hiss?
paw waggling lol

Yes my largest one will raise itself up on its dock and open its mouth and hiss when my son reaches in to pet it (in no way does it sound like a cats hiss, but more of a leaky tire with no pressure )

our Male RES often whistles. he stands on his hind legs and stretches him self out and pokes just the tip of his nose out of the water and will start whistling. i am not sure if it is intentional or if we just happen to have an asthmatic Turtle as well as an asthmatic cat.

My turtle hisses. I let him crawl around on the floor when I clean his tank, and he gets pissed off when the cat gets too close to him. I personally think that it's very funny that my *turtle* hisses at my *cat*!

Greenless wrote:our Male RES often whistles. he stands on his hind legs and stretches him self out and pokes just the tip of his nose out of the water and will start whistling. i am not sure if it is intentional or if we just happen to have an asthmatic Turtle as well as an asthmatic cat.

Is it really a whistling sound, or more like a weezing? Turtles should not be weezing/whistling like that.

I can hear a whistle sometimes when mine catches a breath. Usually when she's exerting herself.

Mine hiss..they sound like cats to me haha

Today when I was cleaning out my pixie tank I had it in a small container on the shelf next to my dock. My largest turtle got into a noise fight with the frog. Was rather strange hearing less vocal animals going at it

Reptar hisses when you go to clean his tank and put him in a container, but he will only do it to my sister. no idea why but he HATES my sister when shes around and im not cleaning the tank he just faces away from her or does the dominance dance but if shes around when hes out, Reptar will freak out on her

The hissing is the sound of the turtle quickly moving all his limbs and neck inside its shell. It's the air escaping. Mine does it, sometimes I feel bad because that means I scared/startled her..

Well... turtles have internal ears... so, in a way they are "deaf", and use "sign language" to communicate. I know for a fact that aquatic turtles do not have vocal chords, but tortoises CAN vocalize to a small degree.

My female, when im cleaning her tank and she has to be in a box, will hiss every time i walk by. I imagine shes thinking,
"i hatttteee youuuuuu *hisssssss"
lol : P

I have a yellow bellied slider that I rescued from the middle of a 7 lane road 2 years ago. He is in good health and eats regularly, being particularly fond of bacon bits. Until he got familiar with me he too made the "hissing" noises when touched or bothered. Now, however, he doesn't even retract his head if I pick him up. I have discovered when he is hungry OR when I feed him but he wants more food, he will make a noise similar to a "moaning" sound. It is almost like a dog whimpering, kind of a high-pitched "ummm, ummm". Many describe similar sounds as respiratory infections, but I am positive my turtle is healthy. Has anyone else observed this kind of sound? Thanks!