Before we get to why a turtle stretches their neck, it is important to have an understanding of the important role that a turtle’s neck plays in their everyday life.
Since most of the turtle’s body is hidden inside the shell, a turtle’s neck is one of its most distinct features. Interestingly enough, a turtle’s neck has a very active and important role in a turtle’s everyday activities.
For example, the neck of a turtle is an essential component in the turtle’s ability to swim. The neck help steer and guide the turtle to where they want to go. Additionally, a turtle primarily uses its neck to flip themselves back over whenever they get stuck on their back.
Now that you know the important roles the neck plays in a turtle’s life, you probably want to know why a turtle stretches their neck.
Why is my turtle stretching its neck?
The main reason a turtle is stretching its neck is to train for hunting, basking, and stretching.
Hunting
While the majority of a turtle’s diet consists of plants, they do catch live prey. Most of their prey include crickets, small fish, and worms. Since a turtle’s body isn’t very fast, they have to rely on the quickness of their neck. Therefore, a turtle stretches its neck to prepare themselves for hunting.
Since a turtle’s neck allows their head to shoot out and grab their prey, having a nimble neck allows them to capture their prey.
Basking
If you are familiar with turtles, you probably know that they love to bask. Basking is a very important activity for turtles. Since they are cold blooded reptiles, it is very hard for turtles to control their internal body temperature. Basking allows them to keep warm and absorb UV rays from the sun. The UV rays actually provide valuable vitamins for the turtle.
For this reason, a turtle will sometimes stretch out their neck and limbs to maximize the amount of rays hitting their skin.
If you need a new basking light for your turtle, I recommend this 2 in 1 heat lamp:
Reptile Heat Lamp Turtle Lights with Clip, 3 UVA UVB Bulbs
Stretching
As I mentioned earlier, a turtle utilizes its neck frequently on a daily basis. From swimming, eating, to basking, there are many reasons why a turtle has to activate its neck muscle. Therefore, just like how humans like to stretch out a tired muscle, turtles do the same. The more mobile and flexible a turtle’s neck is, the greater mobility it has.
Should I be worried if my turtle keeps stretching its neck?
Absolutely not. As you read above, a turtle stretching its neck is a very normal and natural activity. There is no need to worry about a turtle that keeps sticking out its neck.
You should pay attention to the skin on your turtle’s neck. Sometimes, a turtle’s neck will develop white spots. This usually means that the water in your turtle tank is hard.
Which turtles have the longest necks?
Now that you have already read a lot about turtle necks, you may be wondering which species has the longest. The turtle with the longest neck is the Snake-Necked turtle. Their necks can reach up to 5 inches long, which can sometimes even be longer than their shell.
Similar to the African Side Neck Turtles, the snake necked turtle can bend their neck sideways to fit inside their shell. They do this in order to protect themselves from predators.
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