Uploaded January 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This is a wood turtle tapping for food. Not all do this to my knowledge but those that do this do it regularly, and this little “dance” is designed to draw earthworms to the surface, and to cause other small critters nearby to move so they can be easily seen and snatched.
The turtle shown here (as well as the one that enters the scene for a moment) are eighteen months old and will continue this lifelong while others never seem to perform this act, and to my knowledge no other turtle species does this but I am not certain.
I train these to do this by rubbing an earthworm in their enclosure without actually giving them the worm, and when they detect the scent some will develop the habit of thumping the ground to make the worm “appear”……….. even if it’s dropped in front of them following a little performance to show them their little act seems to be working :-)
This is a wood turtle tapping for food. Not all do this to my knowledge but those that do this do it regularly, and this little “dance” is designed to draw earthworms to the surface, and to cause other small critters nearby to move so they can be easily seen and snatched.
The turtle shown here (as well as the one that enters the scene for a moment) are eighteen months old and will continue this lifelong while others never seem to perform this act, and to my knowledge no other turtle species does this but I am not certain.
I train these to do this by rubbing an earthworm in their enclosure without actually giving them the worm, and when they detect the scent some will develop the habit of thumping the ground to make the worm “appear”……….. even if it’s dropped in front of them following a little performance to show them their little act seems to be working :-)
