Why Is My Turtle Trying to Escape? Here Is What to Do

This is something that can happen to a lot of new turtle owners. I was also faced with this problem when I got my first turtle. Fortunately, this is something that can be solved pretty easily.

A turtle will try to escape its tank if it doesn’t have proper conditions. It’s normal for a turtle to try and escape a place with improper conditions, in search of a better place.

The most common reasons why a turtle will try to escape are:

Water Temperature
Dirty Water
Improper Diet
Pregnancy
Improper Basking Area
Wrong Basking Area Temperature
Stress
Scared

Turtles will try to escape their tank due to a lot of reasons like stress, bad diet, dirty water, bad basking area, etc. It’s normal for a turtle to try and escape a place with improper conditions, in search of a better place.

As you can see there are quite a few reasons, but don’t worry. All of them can be checked and solved very easily. So let’s take a closer look at each cause and see how to solve the problem.

Water Temperature

This is probably the most common problem that makes turtles want to get out of their tank.

Turtles need a temperature between 75 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit ( 24 and 27 degrees Celsius). They can live in water that is slightly colder or slightly warmer, but if the difference is too big they will try to get out and find a better place.

The solution for this problem is very simple, you simply have to adjust the water heater, or if you don’t have a water heater you simply have to get one.

If you need to buy a water heater make sure that you get one with an adjustable temperature, otherwise you won’t be able to properly control the temperature of the water. If you need help choosing a water heater you should check out the Recommended Gear Page, there you will find my recommendations for the best turtle care products, including water heaters.

Dirty Water

This is usually a big problem for new turtle owners since turtle tanks can get extremely dirty surprisingly fast.

If the water gets too dirty your turtle will try to leave, in search of a better and cleaner place where it can live. The solution is very simple, just change the water and clean the tank properly.

If you are not sure how to properly clean the tank, then check out this article, where you will find a guide that will tell you what you have to do step by step: Do Turtles Smell?

If you find that your water is getting dirty too fast, then you probably have another problem that you need to solve, I addressed this problem in this article: Why Does My Turtle Tank Smell? How to Get Rid of the Smell.

Improper Diet

While turtles are not very pretentious when it comes to food, if you don’t feed them enough food, or if you don’t give them the right food, they will try to leave in search of food.

To solve this problem you have to adjust the amount of food you give to your turtle as well as the food itself.

One great and simple way to give your turtle the correct amount of food is to use the size of the head method.

To put this method into practice is to find a small container, like a medicine cup, a shot glass, or a bottle cap. This container has to be approximately the same size as the head of your turtle, without the neck. Then you fill that container to the top with food. This is the amount of food that you should give your turtle every day.

As for the food itself, the right type of food will differ from turtle species to turtle species. But overall most turtle species are omnivores, which means that they eat fruits, vegetables, and meat. So a balanced turtle diet will contain all of the following.:

Fruits
Vegetables
Dried Insects
Fish
Meat
Pellets

Pregnancy

A pregnant turtle will act very strangely, she will stop eating, she will stop basking, she will try to dig everywhere, and she will try to escape the tank. Pregnant turtles don’t do this not because they don’t like the tank, they do this because they want to find a good place where they can lay the eggs.

Turtles usually lay their eggs in piles of leaves or holes that they dig, but never in water. So the tank is definitely not a suitable environment for this.

The first thing you have to do if you want to know if your turtle is really pregnant is to find out if it’s a male or a female, so you should read this article that is going to tell you if that’s the case: How to Tell If Your Turtle Is Male or Female (with Pictures).

And if your turtle is a female, and you want to know if she is pregnant, then you should read this article where you will find all the info you need: How to Tell if Your Turtle Is Pregnant.

If your turtle is pregnant there is nothing that you can do to make her calm down. You will have to wait for her to lay the eggs.

One important thing about turtles is that they can get pregnant even if there is no male around. The difference is that the eggs won’t be fertilized so no baby will come out of them. So even if you only have a female turtle she can still lay eggs.

No Basking Area

If you are a complete beginner when it comes to turtles and you don’t know too much about them, then it’s possible that you don’t know that turtles need a basking area.

A basking area is an area close to the tank where turtles can stay on dry land and get UVB light and heat for their body.

If you don’t have a basking area for your turtle you should get one immediately, so I strongly suggest you read this article that talks in more detail about how you can make a proper basking area: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area

Basking Area Temperature

If the basking temperature is too high or too low, your turtle won’t be able to bask, so it will try to leave in search of a proper place where it can.

If the temperature is too high your turtle can get burnt, and they will avoid the basking area. If the temperature is too low then they won’t be able to properly heat themselves, so they will again leave to search for a better place.

This is probably the easiest thing to fix. Start by checking the temperature of the basking area with a thermometer. If the temperature is too low, then move the heating bulb slightly closer to your turtle, or get a more powerful bulb. Be careful not to bring the bulb too close, it can burn the turtle if it’s too close.

If the temperature is too high, you can either get a less powerful heat bulb or move the bulb further away from your turtle.

In general, the temperature should be between 85 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit (29 and 32 degrees Celsius). But depending on the species of the turtle the temperature can slightly differ.

If you are not sure how to properly manage a basking area you should read this guide: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area. There you will find the information you need, including the exact temperatures, how far the heat bulb should be from the turtle, and many more.

Stress

Turtles get stressed very easily. They can get stressed by excessive noises, by other pets, by improper handling, and many other things.

If your turtle gets stressed out, they will stop basking, eating, and sometimes they will even try to escape from their tank.

In this case, you have to eliminate all sources of stress. So let me give you a few examples of what could stress your turtle.

A loud stereos system that is placed right near the tank can cause a lot of stress for a turtle. A cat or a dog that is always trying to get in the tank can also cause a lot of stress. The best way to figure out if something is stressing the turtle is to try to put yourself in the turtle’s place. If you think that something would stress you, then it definitely stresses the turtle.

After you eliminate the stress sources your turtle should start to calm down soon, and it will go back to its normal behavior.

Scared

If you just got your turtle, then it’s absolutely normal for it to behave strangely. So it’s really common to see a turtle trying to escape during the first days in a new home.

Turtles can get scared very easily, and moving from a place to another can be very frightening for them. They will go from a small cramped tank, that they share with multiple turtles, to a new spacious tank where they can live alone. And if they were sent through the mail, they will be even more scared.

If this is the case for your turtle, you just have to leave your turtle to calm down a little. After about a week your turtle will get used to the new environment and will start acting normally. There is nothing you can do in this case, just make sure that you don’t scare your turtle any further.

Common Questions

Should I leave the light on for my turtle at night? No turtles don’t need a source of light during the night. So there is no need for one. But if you want to see your turtles during the night, there are some special red or blue lights that won’t disturb the turtles and will allow you to see them clearly.

Do all turtles bask? No, not all turtles need to bask. But most turtles that end up as pets need to bask, so you have to provide a proper basking area for them.

How often do you have to clean out a turtle tank? A good practice is to clean the tank once a week. But if you want to be more precise you can always buy a water ph test that will tell you exactly if the tank needs to be cleaned or not.

Final Thoughts

I hope you will be able to find and solve your problem with the help of this article. But if you tried everything in this article and your turtle is still trying to get out, I would suggest you take your turtle to the vet. If there is nothing wrong with the tank, the water in the tank, the diet, and the basking area, there is a chance that your turtle might be sick, and the only way to know for sure is to go to a vet.