Red-Eared Slider Turtle

Question
I adopted a Red-Eared Slider Turtle about five months ago, and it has been getting fairly big. Recently, he/she has been making this strange noise when he/she knows I am watching him/her. He/she will stretch its neck out and make barely audible sound (very high pitch). It never did this before. Is this normal?  What does this behavior indicate?  I have searched the internet regarding such behavior, but never found any.

Answer
Well, stretching the neck out is either a basking behavior, or possibly a pre-courtship, or the sign of a turtle that has learned to identify you with food.

I'm betting on the food part!

Ultrasonics are fairly common in some reptiles and other animals, but I do not know if they have ever been found in turtles before.

Either there is something else going on here (many light sources, for example, give off very high frequncy sounds), or you may have stumbled on something new.

If you can duplicate the noise in other conditions (like outside, or away from the usual cage or room), then I think I would mention it to the folks in the biology dept. at your local college or contact someone at a nearby reptile club or something. You may have discovered something very interesting!

The place I usually go for help and advice is the California Turtle and Tortoise Club- www.tortoise.org