You can wear red, white, yellow, and even multicolored polka dot shoes in front of your tortoise, and he won’t bat an eyelid. But don’t you dare cross him in a pair of black shoes, or he’ll headbutt you!
Do turtles hate the color black?
We’ll explain why some turtles have an aversion to certain colors in this article. To find out more about your turtle’s little quirks, make sure you read on!
Key Takeaway:
Turtles have a lot of black-colored predators in their natural habitat. These include snakes, ravens, and crows. Your turtle might show aggression towards black objects to defend himself from a predator.
So what can you do to put your turtle’s mind at ease?
Start buying white shoes only?
Check out some of the tricks that will help you solve this problem coming up next in this article.
Table of Contents
Why Do Turtles Attack Black Things?
You’ve made that mistake again.
You’re wearing black shoes and your turtle is not having any of it. He charges across the room and makes a beeline straight for your feet.
Now, you’ve been experimenting and your turtle only shows its aggressive side when you’re wearing black shoes. It’s rather funny, but you’d still like to get to the bottom of it.
Do turtles hate the black color?
Coming up next, we’ll be discussing your turtle’s somewhat irrational fear of the color black and what you can do to stop your ankle bone from getting jammed every time you put your shoes on.
Why Do Turtles Attack Black Shoes?
Your turtle is super smart and is usually a pretty chill pet. That is, of course, until you pull out your black shoes.
He then becomes aggressive and starts to attack the shoes.
Why do turtles hit black shoes?
Turtles don’t like black shoes because they often think of their natural predators when they see the color black. Turtles have a lot of potential predators that are black and can confuse a normal household item like a black shoe with a perceived threat.
Some of their predators are:
- Black snakes
- Crows
- Ravens
Your turtle may also go for your black shoes in a full-out attack because he thinks it’s another turtle. Turtles are often feisty with one another.
So, what can you do to stop your turtle from attacking your black shoes?
Well, one way that we must admit is a little extreme is to stop wearing black shoes. Wear white shoes or any non-black shoes, and see if your turtle calms down.
If you’ve stopped buying black shoes and only wear white ones for your turtle, then that’s real dedication!
Another way around the problem is to wear white shoes around the house and then put your black ones back on when you’re out of your turtle’s sight. After all, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him!
Other pet turtle owners have tried simply insisting on wearing black footwear without letup or leaving a black shoe hanging around until their turtles or tortoises calmed down.
Why Do Turtles Attack Black Items?
Your pet turtle likes to shell bash every black object in your home. He’s fine with other colors, but he cannot walk past black objects without charging into them at full speed.
So you may wonder, is your tortoise racist, or is this just his natural instinct?
Ok, so we know he’s not racist.
But what is the problem? Why turtle attack black?
The real reason turtles hate black color objects is because they presume they are predators. In the wild, black snakes, crows, and ravens attack turtle eggs.
Turtles and tortoises have an aversion to black objects because they think they are dangerous. They may also confuse them with other turtles and tortoises that they want to pick a fight with.
Yup, these reptiles are fond of territorial shell-knocking!
So, what can you do to put your tortoise at ease?
One way is to hide black items from his sight. But this might be a little tricky in the long run.
Another way is to allow your tortoise to have exposure to every color item, including black ones, and let him get used to them. Tortoises are intelligent animals and will, in time, recognize the item and stop seeing it as a threat.
A Fashion-Conscious Tortoise
I bet you and your friends loved that one clip of the tortoise that refuses to let Harry Vines or anyone else in his home wear black footwear. The videos show how the tortoise ignores the grey shoe, white, and every other color and directly charges at the black one.
This is just one example of a fashionista tortoise that clearly is not fond of black footwear!
Understanding Why Turtles Hate Black Shoes
Is your tortoise pretty laid back until he sees a black object?
He’s fine with the color red, white, and every other. But dare he spot those dreaded black shoes, and he’ll come charging straight at them!
This article has helped us to see that turtles have an instinct that makes them aggressive toward black objects. They associate the color black with predators from their natural habitat and charge at them.
Did you find the information in this article interesting?
At Oddly Cute Pets, we are always striving to provide you with the best information about turtles and tortoises. For more help with taking care of these reptiles, check out our website.
Thanks for reading!
