Posted: Thu Feb 02, 2006 1:10 am
I think it varies. The fluttering of the paws could mean aggression, mating, or simply a game. It varies by age, size of the turtles, personality of the turtle(s), and size of the enclosure. You mention that you have 2 males and 1 female. How big is your enclosure? Small enclosures usually lead to aggression in a lot of cases. It can also mean the "mating dance" if it involves the male & female. When males do it, it usually is a territorial thing. In summary, it is normal for turtles to do that but it is your job to figure if it's in a negative or positive way.
I tried introducing Monster who's about 2 inches (1 of my baby res) to Survivor who's about 3-4 times Monster's size (12+ year old male). I didn't put them together in the tank or out of it. This could go bad and I didn't risk it. I just held Monster in my hand and just showed to Survivor who was inside the tank (through the glass). Immediately, Survivor started fluttering his paws. I didn't see Survivor try to snap at Monster through the glass (like he use to do with his self image) but I can tell that Survivor might not have welcome Monster in his tank even for a few minutes.