Whenever I play the oboe, my turtle seems to become more active and swims vigorously, if not frantically. Do you think he is trying to escape the sound, or is it actually stimulating for him? Are there certain frequencies which are good or bad for reptiles? He has been raised on all types of music, but only seems affected by the oboe. Has anyone had a similar experience with their pet? Much appreciated. Oboe!

Hi Cheeky,
I have two dogs, which aren`t coldblooded like reptiles (duh), but when I first played sax when they were puppies, they went crazy. Now, they actually sometimes get hyper, when I play sax or clarinet. (alto sax and Bb Clarinet work more) so... I don`t know if its a howl thing or the frequency that sets mine off. If I knew how to play oboe, i`d test that. Also, one of them howls to my sax sometimes, it`s really quite entertaining to watch.
Perhaps the density of the shell and the coldblooded thing help change the frequency and make your turlte skitsefretic. (I can`t spell big words) One thing, depending on rather your turtle goes crazy when you play high or low, the sound may vibrate his shell in a consistancy that is extremly irratating to him/her/it/whatever doesn`t offend you. He may be trying to run away, which would be bad. But, It hasn`t caused any fatal side effects yet, and gives your turtle exercise, so probably not.

i know of a girl who was a bassoon major in university. whenever she played around her cats, they always tried to run and hide from the sound.

Thank you for your replies. Looks like I may be needing an animal psychologist who also knows music and many other things. I will also ask the moderator for a "how music affects your pets" section on this forum. cheeky.

I think Wildband may be right. The vibration may be at the same note, or frequency as the turtles shell. Practice your scales and try to determine which notes are the worst. We all know of the phenomenom of snake charmers. There is some documentation about how music effects a reptilian brain. Find all the information you can on the net. I`m only suggesting this so you can avoid those costly animal psychologist fees! Your money would be better spent on reeds.

P.S. Cheeky, before I pondered my reply, I thought you said "thank you for your reptiles". The story about the sensitive cats was very good as well. I agree we need more topics on this forum. A section on dogs that howl and sing is blatently lacking.

Holy catfish! I have just been speaking with a girl who went to university to study the clarinet and while she was gone her fish stopped eating. She says that she had to come home every 2 weeks to play the clarinet and feed the fish. We must get a section on this forum, or start a new one for our pets.

try Rachels forum, she might add one

Another thought I`ve had regarding your turtle has to do with perhaps the oboe vibrating the pond. perhaps the ponds vibrations spur the turtle to go crazy for some reason. (maybe it thinks the apocylasp is coming, though this would only be the case temporarly, being as your turtle would get used to it) This is not as likely as the other reasons above, but I considered it possible.

Wildband, you are right, again. Footsteps on the floor vibrate the pond, or the "turtle tank" and alarm him as well. When anything rattles or noise is heard, he dives for cover, so he must think it`s either the apocalypse or some form or predator. The doctor did in fact diagnose this, and has prevented me from bringing trombones or any of the louder horns into the household for jam sessions. Also no turning on food processor or blender. I am supposed to play classical music on the stereo, pre-selected for consistency in volume, and gradually increase the overall volume within the next 3 months. I will be making a CD of some of mine and his favourites. Thanks again for your concern and help.

Well, I may or may not add a section on how music affects animals. I can`t make any rash promises.

But one thing I CAN promise is that I will NOT delete any threads on that subject.

My mum had some slow classical music on once, and my cat went into a sort of trance.

Once we`ve finished with the turtle discussion, could we come to my site?

Hey Rachel what is your website, I wanna go on the forum




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