Other Turtle Discussion :: Strong believer in NOT picking up turtles!

[CassieJade]

Picking up and holding a turtle is not natural. Like to give them as close to a natural life as I can.
Let me know what you think about it. Post your thoughts.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I agree.

Welcome to the board!

[jenaero]

My thoughts:

1. I'm not a fan of handling if it's not necessary. I pick them up to check them out once a week or when moving them while cleaning. There is no 'play time' outside their tank.

2. Please re-size your avatar. As you can see, it distorts the posts.

thanks

[CassieJade]

I figured out the avatar thing! Ha Ha Finally.

[coreyvht]

i loke to have mine run around the house to get some exercise

i think its fun sometimes to hold them

[Sir Max]

I love letting my little guy stair-walk on my hands every now and then

i dont see anything wrong with it

ALOT of things are not natural come on now

[LilTurtSquirt]

[Turtle Mummy 101]

I agree with LilTurtSquirt. Handling is ok, as long as your RES is comfortable and it's not done in excess. I only handle Charlotte for a few minutes a couple times a week. She loves to have her shell rubbed

[worldpeace]

My RES get handled a lot in the summer when I take them out in the backyard everyday for a few hours. In the winter I rarely interact with them, although I do let them roam around my room a few times a month just to stretch their legs.

[sull324]

The worse thing you can do to an animal is to take it out of is natural habitat just for your entertainment.

I have 2 res,do they like being handled?,no.
Will they get use to it?,probably.
Will they even enjoy it at some point?,maybe.

As long as you fill the animals basic need correctly i see no issue trying to tame it,since it will live with humans forever might as well make it use to it.

[Seroster]

Heh, my guy/gal isn't a big fan of the touchy-feely stuff, so I leave it to itself most of the time. Only reasons I usually grab em is to move them to another enclosure or clean their shell. My mom likes to try to "pet" em with her finger a lot, she doesn't believe me when I tell her the turtle doesn't think much of that.

She says she wants him to rub up against her finger, sounds to me like she's thinking cat instead of turtle. More likely scenario is she's gonna get bit, which she did the one time she tried to hand feed em.

[mike hill]

Cass-J I agree with you, however, it is necessary to put them in a feeding tank, clean their carapace when necessary. It is unnatural for them. When you do, support them by letting them rest in you hand under the plastron.

[imderanged]

I handle Pickle only occasionally. I'm not trying to cuddle with him. I take him out if I am doing water changes so that the temp change doesn't shock him, and every so often I like to have a good look at him all over to make sure his shell is in good condition and there are no problems. I take him out for pictures sometimes too, but I try not to let picture taking sessions get too long. If I get the urge to "play" with him I usually do so with him still in his tank. If I put my hand in the tank he will follow it around and swim into my hand. This kind of handling seems to be much less stressful to him than picking him up.

[theartbook35]

I really don't see an issue with handling my turtles. I handle them often. They don't bite, hiss, or scratch. Hurricane prefers to be handled by my mother, Typhoon prefers to be handled by me. They are comfortable and trusting of both of us.

For me and them it works well. Hurricane is like an ADHD turtle, so he/she loves to stair-walk on my hands. He/she will stop for a few moments, look around, stare up at me, then go back into running nowhere fast all over again. I usually pet Typhoon's shell, or hold her against my chest and rock her back and forth. Normally, that kind of movement would bother a turtle, but she doesn't ever care. She has this obsession with staring at me, and other people, too. She feels very safe and secure if I'm at eye level with her. Human children act the same way, so, I find this very cool.

It helps to, when they are introduced to someone new. They know the routine, so, a new person handling them doesn't upset them. I've let plenty of preschoolers and older kids handle them, and they don't mind. This will make vet trips much less stressful. Tank cleaning also have a strict routine, that they know well, and they are very tolerant of things in the tank not being in the same place. The last two basking docks I've put in, they've used just a few hours after they were installed.

Besides, like it was said before, nothing about my turtles' tank is "natural". Regardless, they have retained plenty of wild characteristics.

If handling made them feel unsafe or unhappy, I wouldn't do it. Granted, the first tme you handle your turtle they may react defensively because they don't know what it is. As long as you support their feet, and hold them fairly tightly (hatchlings like to be swaddled), they will feel safe. The second time around, they know what's coming.

[bigG]

I generally don't pick up my RES unless I have to clean the tank. I used to feed them in a separate tank. So, my turtles are used to being picked up. In fact, when my female RES has her gravid moments, she puts on quite a display and I will take her outside so she can dig a nest.