General Care Discussion :: how to make my turtle more outgoing?

[kc]

my turtle has always been a shy one. how can i make her more friendly to me and not scare of me? what do you people do or how do you train them to be not scared? i've had mine for almost 2 years now, is it too late to train them?
i mean should i just leave her in her tank and never disturbe her ever again or should i constantly take her out in the house and house to interact with me? or any other suggestions?

[Tenodera]

You should try handfeeding her.

Taking her out constantly would just make her more scared of you.

Hope something works!

Kevin

[megcornell]

I've had my turtle Leo for a year and change now, and she isn't crazy about interacting with me. I just think some turtles are more "social" with their owners than others. I tried letting Leo out to explore a few times and she always hid behind the tv stand in the darkest corner of the living room, I found it cruel to try to push her more, so I've stopped letting her out, and I think she's much happier that way. We have a pretty simple relationship, I feed her and clean her tank, and she does nothing, I'm pretty sure I'm getting the short end of the stick but I never really considered turtles "hands on" pets anyways. Leo doesn't jump off her basking dock when I enter the room, but that's about as far as her tolerance of me goes.

So perhaps you just have a shy turtle, and she likes to keep to herself. As Kevin said, you can try handfeeding her, but just be careful that she doesn't nip your fingertips by accident.

[Twoster]

ditto what tenodera said..my turt was crazy shy when i first got him..and i started handfeeding him pellets (hes less than 2 inches, any bigger than that, and i cant vouch for if the bite hurts or not!..lol) and now hes VERY social..he used to be really skiddish and take off and hide real quick..now i hardly ever see him do that, unless i bump his tank by accident..*oops

[SpotsMama]

Spot's four and i think that it's only in the last year that he's become really friendly. He got friendlier as he got bigger. He's grown now. I think some turtles are friendly at an earlier age but like was said above, they have their own individual personalities and some are more outgoing than others.

But give it time! How long does a turtle live? If she stays healthy, she will be around for 20 or 30 years...or even more. If you look at it that way, two years isn't very long!

I think you should have some sort of interaction with your turtle every day. If it seems to stress her out, then you probably shouldn't be taking her out all the time but you can look for non-stressful ways to communicate. Hand feeding is great. Talking to her and making eye contact are good. You probably should be checking your turtle's shell and skin, and this will mean picking her up occasionally.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Food is a great motivator as other people have already mentioned. Hand-feeding goes a long way. You could take the amount of food that you give your turtle daily & divide it into several parts/pieces, and hand feed a little bit each time you walk past the tank. After several weeks of this, your turtle will start clawing the glass & begging every time he/she sees you!

Also, having the tank in an area where there are quite a few people (who don't bother the turtle, but simply just go about their business) is a good way to socialize them more too. If they see people all the time, they get used to people being around and they won't be as scared.

Agreed that you don't have to handle your turtle a lot. This can make them stressed. In my case, I feed my turt in a separate pan of water so she is used to being out of her tank when she is fed. She knows the drill: I take her out, dry her off with a towel, she walks behind me into the kitchen where her food pan is already ready. I pick her up, put her in the pan of water & give her food. So my turtle is very used to this & loves to be out of her tank because she knows 9 times out of 10 she is going to get some food (or at least a treat).

It all depends on the turtle's personality. Don't expect results right away. Results can take years to develop. Trust me, after 17 yrs with Sheba I know about a relationship with a turtle "taking years to develop!" LOL! Enjoy the trip! It's worth it.

[marisa]

I have a painted turtle that is scared of his own shadow, and flinches at any movement I make. I have other painteds and my RES, who could care less if I'm around them and just stay put. Time can improve your RES's sociability, but some turtles are just less skittish than others.

[kc]

i use to hand feed my turtle, but now that she's grown, i don't want to hand feed her anymore because i've noticed that she can't tell the difference between my fingers and the turtle pellets. though she doesn't bite me when i touch her or hold her.
she is very social when she is in her regular tank. it's just that she's really scared anywhere else.
i would love to try to develop a routine which i can take her out and feed her but whenever i do that, she just won't eat. should i continue trying to take her out and give her food even though she doesn't want to eat? will they eat until they are really hungry or will they rather die then eating in a different place?
thanks for all your responses, by the way.

[DavidY]

If she's really scared when she's outside of her tank it would probably better not to stress her out if it's not necessary. If would rather she learn to get used to being somewhere other than in her tank, you could try it gradually. Does she mind it if you hold her? If she seems calm when you hold her, you could try walking around the room for a few minutes while she's in your hands and let her get a feel for being in other parts of the room or house. Start out with brief outings but return her to her tank before she gets scared. Then try letting her walk around while you sit next to her.

If you want her to learn to eat in a separate feeding tub, just let her check it out a couple of times really briefly at first and then if she seems like she's calming down about it, let her stay in there a few minutes longer, but always put her back in her tank so she knows that she can always go back to her safe place. If she can learn that other areas outside her tank are also safe, hopefully she'll get used to it. If she really freaks out everytime you try to take her out even for brief periods, you may not want to push it.

[industrial_girl_2000]

i use to hand feed my turtle, but now that she's grown, i don't want to hand feed her anymore because i've noticed that she can't tell the difference between my fingers and the turtle pellets. though she doesn't bite me when i touch her or hold her.
she is very social when she is in her regular tank. it's just that she's really scared anywhere else.
i would love to try to develop a routine which i can take her out and feed her but whenever i do that, she just won't eat. should i continue trying to take her out and give her food even though she doesn't want to eat? will they eat until they are really hungry or will they rather die then eating in a different place?
thanks for all your responses, by the way.

Read my response above, about how I feed Sheba in a separate dishpan of water outside of her tank (I do this to keep her tank more clean & it really works & she is used to this now).

FYI - when I feed Sheba something like boiled sweet potato, I always feed her with a baby spoon so she doesn't get my fingers. This works great & I have been doing it since she was 7" in length!

[Impulse Shopper]

You could take the amount of food that you give your turtle daily & divide it into several parts/pieces, and hand feed a little bit each time you walk past the tank.

Good idea! Don't think that will work with George. He's stubborn. He'd have to be pretty darn hungry and I'm not going to starve him, of course. He seems pretty good at going without food, especially when I'm close to home on the weekends.

After several weeks of this, your turtle will start clawing the glass & begging every time he/she sees you!

I wish!

Also, having the tank in an area where there are quite a few people (who don't bother the turtle, but simply just go about their business) is a good way to socialize them more too. If they see people all the time, they get used to people being around and they won't be as scared.

George definitely observes the action.

[quote[ Agreed that you don't have to handle your turtle a lot. This can make them stressed. In my case, I feed my turt in a separate pan of water so she is used to being out of her tank when she is fed. She knows the drill: I take her out, dry her off with a towel [/quote]

Huh? Is this a common practice?

she walks behind me into the kitchen where her food pan is already ready. I pick her up, put her in the pan of water & give her food. So my turtle is very used to this & loves to be out of her tank because she knows 9 times out of 10 she is going to get some food (or at least a treat).

So cool. How old is she?

It all depends on the turtle's personality. Don't expect results right away. Results can take years to develop. Trust me, after 17 yrs with Sheba I know about a relationship with a turtle "taking years to develop!" LOL! Enjoy the trip! It's worth it.

Awesome! Thank you for sharing!!!

[Impulse Shopper]

Does she mind it if you hold her? If she seems calm when you hold her, you could try walking around the room for a few minutes while she's in your hands and let her get a feel for being in other parts of the room or house.

Great idea! I handle George every day, hold him and talk to him, and when I do, I lift him up high so he can get a different perspective on things. He looks around when great curiosity when I do that, so I'll try the casual stroll around the house with him. He squirms a lot sometimes, so it takes two hands to hold that fella; he crawls from one hand to the other.

If she can learn that other areas outside her tank are also safe

...such as my hands. Depends on his mood, and never for long thus far.