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Hi all. I just added a new RES to my outdoor pond. He's been happily swimming around and sunning himself since day one (it's been about a month). He also eats all the food I give him, so i'm assuming he's healthy and happy. When I approach the pond at feeding time he immediately darts into the water and hides. I understand the instinct to do that, but I was wondering if he'll ever become less fearful of me.

Thanks all, great forum, I've already learned alot.

At some point he'll associate you with food, take it from your hands and might swim up to you, but he'll still be skittish. Even those RES kept indoors can occasionally be skittish but not nearly as much.

my little turt does quite the same. He gets startled at my sudden movements, but then after he realizes I'm bringing him food he comes right back up to the surface. The turtle may or may not grow out of skittishness. I would probably do the same thing if I was a little turtle and a huge human was coming at me

When i have my turtles inside they have no fear and go crazy when i come near. When they're outside though for the summer in stock tanks they actually act more like wild turtles and dont come right up. So he might never come out of it being outside.

That instinct to flee, especially in an outdoor pond, can be virtually impossible to break, although it does in some part depend on the turtle. I've got two Eastern painteds that rarely move a muscle on their basking areas when they're inside for the winter and I walk up to their tank. They're currently outside in a 300-stock tank, though, and the second they see me coming they jump off their basking areas into the water. My RES, however, usually lets me walk right up to him when he's basking, whether it be inside our outside in a stock tank.

I don't have my RES in a outdoor pond but I have noticed when I first got him he was very skittish but now he rarely is. Give them some time they might get used to you.

Diamondbacks4Life wrote:When i have my turtles inside they have no fear and go crazy when i come near. When they're outside though for the summer in stock tanks they actually act more like wild turtles and dont come right up. So he might never come out of it being outside.

My Runt does the same, but Rocky is more relaxed and stay on his basking spot and ignore me. Runt would dash into the water