General Care Discussion :: Whats the best way to get a turtle to let go of a finger...

[MoreBloodWine]

Grant it Nikos somewhere between 3.5 - 4" so he/shes still relatively small. Anyway, I hand feed Niko sometimes and sometimes I regret it bec Niko ends up getting my finger really good and doesnt release sometimes for 30 seconds if not longer and it really hurts bec its right at the tip of the finger. Well, aside from smackin Niko around which I'd never to I try to gently thrash him around in the water (like a wave just hit) til release but that doesnt always work. So ya, whats the best way to get a turtle to let go of a finger or is it always gonna be a wait through the pain kind of thing.

Whats really bad was the first time bec I made the mistake of pullin Niko out of the water so this jerking motion started happening. Nikos still does the jerking thing in the waterb ut not as bad... either way it still hurts pretty bad because it's always the tip of the finger.

[jay2487]

Well eventually he will be strong enough to take the end of your finger off, so either get bigger food to get your finger further away from his mouth or stop feeding by hand. The only way I know to make them let go is not PETA approved lol, I use the flick in the head method. To prevent this, don't let him get your finger! lol

[SINI5T3R]

The jerking motion maybe just means when u pulled him out, you probably did it too fast and the turtle was not ready for it and it prob just pulled a muscle in the neck or something of that sort. small turtles believe it or not are pretty easy to hurt...

[MoreBloodWine]

The jerking motion is more of a wiggle liek a fish out of water. In Nikos case it's like trying to get a piece of stuck food. Reptomins easy to hand feed but its the Mazouri that chances a finger bite.

[SINI5T3R]

The jerking motion is more of a wiggle liek a fish out of water. In Nikos case it's like trying to get a piece of stuck food. Reptomins easy to hand feed but its the Mazouri that chances a finger bite.

Yeah it sounds like a little muscle might of got pulled but those heal pretty easy. just dont pick him up for a few days I guess. Also if you dont want to get ur fingers bit, you can just leave the food in the tank. that is what I do with lettuce and stuff, they just chew it all up eventually. I sometimes hand feed my turtles but the biting sometimes gets old. Mine bite all the time but there small enuf to where it just feels like a small pinch. but its not a habbit you want your turtles getting used to because just like the post above says, when they get full grown, they can probably rip a good chunk of skin off.

[MoreBloodWine]

I doubt its a muscle thing, you ever see a turtle fight for a piece of food ?

Thats what its liek when Niko gets hold.

I also like hand feeding becc it gets Nikos use to me deing around the tank.

[jay2487]

yeah, they shake just like a pit bull locked on something, he is trying to rip a piece of your flesh loose and eat it. That is why he wont let go. You taste good to him and he wants that bite, he is willing to leave the water and hang from your finger to get it. If your finger was in the water he would be trying to puch his mouth away from your finger with his claws, trying to rip a piece off. Once it starts hurting too much your just need to stop, your going to end up losing a piece one day

[SINI5T3R]

Okay I thought you ment he kept doing it after he was already off you and he just kept doing it.

[MoreBloodWine]

I'll continue hand feeding but I'll def have to get creative when it comes to the Mazouri pellets.

[steve]

Some have said to wait or to push the finger in until the turtle releases. Usually neither work for me, so I have to use another finger

[MoreBloodWine]

Some have said to wait or to push the finger in until the turtle releases. Usually neither work for me, so I have to use another finger

I dont know why but I went right to picturing you using another finger and that one gettin bit at the same time so your turtle effectively becomes a chinese finger trap LOL

[Outlander]

I regret ever hand feeding because now my turtle associates my finger with being food. So every time I put my hand in the tank to fix something he thinks its a delicious 5 fingered snack. So if you want your turtle to be biting you even when you don't have food, by all mean keep hand feeding him.

If that still doesn't persuade you not to hand feed, one way to keep from being bitten while hand feeding is to pinch it between your nails so that your nail beds are flat (kind of like making a really awkward "ok" symbol). That way, there isn't really any finger for him to get a grip on.

[rsour24]

I regret ever hand feeding because now my turtle associates my finger with being food. So every time I put my hand in the tank to fix something he thinks its a delicious 5 fingered snack. So if you want your turtle to be biting you even when you don't have food, by all mean keep hand feeding him.

If that still doesn't persuade you not to hand feed, one way to keep from being bitten while hand feeding is to pinch it between your nails so that your nail beds are flat (kind of like making a really awkward "ok" symbol). That way, there isn't really any finger for him to get a grip on.

i agree. i wanted to hand feed my turtle so bad until my turtle started to bite me when i was doing a cleaning

[Lilsaint]

Shoot it.
im kidding. i get bit when im moving things around her tank and she thinks my hand is food. i just like pull back my finger really fast.

[SINI5T3R]

When im moving stuff around my tank and they think its food i just knock them aside to the other end of my tank and they just come right back so "smack" another push they get lol...