Other Turtle Discussion :: How do I get him used to me

[2wicky]

I've had my baby for a few weeks now. I noticed that a lot of people here are able to pick up theres and hold them in their hand without them running off. How do I get mine used to me? Whenever I get near him he snaps at my fingers

[SpotsMama]

Part of it depends on your particular turtle's personality. Some are more skittish than others. Mostly it just takes time. I guess my turtle was pretty skittish as a youngster but gradually he got friendlier and friendlier. Even now, though, after 5 years, my turtle doesn't like to be held. I always have to hold him firmly or he will wiggle loose. I think it will be this way for as long as he lives. When he's free to walk around, however, he often follows me, he comes up and sniffs my feet and makes eye contact and lets me pick him up without protest. When he's in the water he swims up to me and lets me pick him up.

When they are little they assume everybody is out to eat them - which is true in the wild. What you need to do is teach them that you're their friend. The way to a turtle's heart is through his stomach - if you feed him personally and he sees that you're the food source, he'll start running towards you when he sees you instead of away.

Always handle him gently. Never tease him. Don't cause him stress if you can help it. I believe as a turtle gets older you should handle him frequently but not for long periods of time. For quite a while I've picked Spot up daily to check out his skin and shell. If you're feeding your turtle outside the tank then you're picking him up on a daily basis, which I think helps him get used to you.

On the snapping, some turtles are just snappier than others. My turtle will snap at me if he's mad about something - like when I put him in the sink to wash him and he doesn't want to be washed.

A few weeks is just a blip in the life of a turtle. He's got a lot of growing to do and you'll see him change and get more confident and friendly over time.

[2wicky]

how bad will it be when he bites me? i'm afraid he'll latch on, i'll pull back too fast and then drop him. I feed him separate from the tank because he's so messing, so i guess we're having some kind of contact. i only take him out quickly enough to switch to the container.... by the sides of his shell. is that okay? he's to quick for me to get him from underneath

[Safdar]

Since hes a baby, itll hurt a little, but not as much as when he grows up

[Tenodera]

Whenever I'm taking Serra out of her tank I make a signal to her and she swims to the ramp of her basking dock and I pick her up by the side of her shell then I place her on the palm of my other hand since they feel uncomfortable with their legs dangling.

[roseK]

oh a sign thats a good idea, what kind of sign do u make?

[turboturtle8]

It takes some time before they get use to you

[camee1991]

All turtles have their own little personalities! My BIG girl was never too happy to be held, but she was still with a towel around her. And now at 10" long and 4 years old she is happier as long as she feels totally secure (like above mentioned), no legs wiggling..etc. And you DONT want the legs wiggling at this size as the back nails can rip you up! lol (Got the scars to prove it!) But she was never a frantic baby either...lol She was always really calm. (I used to put her in a towel and pet her to sleep when she was about quarter sized...) Awww the memories!!!

And OMG the biting of a baby is NOTHING compared to a BIGGUN! OUCH! Can take off your finger! I screwed up a couple years ago and put in my finger to get her attention and she thought it was a worm I guess and WHAMMO! I bought flung her across the kitchen, but realized my finger would have gone with her...so I screamed until she let go! (Most peeps say to dunk them under water so that they will HAVE to let go to breathe.)(I will remember that for the (hopefully NOT) next time!)

As for my little one (about 3"), he, Leo, (it) still is FREAKED out by ME (except when feeding) He swims like CRAZY when I turn off the basking lite...lol And He hates being held and starts snapping also. I just try to pick him up about once a week after talking to him a while...then making sure he feels secure, I pet him and talk to him a bit before I put him back in the tank.

Try picking them up from the back or side. And make sure your whole hand is underneath and gripping the side of the shell. Dont go head on into the tank and expect him to want to be picked up! lol Im not saying thats what youre doing, but until they are older and have their own, more calm, hopefully, personality; better to be safe than sorry!

[Tenodera]

oh a sign thats a good idea, what kind of sign do u make?

lol I just wave two fingers at her...lol

[roseK]

at feeding time, wall-e usually sees the food container and me putting it on the edge of the dock (so its in the water,but wont float away) and now im trying to give a light tap on the glass twice. but this morning morning he was just being silly swimming around and ignored it, so i pointed my finger and said "hey wall-e eat your food mr!!" lol

i sometimes bring wall-e into my other room and show him the fish tanks, the big fish scare him, he pops into his shell when they swim by lol. and then we read some franklin books

[WyredHardware]

I have had great success with feeding mine with my fingers and chatting to her randomly throughout the evening. When i clean the tank I will fence off an area or line my laundry basked with "to be washed cloths". I think that she will get used to the smell and not associate the smell with predator. So far so good



edit: found a spelling mistake

[industrial_girl_2000]

Spotsmama & Camee....you guys had good posts & ITA!

I had to laugh at the BIG turtle biting fingers story because it is the story of my life. I got my turtle when she was already 6 inches long & she just got bigger & stronger from that point on, LOL.

[kermitzaqd]

I've never had any of my turtles bite me, but I'm still scared that it will happen. Jebediah tries to bite me whenever I take him out of the tank. His neck, fortunately isn't long enough to get my fingers when they're wrapped around his shell.

How much damage can they do? I mean I've heard that full grown sliders can take a child's finger off. What about half grown sliders? Or adult fingers? When they bite, does it penetrate the skin? Or does it just feel like a really hard pinch?

Man, I'm still freaked out that it will happen one day, I'd just like to have some preparation as to what to expect Hopefully I can avoid it...

[industrial_girl_2000]

My 9 inch long (adult) RES's bite is like a very VERY hard pinch on my adult hands. It can break skin a little bit, but their jaws are not very sharp (fairly dull, actually) and I have gotten more broken skin from her front/back claws scratching me.

I wouldn't test the theory about a full grown slider taking a child's finger off. I know for a fact that SNAPPER turtles can take a finger off.

I never worry about the bite from a smaller turtle (less than 4 inches in length). It doesn't really hurt. Once they get to be about 5 inches & up.....that's when it really smarts.

I wouldn't worry about getting bitten; it will happen to all of us eventually. It's one of the risks we take when we have any kind of pet.

[kermitzaqd]

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. I still try to coax Jebediah down and calm him so he stops snapping at me before I move him anywhere, but it's good to know that if he did grab ahold of me that it wouldn't be that bad. He's only 5 inches at this point.