Other Turtle Discussion :: hmmm

[nikkicom]

is it normal for a RES so be scared of its owner??

[megcornell]

Yes.
How long have you had your turtle?

A lot of times "new" turtles (mine took months to get used to me), are under a lot of stress from changing environments etc. Turtles take a while to adjust, some are never truly "friendly", my turtle Leo pretty much uses me as her food source and not much else . It's pretty intimidating to a turtle to see this big head hanging over their tank, so don't be offended if your turtle runs back into the water when you enter the room, it's just their natural instincts.

[SpotsMama]

Spot would run and hide everytime he saw us when we first got him. This went on for quite a while. Eventually, though, he got used to us and - very important - learned that we were the food source and now, at 3 1/2 years, he's positively friendly. Wags all over like a dog when I approach the tank and let's me pick him up with no complaints - in fact, invites me to pick him up since he likes to get out of the tank to roam around from time to time.

[nikkicom]

i had him for about 10 months

[pumpkinsherbet]

aeryn is friendly with me, she actually insists on nestling up to me when she's out of the tank. if i put her in a warm spot away from me she'll still run back to me. john is still very skittish with me. i've had them since new years eve. i'm actually surprised aeryn warmed up to me the way she did.

[SpotsMama]

Aeryn sure sounds like a doll!

They all have their individual personalities, don't they.

[nikkicom]

mine likes to be alone hiding in his little pipe/cave

[pumpkinsherbet]

animals are just like us. i had my cat chowder for years and years and she never warmed up to me.

[Pizza]

Luckily for me, my turtles got used to me and the new environments within 5-7 days, and the second week they started following me and splashing the water while staring at me begging for food.

Whenever they bask and I come up to them, they either stare at me or don't care, I even tried sneaking up to them when I was bored and attempted to scare them but to no avail.

I guess that's one of the advantages of starting with mature older turtles.