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Ok so usually when i take him out of his tank to go outside he just goes in his shell. Now he sticks his head half way out and keeps his mouth opened. how do i make him quit?

lol i have the same problem hope someone answers so i can find out too

Mine has only ever tried to bite me once. Maybe you just have a cranky turtle.

lol, put food in it
no,
They think your fingers are food

I think it's an instinctive reaction. My big female RES used to do that all the time whenever i picked her up. Now she doesn't seem to mind anymore and she just looks at me like, "where are we going now?" But if I put my finger in front of her she gets the insane "I'm starving and I'm going to eat that!" look and tries to get a good bite. It's pretty scary, really. Aside from that she's always really nice. The two smaller males are a little shier but they don't try to bite and they seem to be more comfortable around me now.

I think it's a phase that they go through. Just continue to be calm and gentle with them and if they seem irritated more than usual, keep the handling down to a minimum for a while.

My turtle is snappy like that as well. I just accept that picking her up is stressful to her and keep it to a minimum. She's quite content to stay in her tank and beg, so I let her be

She probably thinks your food lol .

Nah, turtles are not like dogs. They can't be trained not to bite. He's trying to tell you he feels threatened. Besides, turtles aren't really interact kind of pets.

Turtles have moods. When my turtle is in a bad mood he tries to bite me. At other times he's positively friendly. Things that put him in a bad mood are being dry docked and being moved from one habitat to another.

May i ask a quick question
Whats being dry docked?

Dry docking just means keeping him in a dry place - like a box - out of the water. It's usually recommended when a turtle has physical injuries or shell infections to help him/her to heal. You can dry dock for a few hours, overnight or for all but an hour a day depending on the circumstances. Spot's recently had a shell injury which is why I had to dry dock him.

Some turtles are just naturally more snappy than others. I have used the "put food in the open mouth" approach, which works pretty well & tends to make them close their mouth more. But it is really up to the turtle. Some just get stressed when they all of a sudden get picked up by a gigantic animal (you!). They think you are going to eat them & they are in a very vulnerable position. If I was in that situation, I would probably bite too! LOL.

Will aquarium salt relieve stress?

Itll help fight fungus

aquarium salt?