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I am proud to say that little Veronica has finally come out of her hatchling shyness. At first she'd dive into the water every time I walked into the room when she was basking and it would be like an olympic game trying to get her out of her main tank into her feeding container.

But now when I come into the room she just basks away with her little legs spread out in the air. And as soon as I go over to her feeding container to get it ready she swims over to me at the top of the water level of her tank and just stares until I reach in to put her in her feeding container.

I've noticed that Veronica feels the most secure when handling her when I use my left hand with my thumb on the top of her shell and a finger or two holding her on her belly. When she's picked up out of her tank like this she doesn't fight or struggle. She just rests calmly in my hand until she's place in her feeding container.

I was really worried about her when I first got her. She had a bad back leg where the skin was pink from wearing off on the underside of her paw and I was really worried about it. Plus her general shyness was worrying to me. But luckily her foot has healed completely and she's completely comfortable with me now. Sometimes I get on my laptop and sit in front of her tank. She'll just crawl into her plant and stare at me the whole time.

I'm glad I've been a good enough mom for her to feel safe. A lot of you have older turtles so I'm sure you remember what it was like when they were hatchlings and just started to feel comfortable.

This site and forum has been such a great place this last month, really helping me in learning how to properly take care of my RES. You guys are great.

i have had my res sence augest and it only took a week for him to like me
now i cant be by him with out him wanteing to eat

Kewl its been a week today that i got tortuga (T for short) but was unable to purchase the setup till friday. T is only about an 1 to 1.5 inches and am thourghly enjoying watching T play

how long did it take?
mine is still shy after few months

Well I've had Veronica since December 2nd, 2005. So it took about a month.

i've had mine for 6 motnhs now
and it seems that she is
getting more shy.when i pick her up she gets so upset she starts making
this hissing noise.
when she is basking , if i make just a move she jumps off in to the water.
she is just terified of me.

Well all turtles have different personalities I guess but it seems like six months is a long time for her to be shy and have such an attitude with you.

Is her environment healthy? Does she have everything she needs to be happy and comfortable?

That sort of behavior is normal for turtles. Usually they are the ones being eaten.. My female still won't bask if anyone is standing over her but the small male really doesn't care. Different personalities for different turtles is all, it's nothing to be worried about.