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I used to have a dog and two turtles. My dog and one of my turtles died. So now I have more time for my one Turtle Named Thao (which is Thai for turtle, pronounced th-a-ow). Thao is three years old. When ever i come near his tank he dives right in. When i feed him he USUALY comes to me. When i take him out of his tank he hides and it takes a while for him to come out of his shell. If he does, he usualy hids under me or in my shirt. I can never pet his head wiht out him retracting in. And I can't watch him bask.

I was wondering if I should have handeled him more as an infant. If so, is it to late to do that now and build back our relationship?

KyleRasmussen wrote:...I was wondering if I should have handled him more as an infant. If so, is it to late to do that now and build back our relationship?

Actually it isn't recommended that you handle your turtle unnecessarily especially while younger. Being out of their environment and being handled can cause stress to them. We've had our turtle almost a year and he's just now coming around where he will swim up to the edge of the water when he sees us come by. Also, just recently he's begun to let my husband rub his head/chin. Trust takes time and your turtle will not come around if he feels stressed by being removed from his home. Just spend time interacting with him while he's in the comforts of his tank and eventually he will be more friendly, unless he's just an extremely shy turtle by nature (since all turtles have different personalities just like us humans.)

Just keep trying. Developing a friendship with a turtle takes time, LOTS of time. I don't think it is too late. My RES was already 6 inches long when I bought her from a pet store & she's a real trip! She has grown to 11 inches over the last 16 yrs and has a real personality! She doesn't like to be "held" but loves to walk at my feet or climb on me when I am lying down on the carpet.

Just enjoy and let the turtle get used to getting all that attention!