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I've noticed that a lot of people let their turtles out onto the floor, particularly onto the carpet during their free time, or while cleaning.

I'm wondering, do the turtles make a mess when they're put out of their enclosures, such as expelling waste or urine? I wouldn't be too pleased if they made their waste into the carpet, since mine is particularly shaggy, it's hard to clean out.

Do they leave bacteria or whatever while walking around the house (since turtles are reptiles, and have bacteria growing all over them)? Should I rinse them before letting them out or something?

Lastly, a lot of users here like to put their turtles on them, or just let them walk over them, do the turtles bite, say at your toes or shirt? Also, do they like to excrete body wastes and body fluids often while they're around you?

In my opinion and experience it is not wise to let your turtle under 4 or 5 inches roam. This is because of fear of them getting hurt or lost. I would not let my turtle crawl on shaggy carpet... however you could enclose a space and lay a towel over the carpet and let your turtle walk around on that... a non carpeted floor works better...

My turtles only expell waste or pee on me if they are "mad" or don't want to be held... It all depends on the turtle and the turtles personality...

As for leaving bacteria, I don't know... someone with more knowledge on this subject will have to answer that...

Biting? Again it depends on the personality... my female only tries to bite me when I put her on her back..

I take both of my turtles outside to walk around... this gives them the sun that they need to be healthy and the exercise and freedom they "want"...

Hope this helps you good luck with your turtles

Spot only bites when he's mad about something.

Well my smallest turtle is 7 inches, largest being 11-12 inches, they all claw my hands and try to get out of my hold when I pick them up, oftentimes they piss all over the ground when I pick them up high enough so...I guess it's not a good idea for me yet.

wait until the weather is warm, and try to take them outside for a walk... my suggestion would be to put them in a bucket or something else to transport them outside...

how long have you had your turtles?

I've only had them for a week right now, but the previous owner has had them for over a decade.

they will get friendlier over time

Pizza wrote:I've noticed that a lot of people let their turtles out onto the floor, particularly onto the carpet during their free time, or while cleaning.

I'm wondering, do the turtles make a mess when they're put out of their enclosures, such as expelling waste or urine? I wouldn't be too pleased if they made their waste into the carpet, since mine is particularly shaggy, it's hard to clean out.

Do they leave bacteria or whatever while walking around the house (since turtles are reptiles, and have bacteria growing all over them)? Should I rinse them before letting them out or something?

Lastly, a lot of users here like to put their turtles on them, or just let them walk over them, do the turtles bite, say at your toes or shirt? Also, do they like to excrete body wastes and body fluids often while they're around you?

Very good questions, Pizza! My view on letting turtles out is this: If a turtle isn't real comfortable with you yet (hisses/bites/pees when you pick them up), then don't let them out on their own yet. If you have gotten them to the point where they don't show much reaction when you pick them up (no hissing or retracting all the way in the shell), then you can let them out. If you are in doubt, let them walk for several hours on a non-carpeted area, like the linoleum/tiled bathroom floor. See how they do. If you find little puddles/waste on the hard floor, then you know they aren't ready for carpet.

Sheba has her own towel which I keep in the tank cabinet for whenever I take her out of the tank. I dry her off with this towel, then let her walk. I do not let her walk around my carpeted areas *right after* she eats because she is more likely to pee or pass waste right after she eats (it's what I have observed). When I had smaller turts, I just let them stay in their separate pan of water after they ate for about 1/2 hour afterwards to give them time to settle down, digest, and pee (this worked out very well). With Sheba, she won't stay in this tiny pan after she eats, so I have to put her back in her tank for a little while, then let her out.

I'm really not worried about bacteria from my turtle on the floor because it wouldn't be any worse than having a cat or a dog in the house roaming the carpet. If Sheba does have an accident on the carpet (very rare), I have some carpet cleaner & take care of it, just like I would if I had a cat or a dog with an accident.

You can rinse your turtle before he/she walks around if you want, especially if you feed them in a separate dish and don't want any food particles on the floor. Some food is particularly messy (like live food - worms which have lots of dirt on them), so I rinse Sheba before I put her back in her tank.

Thanks for all the replies, I am now more educated about turtle keeping, .

Napoleon was never let out by his previous owners, for 7+ years. We started letting him out pretty much right away because we couldn't think of any reason not to. He LOVES it. He actually gets really agitated if we don't let him out for a few days. He's never had an accident, although we only let him out about 20 minutes at a time. If we startle him, he'll hiss a little and tuck back in his shell for a second, but nothing really slows him down. If you're concerned about bacteria in the carpet, there's always antibacterial febreeze or something similar. Napoleon has only tried to bite two or three times, and it was more a slow motion nip than anything. And like Kristin, I keep a towel for him, and when I pull him out of the tank I bundle him up in it and set him on the floor. He sits there until he's dry and situated then goes off to explore My main concern with him being out is temperature. In the summer we'll have him out a lot more.