General Care Discussion :: Shy turtle?

[Mikeolsenxxx]

I just got my turtle, Sanchez, today from an online vender. Hes about the size of a quarter and I was just wondering how long It will take for him to warm up to me. He allways seems to try and scurry away when I'm around (wich is understandable considering its his first day) but I just wanted an estiment of how long it took others. Also I'm not sure if he's eating the food i put in He wouldn't touch the 3 pellets while I was there but 5 minutes later when i came back they were gone...wether he ate them or they were sucked into the filter i dont know, any suggestions?

[Tenodera]

Give 3 days or so of privacy before trying to feed him. He'll probably warm up to you in two weeks or more.

[megcornell]

Every new turtle is skittish at first. If the food is disappearing that's a good sign. He's probably eating it.. it would take a while for it to get into the filter and pellets don't disintegrate too well.
As for adjusting, all turtles are different. Mine learned to associate me with food pretty quickly and started begging in a week or two but it was months before she was brave enough to bask in front of me, even now, a year and change later she still dives in the water when I'm around sometimes.
Some people on the site "hand feed" their turtles to get a closer bond with them. If you want to do that I'd wait a week or two before starting just so Sanchez can have some time to get used to his surroundings and to you.

[Tenodera]

Every new turtle is skittish at first.

LOL try explaining that to Serra, she ate out of my hand 5 min of getting her out of her baggy and basked in front of me on the same day I got her.

[Turtle_Turtle]

lol serra broke the turtle code

[Safdar]

Takes a week to really get used to you.

Same thing with Tito
He ate outa my hand in like 3 hours

[untsmurf]

Mikey wasn't as skittish as most of the cases I've heard on here. I think it might have something to do with the fact that I bought him from a kiosk in the mall where everyone poked at him quite often. He still took a couple weeks to get completely used to me though. Just give it time.

[steve]

It will vary. You'll soon find that they all have their own individual personalities. Just make sure that the habitat is setup correctly, they are eating and have their privacy.

www.redearslider.com/hatchling_tips.html

[Dr.VildGarcia]

Like Steve said, turtles have their own personality, like humans. Some, like Tenodera's turtle have a very open personality. It usually depends on the care, and time spent on the turtle, in my opinion.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Some turtles are just more shy than others. Remember too that you are a GIANT next to him & that is scary! I know I would be looking for the nearest hiding place if a GIANT came up to me & wanted to pick me up!

With that in mind, just give him some time to adjust to the settings. Feeding by hand helps him understand that you are the food source, and that goes a long way with turtles. You can't get to the heart without going thru the stomach first.....!