General Care Discussion :: Does my turtle not like me?

[LadyClovenhoof]

George still tends to run away and hide in the corner when I come near the tank. I have him about a month, maybe about five week now. Sometimes when I feed him he'll come near the side where I feed him, but most of the time he still runs away. Is this normal? Will he ever warm up to me?

[crackerlady2007]

Is he a very young turtle? Sometimes younger turtles take time to adjust. If he's an older turtle, a new surrounding can do the same thing. Don't worry. He'll come around.

[megcornell]

It's a turtle's natural instinct to hide when a large, possible predator comes around. Most new turtles are shy for quite a while. The more they associate you with food and become used to your presence the less shy they become. Give him some time and soon he'll realize you're his food source and he'll beg non-stop .

[SpotsMama]

Totally normal. Turtles have different personalities - some are shy and others are the life of the party. However, one thing they have in common is a love of food. Keep feeding him and eventually he'll figure out that you're a good guy, and then instead of running away from you, he'll run to you when you approach. My turtle was a very shy type. He ran from me for a couple of years. He's five now, though, and he completely trusts me. He swims up to me so I can pick him up out of his tank, and even lets me pick him up off the basking platform.

So, give your guy time. Some warm up faster than others. Always handle him very gently and be sure he knows you're the one that feeds him and he'll come around.

[LadyClovenhoof]

Thanks for the reassuarance! I was hoping he would eventually come around, so I'll keep being patient. I am very careful when I handle him. I always use both hands and make sure to keep a finger under each of his legs so he feels secure. He has started to fuss a little less than when I first got him, but still seems to generally dislike me.

[VanishingReality]

Crush was like that for about six weeks. Then we started to spend more time in the room he was in, gave him a place to hide in and gave him more water. And he seems a happy turtle now, he isn't even afraid of the cats.

[Take-One]

It seems like males are always have the shy personality's. From my experience at least. I have the most hyped up female turtle ever though.

[DebbieJean]

My turtle is like that too but I think she's getting a little better. Sometimes I will catch her near the glass just watching me when I'm on the computer, but if I go near the tank she will still run. The only one my turtle doesn't run from is my cat Oya.