General Care Discussion :: will carrying the turtle kill it?

[jroc 518]

Today my big bro was in my house and he told me that if I carry my baby RES for too long it will eventually die. Is it true??(because I love carrying it). thanx in advance


Jay

[BullDog]

Well, that's a half-truth.
Most turtles get stressed out when they're are carried. This is especially true for hatchlings. If they're stressed all the time, your turtle will not do well, and could pass before his time.

It's best if you keep handling to a minimum, especially for hatchlings. They get stressed easily, but also if they are out of their tank, they can catch a chill, and develop RI, which not many hatchlings recover from.

[raverqueenage]

I'm new to turtle owning, but I strongly agree with Bulldog, that you should keep it to a minimum. Probably not at all while it's still so young.

Just think about it, if you are that small and some giant is running around with you and you have no way of getting away, how would you feel? Super scared and stressed right? Same thing for them. Look but don't touch. Best rule of thumb right there.

[blackforces get you]

like what he said its true. if you stress out animal they can die from the stress. my 2 inch knows me well but i hold him about once a week so he should be fine. i barely touch them but still its not good to handle animals too much because they get stressed and die eventually

[frog]

so once a week is good?

[BullDog]

so once a week is good?

If your turtle is a hatchling (say, under 1 year old), the less the better. If you need to handle them once a week because you're cleaning their tank or something, just handle them from their tank to their temporary holding spot, and eventually your turtle will get used to it. Same thing for older turtles who aren't used to being handled. For older turtles, start handling them just for a short time to start, then slowly over time, they'll get used to it and you can handle them a bit longer.

However, generally turtles are a "look, don't touch" kind of pet.

[frog]

However, generally turtles are a "look, don't touch" kind of pet.

ya, most reptiles (and especially amphibians) are.

[Bladedvixen]

The only time I touch my turtle is transporting him to and from his feeding tub each morning. He has associated had with food time and will swim up into my palm each morning (talk about cute). Other than that, it is pretty well no touchie

[jroc 518]

o9k thank you all I'll keeop that in mind