General Care Discussion :: Playing with RES'

[trudykurz]

Barnie first gets totally in her shell when I pick her up from her tank, then when I carry her to her towel to dry off she starts stretching. She's never tried to bite me, and I've only had her for six months now. So maybe yours is getting used to it.

[theartbook35]

Too much handling is a stresser for a young turtle. Occasional handling won't hurt. Lots of people take their turtles out of the tank every day for feeding or to check out the shell and skin. If the turtle is young and seems nervous when being handled, then you should keep it to a minimum.

Yeah... I keep the handling to every couple of days. I spend more time observing them than handling, actually. Regardless, they are very, very social. Very little makes them even slightly nervous. I can rub their heads, put my fingers right on their mouth, rub their feet, pet their shells, and they don't bite or hiss at all. They've also never attempted to go to the bathroom on me.

Handling though really depends on the turtle. Hurricane is super tolerant, and Typhoon puts up with it because she's accustomed to it, but she isn't as confident and I don't handle her for too long. It's funny, if I let Hurricane take a quick stroll through the office, he's not bothered by my cats at all, but if my kitten stares at him while he's in the tank he acts all spooked like he's gonna get eaten.

[steve]

I agree that it depends on personality but also your approach.

[bigG]

When my turtle was young (less than 4 inches), I only handled her when I needed to clean her tank. And when I first got my male RES, he was quite a snapper. Now, that he has got used to me and knows where the food comes from, he is quite tame. In fact, both of them don't mind an occasional "scratch behind the ears." I always wash my hands after handling them.

[DebbieJean]

BammBamm will panic if I make any sudden movements in the room, but I learned that if I wave my finger at her befor I stand up she wont panic even if shes basking. Goblin could care less what I do while hes basking.

[jawsspeedymrt]

You might just end up with a biter!

Do I have one of those! Speedy is one ferocious biter. I can't even pick her up without a snap at my fingers.

[theartbook35]

BammBamm will panic if I make any sudden movements in the room, but I learned that if I wave my finger at her befor I stand up she wont panic even if shes basking. Goblin could care less what I do while hes basking.

Isn't it amazing the way they watch you all around the room? As long as I sit still, eye level with them, they aren't bothered by me at all.

Hurricane runs up to me, too.

[nimbusdrake]

This thread is very interesting to me as I am new to turtles. Currently my turtle is young and I do not pick him up much, only when cleaning his tank. Luckily he's not a biter, but he does like to run! As much as I would love to pick him up often, because he is sooo cute, I don't because I know he is an animal and needs to be respected as such. I do bond with him in other ways though. I like to sit and watch him swim around sometimes. And when he comes up to the glass I move my finger or head from side to side and sometimes he follows. Also, I talk to my turtle and greet him by meeting eye contact when I come home. My turtle seems quite friendly and used to me, but I try not to push the boundaries.

[Samm]

I have 2 RES one I have had for a little over 4 months (Squirt 2.5") and the other I just got last week (Crush 3"). Squirt has always been very friendly and likes it when we run our fingers around on the tank as she follows it, ever since we first got Squirt we have taken her out of the tank and let her walk around in a box. As for Crush we got him when he was already a bit bigger and obviously had never had the attention that Squirt has had. Crush up until about a day ago would hide the second anyone made any type of movement in the room, now he will come up to the glass when I'm in the room but not as much with anyone else. I feed both of them feeder fish by hand so I think this is why they both come to me as much as they do.

I believe it really all depends on the personality of the turtle, if your turtles seem to enjoy when you enter the room and when you come up to the tank then I'm sure they wouldn't mind a little play time.

I can't wait till summer so we can take these 2 outside for some natural sun light.