General Care Discussion :: Out of Tank Time

[eemcgreevy]

I was wondering if I was doing Murphy (4 years old) a disservice by not giving him out of tank time. We live in a high-rise apartment in Manhattan so time outdoors is not an option. Additionally, Murphy loves his home, and is a very unhappy turtle on the rare occasion when I have removed him from his tank. How often does everyone else take their turtles out, and in what type of enclosure?

[rsour24]

i don't usually take my turtle out unless i am doing an entire tank make over or complete water change. i rarely let her run around the house cause i feel like its an unnatural environment for her. i will allow her to go outside on nice days though as long as i am watching her

[steve]

I wouldn't say its a disservice. Some RES like it, some don't. From my experience, they don't like it for long periods (several hours) and will hide or stay in a corner.

[sflemin2]

One of mine likes it and one doesnt. They both hate the hard wood floors but LOVE the room with carpet. I think the sound of the hardwood floors hitting their shells scares them. It couldnt hurt to try!

[ElectricTurtle]

I usually play with Tesla for an hour or less every other day when I get home from work. He loves to run around my room and climb in my shoes. He'll even run over to me and let me rub his chin. :3 When I don't want him to run around too much (like cleaning something), I put him in a giant rubbermaid container with a towel so he has some grip.

I would imagine he likes it anyhow, since he never seems too stressed when I put him back. Then again, I could be projecting onto my turtle again, but shhhh.

[eemcgreevy]

Thanks everyone, I will continue to leave Murphy in his tank. He really does turn into a grumpy turtle when he is away from his home.

[Schimpf]

Hmmm I never thought of letting Merlin have some out of tank time. I handle him every day to make sure he is used to it, which he loves as he gets shell rubs. I'll try it tonight and see if he likes it.

Thanks eemcgreevy for posting this, as I was just about it

[Kurtni]

I usually play with Tesla for an hour or less every other day when I get home from work. He loves to run around my room and climb in my shoes. He'll even run over to me and let me rub his chin. :3 When I don't want him to run around too much (like cleaning something), I put him in a giant rubbermaid container with a towel so he has some grip.

I would imagine he likes it anyhow, since he never seems too stressed when I put him back. Then again, I could be projecting onto my turtle again, but shhhh.

My turtles love shoes too for some reason. I thought I lost Nacho when he was smaller and found him in my sneaker.

My turtles love crawling around ever since I got my own place. I think when I lived with my mom and siblings, there was just too much action for them to handle so they didn't really like going anywhere, unless I took them outside. Now they just like to cruise around and chase my cats.

[ElectricTurtle]

That's too cute.
Today I took Tesla outside and he seemed to enjoy it. He kept trying to dig through the grass and when he would get tired he would rest on my feet. He wasn't out for more than an hour though. I'm glad I have a social turtle! I love giving him chin rubs. :>

[ads11]

I usually take my turtle out of the tank on warm sunny days

However, it always runs into shade or goes hiding into plants and what not

why do you think this is

[steve]

It's not used to the environment and doesn't feel safe. It might also be too warm even if you don't think so.