General Care Discussion :: still not happy

[susan]

Mr. T has been in his new home for almost 3 weeks now. he still doesn't seem as happy as some of the turtles you all write about. he hides in the corner under the filter all the time, or under the floating island. if he's catching a breath and you walk by, he swims away and dives for the corner. he never eats while i'm there, although i know he does eat at night because the lettuce i leave in there has bites taken out of it. he never seems happy to see me. he lets the pellets i put in his water rot. he never tries to eat them. he's shedding like crazy. i just thought by now he'd be settled in and be happy and beg for food and do all the cute turtlely things you all talk about.

am i doing something wrong? should i do something else?

[steve]

How big is he? Can you try offering treats and feeding them by hand? You can try shrimp treats or a live minnow.

You do need to realize that they all have very different personalities and it might just take longer.

[SpotsMama]

It took my turtle a lot more than 3 weeks to get used to me and his new home. I think if you follow the advice from above your turtle will learn that you're not going to hurt him, instead you're a food source. If you have to pick him up or take him out of his tank be sure and handle him very gently. He'll come around in his own way and time!

[sandyandspongebob06]

my 1 sandy is my buddy i come to the tank n she comes up and sit with me looking at me thought the tank , spongebob he is a scardy cat, i took em out the other day he tried biteing my bf

[industrial_girl_2000]

Mr. T has been in his new home for almost 3 weeks now. he still doesn't seem as happy as some of the turtles you all write about. i just thought by now he'd be settled in and be happy and beg for food and do all the cute turtlely things you all talk about.

It definitely takes longer than 3 weeks, LOL. It sounds like he is just settling in to his new home. I had my Sheba for several years before some of her funny personality traits came out. And even after 17 yrs, she continues to surprise me (as she did recently with some of her antics in her new tank home I just bought her).

Just continue to hand feed & offer a variety of foods. Turtles can be finicky about certain pellets vs. others. If in doubt, buy small containers of food and try different ones till you find one he likes. Sheba loves her Tetra Reptomin foodsticks but doesn't like any of the others (like Wardley's brands).

[cam722]

I had 3 turtles at one point. One of them rarely ever came to me to be fed but the other 2 did. He was just shy and would fly in the water or hide when people were around. It could just be the turtles personality. Just keep offering food from your hand..

[JNZBCBnLIL]

I read that if you take the amount of the size of your turtles head and split that up throughout the day- so you're not overfeeding- that it helps your turtle get used to you and associate you with food because he'll see you more times throughout the day! Plus once you do find that right food you won't have to worry about some of the food going to waste! I've had Leo for almost 2 months now and he's still very shy when it comes to basking and a lot of times when he has his head popped out of the water! I've found that once I put floating plants in the tank for him to hang out in he got a feel for me by sticking his head out of the plants like I couldn't see him (like he was "spying" on me) now he's starting to get comfortable in open water poking his head up and checking everything out! I'm still waiting for the day- if ever- that he'll finally be used to me enough that when I come in the room I won't spook him back in the water when he's basking- I always feel so bad! Good luck with seeing that personality of Mr. Ts soon!

[susan]

How big is he? Can you try offering treats and feeding them by hand? You can try shrimp treats or a live minnow.

You do need to realize that they all have very different personalities and it might just take longer.

mr. t's shell is prolly 6 or 7 inches across. i think he's full grown.

i was also wondering if maybe he's just being less active because of the season change? don't turtles become less active in the winter?

thanks for all your helpful advice.

[steve]

many do have a change in habits as the seasons change. Where are you located?

As long as he has an appetite and is not lethargic, I would give him some time..

[dhunter]

My turtle was the same way and then I got him a buddy and they are both doing great!

[megcornell]

For the record, most turtles are solitary and buying a second one can be a bad choice because if and when they stop getting along they will need two separate habitats... usually if the enclosure is too small the problems are multiplied.

[dhunter]

Do they get aggressive the older they get? It looks like they get along fine right now!

[megcornell]

Not all turtles do, they're finicky, some like neighbors, some don't. So long as you have adeqquate space you should be fine, I tend to think a lot of the aggression comes from the turtles being cramped and therefore enticed to fight for space. I'm glad your guys get along

[kikicool]

I've had shmeegel for about 4 months and he's the same way. It makes me very sad. I feel like no matter what I do, he is unhappy. He is in the same room as me all day (home office) and spends most of it under his dock, where he can't see anything. I got him a larger tank (yesterday, though, so it could take time) and STILL he stays under that dock. Every time I see him move, I get so excited.

Question for Spotsmama and others who handle daily: do you just take him out, pet him a bit and put him back in? Or do you walk around with him for a little while? He seems so stressed when I handle him that I want to be sure I don't overdo it. That said... he DOES keep his eyes open and head out a bit. Not his neck though. Just the head.