General Care Discussion :: Adventures out of the tank?

[willie's mommy]

dhunter - thats a great idea to handle them daily. Willie will hiss at me when I take her out, only for a second. I only handle her to check her shell and water changes. I want to be able to rub Willie's head too!!

[kikicool]

phooey. I'm jealous with all these stories! My turt is the kind who gets stressed. When I pick him up to clean his tank, he hisses (or rather, takes his limbs in). During the summer, I'd try letting him out on the porch a few times, and all he did was crawl under the BBQ. Of course, I haven't tried it in the house yet... maybe I'll do that, and see how it goes. But first? I'll wait till he's used to his new tank.

[Sprawl]

unfortunately the temps have started dropping here. My Diesel is not happy having to spend time in the tank. I hear her doing the "begging" splashing from upstairs. breaks my heart

what i do when i'm home so that she doesnt have to stay i the water is set up a personal heater (one that the elements and fans are hidden and safe) on my floor, crank it to high with the wind blowing and let her walk around. 9 / 10 she just plops herself in front of it and goes to sleep or stretches out and basks

[industrial_girl_2000]

Little Seuss is under two inches long--is he too small to leave the tank? Someone told me that going from a warm temperature to a cooler one would be too much of a shock for him. How big should he be?

My tiny painted was only about 2 inches long when I let her out. But, by the time I started letting her walk around on her own, she was already very used to being around people so the experience didn't stress her out (turtle was so comfortable with me, she would sleep in my warm hands). And if the room was a little cooler, she would bask on the floor heater vent.

[industrial_girl_2000]

phooey. I'm jealous with all these stories! My turt is the kind who gets stressed. When I pick him up to clean his tank, he hisses (or rather, takes his limbs in). During the summer, I'd try letting him out on the porch a few times, and all he did was crawl under the BBQ. Of course, I haven't tried it in the house yet... maybe I'll do that, and see how it goes. But first? I'll wait till he's used to his new tank.

I had a turt like this before. What I did to "tame" him a little bit was to actually crawl around on the floor with him (next to him) when he was out. It was like playing a game and sometimes I would pick him up and let him walk on me when I was lying down on the floor. I also hand-fed him several times a day (in very small amounts....same daily feeding, just divided up into small portions so he would get used to seeing me & associating me with something yummy like food). He eventually chilled out.

[industrial_girl_2000]

My Tony Stewart & Stuart Little get their exercise every Sunday afternoon. I take them outside to walk around (always chassing after them) they are so fast and I don't want them out of my sight. They are about 8 months old and doing great! I try to handle them a little bit each night and pet and kiss them! I love my guys! They don't snap and their tempraments are both wonderful. They love when I rub under their neck and on top of their heads. I try handling them as much as I can because I have a friend whose turle hisses at her and snaps at her and I don't want by boys to become this way!

Dhunter....you sound like me with my Sheba! LOL!

[steve]

unfortunately the temps have started dropping here. My Diesel is not happy having to spend time in the tank. I hear her doing the "begging" splashing from upstairs. breaks my heart

what i do when i'm home so that she doesnt have to stay i the water is set up a personal heater (one that the elements and fans are hidden and safe) on my floor, crank it to high with the wind blowing and let her walk around. 9 / 10 she just plops herself in front of it and goes to sleep or stretches out and basks

I'm also using a space heater for my dry dock area. It also has a MVB light and a regular incandecent light bulb. They like basking options

[turrbee]

so u guys are saying it's good to take them out of the tank once in a while?
does it hurt to never them them out of the tank tho?
i thought they were meant to be in the water at all times =P

[Brianthedog18]

RES can last a surprising amount of time out of the water. When my Leo had RI, I had to remove the water from his tank for a while, he went for about three weeks with out water, with just an occasional soak.

[steve]

My dry dock is a confined area with no chance of escape. Letting them roam around freely or unsupervised is usually not a good idea.