General Care Discussion :: My turtle is so mean, Help please

[myahs_mommy]

Hello

My RES Myah is very mean, she will snap and try to bite evrytime i handle her,I am very gentle with her and make sure that it is quiet in the room when i handle her. I have had her about 3 months and she was alot nicer then, will she ever be a "nice turtle". I need to be able to handle her somewhat to be able to care for her and i dont want to get my finger bit off everytime i try to take care of her. Is there anything i can do to help her be less scared or atlest stop trying to bite all the time. I hope to have her a very long time and need to help her be more comfortable with me.

Thanks

[jenaero]

Don't handle her unless it's absolutely necessary. They're not 'hold and pet' type animals.

[SpotsMama]

You've got company!

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... light=bite

A lot of turtles - like my Spot - do get friendlier with time. Spot never snaps at me these days (I've had him about 3 1/2 years), but then I never put my fingers in his face either. I handle him frequently - checking his shell and skin, making sure there aren't any problems, and I do believe he got a lot more trusting through familiarity.

Just be sure to keep out of reach of that beak.

[pumpkinsherbet]

i agree with jenaero. i even fixed up my above tank basking spot so that i wouldn't have to handle them when i need them out of the tank. just coax them up there, cover the exit, and open the exit back up when i'm done. they don't mind as much when i handle them, but i can tell it stresses them out so i try to avoid doing it more than i have to. i really just handle them to check their shells.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Lots of hand-feeding helps with the snapping. It helps if they associate you with food, so divide up her daily food into, say, 5 parts, and feed one of the parts when you walk by the tank.

Also, if you have guppies, temporarily move them out of the tank so that the only food source is YOU. If you wanted, you could also hand feed a guppy as one of the "parts" of food.

Don't ever let the turtle eat without you actually standing there giving her the food. This will help her lose some of her fear & loathing.

Some turts are just naturally more snappy, but with time, they tend to lose some of the snappiness if they know YOU are the source of food. It just takes a LOT of time since turts aren't super-quick at being "trained." Boys take longer than girls (not sure why...girls tend to be more mellow).

Who had Myah before you got her? How was she handled before? Just curious.

[myahs_mommy]

Hello,
Before i got myah she was at the local mall pet shop where she was only in a few inches of water with tons of other turtles. The pet shop people would not even touch her when they got her for me they caught her with a net and threw her in the box. So I can see why she snaps and gets scared.

Thanks for all the help, I just want the best life possiblefor Myah, she gets her new 55 gallon tank on saturday, I will post pics as soon as I can.

Thanks
Myahs_mommy

[marisa]

Sounds like she'll need a little extra attention and time for her to get to trust you more. That said, if she's not a hatchling, given the care you said she was given, she may continue to be more skittish/less friendly than some turtles are.

[pumpkinsherbet]

^^^marisa's right. if they're older then they've been conditioned to the abuse, thus they view you as a threat. you just have to give it time and continuously show her that you mean her no harm. that feeding idea was a good one.

[DavidY]

I think most animals can sense fear, anxiety, anger, frustration, etc. It's important for you to be calm and relaxed when handling them even when they are not. They need to feel safe. It's natural to get anxious when the turtle gets aggressive or skittish, but it will be a lot better for both of you if you can remain calm (same with kids). It's probably easier said than done, but I've been able to handle some very aggressive animals (dogs included) using this technique and it works well for me. Of course you still have to be very careful not to get bit!

[myahs_mommy]

Thanks for all the help, Myah and I appericiate it.