General Care Discussion :: Turtle interaction with people??

[henrylove<3]

Hey everyone, my name is Allie and my turtle Henry is very scared of me. I got Henry in July of this year and everytime i go near his tank just to look at him he swims away and tries to claw out of his cage like he's deathly afraid of me. I've been feeding him tuna lately and now everyday around feeding time he'll come to the egde of the tank where i can see him and wait for me to give him tuna. But when i walk up he still backs up a little like he's very afraid. I've barely ever held Henry or had any interaction with him.. should i pick him up more so he gets used to people? I was afraid with him being so little and young he might get sick from the temperature difference or something. Maybe, just for like five minutes everyday, should i just hold him or something? I don't know why he does this or what would be best for Henry...

[Linus]

Turtles have personalities. My Adult RES is not afraid of anyone. She's in our pond outback and will Bask even while the Gardeners are leaf blowing 2 feet away. My Belize Slider is only afraid of people when she's in the pond. Now that she is inside, I can come right up to her. '

Holding might help, but I try not to hold turtles. They really are display animals, but you could try.

Try to enter the room with the tank slowly and maybe take a seat in front of the tank. Slowly start to make movements and see what scares him.

On another topic, you really shouldn't be only feeding your turtle tuna. It's filled with fat and too much protein which can lead to pyramiding and reduced life span. I recommend going to your local pet store and buying "turtle sticks", really any type will do. They aren't overly expensive and they are a good diet.

[turtlenana]

Tony is like this also. I determined that maybe I am the horrible person that takes him out of his tank to clean it. He likes everybody else, except my 2 yr old granddaughter.

[henrylove<3]

Ok i'll try to see what movement scares him.. i probably am moving too fast for him, and the bad person that takes him out of his tank, thanks for the advice!!! Yea well he eats both turtle sticks and tuna but ever since i've fed him tuna he'll wait for me to feed him dinner, he absolutely loves it, i try not to give him tuna because it makes his tank smell bad, but now i'll make sure to only give it to him once in awhile, thanks again!!!!!

[Love of Animals]

Feed him from your hand so he recognizes you as the food god. Some are just shy, they take awhile. If he's very afraid then handling him may make him more afraid.

[henrylove<3]

Ok i was afraid that holding him might make him more scared of me also.. so thanks! I'll make sure to try to feed him from my hand

[Linus]

Being the food god can get annoying as they stop whatever they're doing to swim into the glass at you

[lowdee]

My turtles interact with us (me an my wife). It took them a long time to not scare of us. In the first 2 years, they only like us when we feed them. Because my wife take them out of the tank everyday, let them sit at her palms, talk to them. Nowadays, they will stay with her a longer time, especially in the morning. It varies from 5 min to an hour. They recognise their own name. Sometimes they will follow my wife and walk from the sitting room to the kitchen, when my wife calls their name and claps her hands. When I bought them, I told her they are for observation only. But now my wife makes them pets! We have them for 6 years now.