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i just got my RES a couple months ago. she is 3 years old. she is pretty shy and she seems to be really scared of me. i was wondering if she will eventually become completely comfortable around me or is just in their nature to be naturally cautious and scared of people? also, when i feed her i put her in a tupperwear container filled with water and i put her pellets in there to eat, and i put her lamp over it. i leave the room when i do this, because usually when i'm in there, she won't eat, she will just sit there and stare at me. when i come back later, sometimes i can't tell if she ate or not. i see some pellets like crushed up and at the bottom, kind of like dissolved. do you think she is eating when i leave the room? if i give her a lot of little turtle sticks, is this too much? i feed her about every other day or so. do you have any tips for me or anything i should be doing differently?

My son's turtle is still eating baby turtle pellets. I'd imagine when a turtle bites the larger sticks, that it will break and you have bits that sink.

Does it look like the stuff on the bottom is equal to the amount you threw in? If not, I'd bet you are seeing the crumbs. Is your turtle passing waste? If you see poo, it's eating.

A three years old, you need to feed more than pellets. Check out the nutrition page on the main site:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

I know it has taken my son's young turtle a long time to get used to me, and even now, if I look over the tank when he doesn't know it's me or my son, he flees. We feed in the tank. He'll let us see him eat, and even begs when we come by. But, if I have to take him out, he freaks out, and swims to the bottom as far from me as possible when I put him back.

So, he has gotten used to us, but is still pretty shy.

Where is his tank? Is it somewhere he can see you during the day? I remember that Toby would immediately jump from his basking platform whenever we walked in, but after I took to reading a book in the room, basically being there but ignoring him, he eventually got to where he would bask when I was there and occasionally let me watch if he was basking when I stood at the door and didn't move fast, but still frequently jumped down.

Now that he's in a larger tank in the basement, I never see him bask. But, he will swim over to see me and beg.

From what others have written here, it seems there are definitely personalities involved with turtles. Some are more skittish, but from what I've seen with our skittish turtle, that can lessen over time.

Well, sometimes I'll walk in and she will be basking and she will let me watch. If I move fast, she'll jump off, but if I'm slow, she's alright. Her tank is located in my room, and I don't go in there often, so it's very quiet and secluded. The other day I fed her carrot shavings along with her pellets. It's hard to tell whether the stuff in the water is the crumbs of the pellets of her waste. I think I saw some of her poo in there though, so that's a good sign. Sometimes I will also read in my room and she will be okay with me being in there. Thanks:)

I also feed her live fish sometimes.

you can always try a feeding container, and only give a couple of pellets, to see if she is eating, if you sit slow enough they will eat.

is it normal for her to still be shy and scared? do you know how long it takes for her to be comfortable?

They all have different personalities but it's normal to be extra shy when in a new home.

thanks!