General Care Discussion :: Adventures out of the tank?

[willie's mommy]

I have been reading many posts and several say that they let their RES walk around the house. I have put mine on a towel and let him walk and look around but never just loose in the house or room. How long can they stay out of the water? When I take him out some times he gets mad and makes hissing noises and tries to run in my hands. Any suggestions??

Thanks.

[missibsu]

They can stay out of the water for quite awhile. You'll want to make sure that the room isn't drafty, you don't want him getting sick. Also, roaming is one thing, but he should always be supervised. They can get away pretty quick. Also, if you have any other pets, make sure they can't harm him.

The hissing noise is the air being expelled in an effort to pull in limbs. It's a sign of feeling threatened. Taking your turtle out could be stressful to him. It's something that shouldn't be done all the time, but maybe just when you are doing a cleaning or checking over his shell.

[turrbee]

here's my story....

one of my turtles escaped 2 days ago
i heard some clicking noise when i was trying to fall asleep
but i didnt let it bother me.
now that i think about it
i think that's when my turtle escaped
it escaped once before
since then i had to lower the rock which it bask on

anywayz.
the nxt day i just turned the light on and left for school
after i got back
i found only one turtle
i freaked out
tried to find the other one. but i couldnt
i searched my room but nope
i guessed i was too freaked out to search properly
lol
cuz i found it in my room =P
just that it was under a pile of bags.

i cant imagine how many "falls" that poor little thing went thru
from tank to table.. from table to the floor.. (ouch)
if it did escape while i was trying to sleep
it was out of water for......... about....... 20 hours
so lucky that i found it.. ALIVE!!

[sandyandspongebob06]

i had a painter turtle years ago n it got lost for awhile. found it in my room upside down. it lived with my goldfish , didnt need all this special stuff. just a raft and fish food n he was good to go

[willie's mommy]

turrbee you are so lucky! Glad to hear you found him

[industrial_girl_2000]

I let Sheba out all the time, sometimes for up to 8 hours on the main floor of my house. I just make sure the basement door is closed so she doesn't fall down the stairs. A long time ago, I even bought her this large red plush shoe (it's actually for kittens) which I leave in the bathroom behind the toilet. Sheba loves it. A lot of times she crawls inside there and goes to sleep & that's where I find her.

Also, I don't let her out right after I feed her because that's usually when she uses the bathroom! :O I wait for about 20 min. after she is done eating (leave her in her tank), then let her out. That helps prevent accidents on my carpet.

A little painted turtle I had many years ago used to love to walk around the house and she used to sit on the heater vent on the floor & "bask" in the warm air coming up! She would fan her legs out & do these funny turtle yoga poses. It was very cute!

There are so many funny things in their personalities that can come out after they walk around your house & discover things. Just be very careful to watch out for them so you don't step on them!

[Sprawl]

I wouldn't be too worried if the turtle likes it. it's important to gauge the turtles reaction to being out of their home. Stress is a bad thing for reptiles and can cause physical harm.

some things to look out for.
- if the turtles biting at you whenever you come near.. maybe not the best idea to handle it and try taking it out regularly.
- if the turtle just sits in it's shell and never moves... probably doesn't like where it is and wants to go back.
- if the turtle all the time circles the outside walls and never ventures into the middle, means it's uncomfortable with the environment and can't get it's bearings. it does this and just follows walls cause it's a safetly thing. it's probably feeling a bit stressed. mind you the first few times you take them out this is probably what they'll do when they learn the room. however this behavious should go away after a while as they learn and get comfortable.
- small turtles can move fast and get into nooks and crannies that are hard to find them. I don't recommend just letting a baby or hatchling walk around. They're too small and there are far too many obsticles in their way. they're too fragile. Get a large box for their out time, or set up boundaries they can't get by for a small safe region. and trust me, boundaries are hard. They'll climb over ANYTHING thats not a perfect cliff higher than their heads.

now, if you've got an adult turtle who doesn't mind being let out, let it have fun. you can have them out for a long time if they like it. however, turtles need to drink which they can't find out on the floor..
watch their behaviour. it will astound you. they go from being just floating animals who bask to curious intelligent beings. my Diesel is constantly walking around to everything she see's everywhere sniffing it, or eyeballing it close up. pushing it around with her head or climbing over it. however when the turtles are out, the doorways are always closed and i don't give her anything she can use to hurt herself with. The Cat is kept out of the same room unless i'm there under close supervision.

I learned the hard way. one day I had left the room with the tanks open, and one escaped. Looked everywhere for her. Couldn't find her for 2 days. than suddenly i heard this banging of something on metal from the basement. followed the sound. she was there in the basement cold cellar trying to dig her way UNDER some metal scaffolding. she went down 2 flights of stairs, accross the hallways upstairs and the main hallways of the main floor without anyone seeing her at all.

I was worried she'd be hurt or stressed to the point of being sick. I put her back in the tank and gave her some food to see if she'd eat. She gobbled it all. Begged for more, than climbed on her rock to bask as if it was a casual day in the park. Since then i've started taking her out daily and she shows signs of loving it.

Mind you... be carefull where you leave penut butter sandwiches

[SpotsMama]

Thanks for the wonderful write-up! My Spot loves to get out and explore. He's not afraid of anything. He has to be watched constantly but it's a real joy to see his curiosity and energy.

[Andrew7769]

for future referance...painters need just as much care as RES they have basicly the same requirements a raft and fish food isnt healty for them....just throwing it out there cause i dont want anyone to think that painters are easyer to care for. my rant is over..lol

[Ferd]

how long can they last out of water under a heat lamp?

[willie's mommy]

Thanks for all of the great advice. I think I will let Willie play in the dining room since its the easiest to block off. I'll let everyone know how it goes

[Evie]

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?

[steve]

He should be OK for short periods of time, however it may be very stressful for him. Room temperature should be at least 70.

[willie's mommy]

I let Willie out and about in the dining room and she just walked around looking and tried to escape through any little crack she could get through (I put a few boxes and rubbermaid totes blocking the doorways). I also made her an out of the tank sun tanning area and set it on the floor so she could check it out before I set it up for her to access it from her tank...still working on it.

[dhunter]

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!