General Care Discussion :: Turtle is mean

[charles]

Well makes around 6 months now I have my RES and I am trying to get help. First I heard that a turtle will stop growing when it gets to acomfy size for the tnak(I have a 20 gallon) and my turtle is now 3 and a half inch. I also have a fluval 20 plus which every week gets blocked beacuse of all the caca . I have a colured lamp over my aquarium in the plastic cover! What could I give it to eat? Is it dangerous if she eats rock? Should I buy a bigger filter? Where can i get a bigger aquarium for cheaper like i mean a 60 gallon with no cover nothing just the aquarium.Can she get bored alone?

Now for the handeling part! This part now for my turtle is a horror . Everytime i put my hand in she wants to bit me. I pick her up she wants my hand. I give her food she wnats my finger. Now I would like some tricks to help her familiarise with me.

Thanks to anyone that responds all my questions

[SpotsMama]

I'd say your tank is too small for a growing turtle. Why don't you look into an upgrade? The rule of thumb is 10 gallons of tank for each inch of turtle. Your turtle is already sized for a 35 gallon tank minimum, and she's only going to keep growing. There are lots of benefits to upgrading:

1. Your turtle will be happier. They love space.
2. Your water will stay clean longer because the turtle waste will be diluted in the larger volume of water.
3. With a cleaner habitat your turtle will stay healthier.

You also apparently need a stronger filter. I'm not familiar with a fluval, but if you go to a 55 gallon or larger tank you could use a canister filter like an XP3 which frees up space in the tank and will keep the water much cleaner.

ROCKS - if by "rocks" you mean gravel - yes yes yes it's dangerous for turtles to eat them!! Here are threads that show how awful it can be if they do.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... ght=gravel

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... ght=gravel

On lighting and what to give your turtle to eat, please check out the info on these topics under General Information. It's very comprehensive. After reading, if you still have questions, please ask away. While you're at it, check out the other info too on basking, temperature, etc.

On the snappiness, I know 6 months seems like a long time but it really isn't in the life of a turtle (which live 20 to 40 years). He/she is still getting to know you. Always be gentle with him/her - don't add stress. I think if he/she is in a room with you for a large part of the day it helps to familiarize them. As they learn that you are the food source they will love you more and more. I pick Spot up to check out his shell every few days and by now, after 3 1/2 years, he doesn't try to bite me because he's gotten used to me. THAT SAID:

1. Some turtles have more aggressive personalities than others and will always tend to be more bitey.
2. You will always need to take care when picking up your turtle to keep your fingers out of biting range while holding him/her securely. They can always bite even after decades of familiarity.
3. When holding Spot I use a little wash towel because even though he's pretty good about not snapping, he does dig with those claws and I don't want to be startled and drop him.

On where to get an inexpensive tank, try Craigslist or ebay. Or do internet searches to see what's on sale.

On getting bored alone - no, turtles are perfectly happy living alone. In fact, a lot of the time if they are forced to share space with another turtle, they will fight and hurt each other. You should make the tank an interesting place for your turtle. Use live and plastic plants, river rocks (big ones), put minnows in occasionally (they're entertaining for the turtle as well as good snacks), vary the diet, put cuttlebones in. All these things will help keep the turtle from getting bored.

Good luck!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Spotsmama had some good suggestions so definitely take those to heart!

FYI: turtles do NOT stop growing based on their smaller container. Your turtle will grow to be a minimum of 9 inches long so you will need to upgrade the tank. Upgrading will also keep the water cleaner longer (don't ask me how this works, it just does and I have an adult 9" turtle that poops A LOT). How much are you feeding him? If you feed too much they will poop *constantly*.

Regarding biting, I agree with spotsmama that some turtles tend to bite more than others. "Training" a turtle takes a looooong time, and a lot of patience, but if you are patient enough, it is WELL worth the wait. I am a big fan of hand-feeding foods so they see that your hand is the "giver of food & other good treats!" One way to a turtle's heart is thru his stomach. Make sure you show them the food (make sure they SEE you holding the food) before giving it to them. This is how I am "breaking in" my hatchling RES and it really works. Baby isn't so jumpy anymore. I feed my 2" baby 4 foodsticks per day, plus a couple of lettuce leaves. Each foodstick gets fed one at a time (I hold it down to him). I also hold the lettuce on the OUTSIDE of the tank where he can see it & it gets his attention BEFORE I drop it in the tank.

Another thing I like to do to keep the tank cleaner: I feed in a separate pan of water (rubbermaid dishpan....fill with water, insert turtle, feed, then dump water....no extra tank set-up required). That way, the junk from the foodsticks doesn't end up in the tank which can make the water filthy. Also, in doing this, you are PICKING UP the turtle to put him in the feeding dish. Give food by hand. Then PICK UP turtle to put him back in the tank. *VOILA*, you have picked him up twice and both times were pleasant for him because he got food out of the deal. Be patient when holding the food down to him. He may not take it right away. But keep trying and be patient. Eventually he will.

[charles]

Thanks hope all this will work

[g29w]

Good suggestion with the lettuce...I'll start doing that from now on. Usually I just clip it and put it in to the tank, I should show them the lettuce before I feed it to them.

[charles]

Man you guys are like the top you are so helpful for use owners in help!:P:)

[scripta_elegans]

Feeding them by hand is great! My turtles have become so much freindlier from hand feeding. One of them doesn't even hate being picked up anymore!

[kikicool]

I feed one of mine by hand. The other, I've had longer....almost a year, and she still is too shy. She bit me once, too, so I tend to give her her "space." But I take my pellets and dip them halfway in the water, and as soon as Herman bites, I let go so he doesn't get frightened. At best, I'd say I get 2 sticks to him this way before he runs away too. Hey, we've got what, 20-30 years to get to know each other, right?