Feeding and Nutrition :: Turtles think my fingers are food, will this hurt me later?

[marisa]

And my RES, Tilly, is just the opposite. I used to handfeed him a lot and still do sometimes, depending on how messy the food is. He insists on smelling everything first and seems to know my fingers aren't for eating ( I think he recognizes my scent). He will take food from my fingers and deftly avoid biting them. If I just put my fingers in the water, he'll come to them and smell them, but won't bite.

[ptcake]

This was good for me to read. I have two babies and I was letting them take the small food sticks from my fingers. More recently, I began to drop the sticks into the water because I wanted them to get used to taking the food that way and not from my fingers. Safdar, your idea of holding out your hand is best. That's what we do for horses, etc.

[untsmurf]

I wonder if they think your fingers are just really big food?

[DavidY]

That's what I think too! It looks like a huge steak sub to them!

[untsmurf]

Yeah, exactly. It's like ' i didn't know they made pellets that big, MINE!! '

[industrial_girl_2000]

sooo.... how do I prevent him form thining that my figners are food? lol
i like hand feeding the turtles because it makes me feel closer to them, but I jdont wantt hem to chomp my fingers!

For now, just continue to hand-feed. I agree the turts will eventually get bigger & it will hurt more.

One way I have gotten around this is by putting the food "close to their face" so they see that you put it there (they know the food comes from you). It's a safer way of hand-feeding & they still understand the concept without biting you.

Another thing you can do (once they are bigger) is to feed them with a baby food spoon. I have done this with my Sheba for many yrs with a lot of success. And now she associates the spoon & me with food (not just me!). I know it sounds funny, feeding a turtle with a spoon, but it does work. Just put some food on the tip of the spoon & they will take it from the spoon. Sometimes they latch onto the spoon, but since the spoon is smooth, it is fairly easy to just slide it out of their mouth. Spoon feeding works really well if you are feeding them stuff like tuna, cooked sweet potato, a berry, etc.....anything that is either small or very squishy.

[TXGUY]

just drop the pellets in the water and that's it, let them eat like any other animal in the world LOL

[biomanz]

Wear chain mail
Protection and aweful texture/taste

[kaimarion]

Well from what I have heard a 8 in RES can draw alot of blood if he bites you but I might be wrong??????/

[industrial_girl_2000]

Well from what I have heard a 8 in RES can draw alot of blood if he bites you but I might be wrong??????/

I have a 9" turtle, and she can pinch really really REALLY hard, causing mostly bruising. It's not like their jaws can "cut" your skin....I have had very few "bleeding" injuries from Sheba & it never bleeds much. It just hurts from her pinching so hard.

[SpotsMama]

My turtle's about 7" and he got me last year. His jaws were like a steel trap. Not only did he break the skin but he took a small chuck out of my finger. I've been much more careful ever since.

[turboturtle8]

Yeah it hurts when they bite my turtles are still young but I can only imagine how much damage Spot can do .They won't let go either.My mom always tells me "Never bite the hand that feeds you"guess my turtles never heard that saying

[Tenodera]

I haven't ever been bitten by Serra before...I rarely feed by hand.

[Safdar]

Ya i hand feed Tito everytime and he never bites me

[Caelestis]

My turtle avoids my finger, I noticed that when he ate his romaine lettuce for the first time. The only way I could do that was to feed him a pellet, and then he wants more, so I gave him the romaine and he tasted it and started chowing down out of my hand.