Feeding and Nutrition :: how soon to attempt out-of-tank feedings

[scriabin]

I'd like to get into a routine of feeding my turtles out of their tank if possible. However they're still skittish and I don't want to stress them out. They've been with me for about three weeks but we moved the habitat last week and that got them freshly jumpy. For the most part I try to leave them alone to get settled - picking them up every morning and putting them into a feeding tank would be a big change... any recommendations about how long to wait before starting this?

Also, I've heard with large lizards it's good to gently handle them for a few minutes every day to acclimate to handling - do turtles ever acclimate to being handled?

[megcornell]

I'd wait until you get them back to your apartment and settled in for a more long-term stay. Then I'd start with the more dominant turtle, she'd be more likely to adjust and that gives the less dominant turtle the freedom to eat in peace in the regular tank.
Since they are larger, you certainly can try feeding them out of the tank now, but you may not get great results. I don't personally feed my turtles out of their tanks, so I'm not entirely sure how long it takes them to adjust. I'd say it really depends on their temperaments.

As for getting them less hand shy, I've had no success with my turtles. While the male will tolerate it, he certainly doesn't enjoy it, and my female will hiss and bite the entire time she's being held. I just accepted their lack of desire to be held and make my contact with them as brief as I can, only handling them when I need to, like for a tank cleaning. A good way to get your turtles used to your presence (but not necessarily being held) is to hand feed them. It's a little tougher with larger turtles because they have a larger mouth and better chance of biting, but you could use larger pieces of food, like lettuce leaves.

[scriabin]

Thanks!

By the way, is there always a dominant turtle? If one of mine is dominant, I certainly haven't see it yet...

[megcornell]

I would say yes. Usually there's a more outgoing turtle who will hog the food and warmest basking spot if possible. They may not be outwardly aggressive towards the other turtle at first, but if they feel threatened or want more resources they'll certainly attack.
That's why when you get your larger tank it would greatly benefit you and your turtles to set up two basking areas and some plants to give them their own space. I think any effort to reduce possible issues to fight over is a good step.

[scriabin]

I did notice two nights ago they both came up to feed at the same time, and although there was plenty of tuna for both of them, one actually tried to steal tuna out of the other's mouth.

Other than that though, they seem pretty friendly - like to hang out together in the same corner underwater etc... I haven't gotten the impression so far that they feel crowded by each other

[SpenceMasta]

i usually only feed my turtle out of the water, since they're basically stomachs with eyes and a nose all you need to do is wave something in their face and make them chase it to the dock, place the food on the dock, somewhere where they can see it from the surface of the water and just back off and wait patiently, eventually they'll get used to it, took me a few days

whenever i get near the tank now my turtle immediately checks on top of her basking area