General Care Discussion :: Playing with RES'

[easy2putt]

Is it ok to handle them..? I know about washing my hands afterwards. A friend of mind said the more I handle them the gentler they'll be and not bite late on..I guess become more domesticated perhaps..or is this a no-no.

[novroz]

your friend is right!!! I always play with my turtle and see how obidient they become

http://novroz.wordpress.com/2009/01/27/trust-2-kame/

these videos are alittle dark but still visible
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLarUBoIBcY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u55aSAWB1v8

[megcornell]

Actually, no. If you have small RES continual handling stresses them and exposes them to drafts both of which increase the chances that your RES will get ill.

Turtles really aren't "touchable" pets. It's fine to handle them when necessary but they don't appreciate being held like a cat would.

[jameshermanto]

some people said yes, some people said no. but for me, if your turtle bite your hand, its normal. like me. they bite me, they think my hand is food,i know that. after i wear glove, they never bite me again. cool right?
for me turtle is best pet. but you must patient care for them.
they like food and begging. for me novroz and megcornell both are correct.
but sometimes, some wild turtle will run out if we come to see him/her.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Meg is right on, if they are under 4", just let them be. Once they are over 4", you can certainly pick them up, but they won't like it much. And biting is a matter of individual turtle personality. You might just end up with a biter! Your turtle will much more appreciate a field trip to the backyard and be allowed to wander around, though watch because they are fast and will get away from you if you don't keep close tabs on them. You want it to be warm out, though, at least 75 degrees, if not a little warmer.

[YourOtherLeft]

My turtle will swim up and sit in my hand. He also likes it when I take his foot and pull him around the tank kinda like Superman. I can rub under his neck when he is in the water, he doesn't particularly care for it when he's out of the water thou. He has sat in my lap before when I let him wander around the house, supervised of course . He will go after my fingers and try to bite me if I'm not paying attention. But he just associates my fingers with food sometimes.

[SpotsMama]

Too much handling is a stresser for a young turtle. Occasional handling won't hurt. Lots of people take their turtles out of the tank every day for feeding or to check out the shell and skin. If the turtle is young and seems nervous when being handled, then you should keep it to a minimum.

[jameshermanto]

thx to spotsmama for the information

[mikee]

The short answer is NO. Smaller turtles get chilled too quickey and may get sick and they have a lot of bacteria including salmonila. It is a lot of unnessary stress on the turtle. You may want to pet them but they don't like it. b.

[Daniel3507]

the only time i handle my turtle is to take him outside in the summer time for a little while. generally most turtles dont really enjoyed being "played with" outside the tank

[neshkaa]

Yeah, my olive is only a year old. and relatively small. she gets excited when she sees me, but whenever i intially take her outta the tank, she attacks. lol eventually when i let her roam, and just let her explore, i can pick her up no problems. no attacking, just roaming around through my fingers. i think its just that they get scared that they're being taken out of their terriory. but they really should not attack when i initially take em out cuz it doesnt logically make sense; if she bites someone and someone panics and responsively drops her, it could cause damage. damn little animals. they dont like logically :P:P

[trudykurz]

I only handle my turt when I clean her tank and she's never tried to bite me. She did hiss one time when I had to put her in the bathroom and put her up to the mirror just so she could see herself! I've never done that again because I don't want her upset.

[dkhx2]

Oh i am so jealous of those of you able to handle your RES. My boy i got from someone else and they never did so he is very agreesive and scared when we pick him up for any reason.

[pickerbp22]

i handle mine everyday. to transfer them to another tank when i feed them. plus im tryin to heal cyclops other eye. It's taking a long time, but slowly we are making progress.

[Cstark]

I handle mine daily also..He hisses but in time hopefully hell get used to it..Sometimes he streths way out is he treyin to get where he can bite me or gettin used to it?