Other Turtle Discussion :: Should Turtles go for a walk?

[Amooliakin]

Our 7 inch female spends all her time in her tank or sun bathing on her rock.

Should I be taking her out to let her walk around our apartment?

I can't take her outside since I live in New York City.

If I do let her walk around indoors, how long should I let her out? Will she get too dry after a certain amount of time?

I'm not even sure she would like it....

[sonyj]

As long as she has a good habitat and all her requirements are being met in her tank, there is no need to take her out to roam. If you could get her outside for direct sun, that would be a different story... then you might want to occasionally. For the most part, you may stress a turtle out when removing it from it's comfort zone (it's home) and if not supervised very carefully it could suffer injury being out and about.

[steve]

Well, if you let her roam around indoors, the right conditions should be present. I would recommend a carpeted room with no furniture for her to wedge herself in. She should be supervised and have towels and other areas she can use to hide. Make sure she is cleaned off before she is placed back into the tank and expect the occasional poop stain on the carpet, which can be very messy if she happens to crawl over it.

[Amooliakin]

OK - that settles it. She will stay in the tank. If there is no need for her to roam and she might get stressed out... then I certainly don't want her out and about. And we don't have carpets.

We have other pets who all get out of their cages (hamster, lizard, mice) but she and the finch (and the fish) stay where they are. So I was just wondering.

Thanks

[Wes_RES]

If you do take her out ever, get her back in the tank within an hour.

[steve]

They can be out of tank for more than an hour and still be comfortable. My RES are usually not stressed when they are out of the tank.

[ZooKeeper]

I take Tilly outside and she enjoys walking around in the yard...but I stay right with her because she can move pretty fast!

I have also kept her out for more than an hour and she is fine.

[Boogerbutt02]

I take mine turtle out at least twice a week if not more... mostly for sun, but she loves to run everywhere (and yes she is fast) she even enjoys the dog.