Other Turtle Discussion :: shy turtle?

[turtle_nz]

I've only had my turtle for a short time, and i've noticed he is very shy, every time i walk into the room he hides behind stuff and trys to bury himself. I guess this is normal cause im a huge giant compared to him, but turtles I see in pet stores etc dnt see to be as shy?

do they become friendlier?

[flutterby]

Its instinct. They would normally hide from preditors in the same way. Eventually, it will see you as a source of food and won't be as shy.

[SpotsMama]

My turt was really timid when he first came to live with us but now, after about three years, he's just one of the guys - no fear at all. I pick him up nearly every day to check his shell and make sure his skin is looking good. I know some people consider that this is stressful for the turtle and not a good thing, and maybe it is for some turtles, but personally I think in the case of Spot it has helped build his trust. Apparently different turtles have different personalities and some will naturally be more extroverted than others, and some will be more ok with being picked up than others. If you do have to pick your turtle up, make sure you're very gentle so as not to startle him.

[BullDog]

I agree with SpotsMama. All turtles have differen't personalities.

Until very recently, Ralph used to shoot into the water off his basking dock whenever he heard me coming up the stairs. In the last couple weeks, he's let me come right over to the tank and look at him while he's basking. The other day, he even come right to the edge of the platform (It's a semi-above tank area) and he looked right at me while I was looking at him!

Although when I "caught" him on the weekend to take him out to do a partial water change, he looked at me a bit distrustfully for the rest of that day... Until I fed him

[Andrew7769]

its funny actully cause george is layed back and will only budge if i have food in my hand and my painters are spaz's and i actully can get them to follow my finger right out onto their basking rock

[JNZBCBnLIL]

I've had my RES for a little under 2 months now and even though he'll gladly come out when I shake his bottle of food and let him know it's time to eat- whenever I come around and he's got his head popped up out of the water or especially when he's basking he'll slide right back into that water and try to swim away from me into the back of the tank! lol But recently I've noticed that (not with basking yet) but with his head being up out of the water sometimes he'll just follow me whenever I come into the room rather then popping his head back under and trying to swim away! I was told it's really good when they're quick to hide and swim away from you though because thats a good sign they're healthy!

[industrial_girl_2000]

I've only had my turtle for a short time, and i've noticed he is very shy, every time i walk into the room he hides behind stuff and trys to bury himself. I guess this is normal cause im a huge giant compared to him, but turtles I see in pet stores etc dnt see to be as shy?

do they become friendlier?

Yes, they do become friendlier over time. One way to get him used to you: whatever you feed him in a day, divide that up into several portions and feed him a few times in a day. I don't mean feed him MORE, you are feeding him the same amount in a day, just several times. Reason for this: you can get him used to seeing you & he will associate you with food. PLUS, it is a way for you to give him a little more attention throughout the day.

A way to a turtle's heart is thru his/her stomach! Eventually he will "come out of his shell", so to speak.