General Care Discussion :: taming a meanie

[awkward_turtle]

So i've lost the ball of joy in my tank who was Gooby. In an attempt to make good with the turtle I have left, Dolan, i'm willing to do whatever it takes so she isn't such a meanie, if anything?
She hates being picked up, she's very intelligent and knows shes in the tank. (Gooby was happy and stupid, and it was nice for me as a turtle owner not to worry about him being stressed out).

I would like to make good with Dolan if at all possible. She snaps at me, but no longer tries to bite my fingers when shes in the water, even hand feeding her she's gotten better. She doesn't mistake my fingers for food.

Whenever I take her out of the tank she runs to the darkest corner and just stays there. Maybe this is normal turtle behavior, but gooby used to explore and climb on stuff..

Is there anything I can do to help her have fun, and enjoy being in and outside the tank?

She's 5 years old and a beast--VERY strong and about 7 inches. When shes calm she'll hang out and watch TV

[steve]

She sounds pretty normal. There are a few that are tamer and some that are meaner. Handling her too much might lead to some nasty scratches and being peed and pooped on. When my turtles were younger, they liked to climb and explore more back then as well, but it's something they grew out of. Probably because we can't be doing it that often?

[awkward_turtle]

Thanks for the reply Steve. Yeah her claws can get ya, especially the back ones. She did pee once on the couch when i was holding her, I figured maybe she was just scared.

[steve]

Yea, you just need to be prepared for anything when handling them. Males could also fan, which is not really fun.

[Jeremiah]

Too much taming efforts on the keeper's side often makes the turtles worse. They're not exactly like trainable mammals. Their instinct is to run from anything they can't eat.