Feeding and Nutrition :: hand feeding

[rsour24]

someone suggested i try to hand feed my turtle to try to get him(or her) more comfortable with me. i've tried b4 but no success. can someone help me out? should i take my turtle out fo the water? set a pellet on my hand and than put my turtle on my hand? what should i do?

[koreyleigh]

first and foremost, you should NOT take the turtle out of the water to feed them -- they require their food to be in water in order to swallow it.

i don't think feeding a turtle by hand will have any affect on their comfort with their owner. some will tell you that they won't ever make such a connection. however, if you wanted to give it a try, i'd recommend hand feeding a piece of green leaf lettuce or other approved vegetable part of their diet. feeding pellets it probably far too techincally difficult to do without getting bit purposely or accidentally.

[jozzep]

first and foremost, you should NOT take the turtle out of the water to feed them -- they require their food to be in water in order to swallow it.

i don't think feeding a turtle by hand will have any affect on their comfort with their owner. some will tell you that they won't ever make such a connection. however, if you wanted to give it a try, i'd recommend hand feeding a piece of green leaf lettuce or other approved vegetable part of their diet. feeding pellets it probably far too techincally difficult to do without getting bit purposely or accidentally.

Agree....
Try feeding feeder fish since they leave some distance between the turtles beak and your finger.

[wiccabrat]

Try an earth worm, mine will come right up for them and you can dangle it in the water away from your fingers.

[novroz]

Try cuttlebone, it works on mine.

here's a video of her http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XagauPw7 ... re=related

This is just my opinion...but I agree that hand-feeding makes me and my turtles more comfortable

[rsour24]

but can i get him(or her) to take it from my hand? he runs and hides if i go close to the top of the tank
and where can i buy cuttlebone?

[novroz]

well that's a bit hard...none of my babies run and hide when I get close to them.

Maybe not everyone's going to agree with me on this...but this is what I've done. Since they were little I often play with them...you know like holding them (not too long), let them walk around the house, teasing them with object they might chase or become curious at...stuff like that. But don't do it too often when they are still little coz they are still fragile.

After that, it'll be easy to hand-feed them and they'll will start chasing you around and beg for food (which is very cute to see)

Cuttlebone...it depends, I find mine in bird-shop (tho I have a hard time finding it right now ). Where are you? maybe someone from your country knows where to find it.

[rsour24]

im in USA, PA i found some at the pet store, very cheap, just not sure how much to give. my turtle is onyl egtting close to 2"

[robind]

Likely any feed/farm supply or pet store would carry cuttlebone. Also they're pretty cheap online, since they're so light and durable and easy to ship.

[rsour24]

novroz - what all did u do each day with ur turtles? and how long did it take before they were not scared and started to beg for food?

[steve]

If your turtle is a hatchling, leave it alone as much as possible so it can adjust to it's new home.

[rsour24]

this sounds stupid but how long are turtles considered hatchlings?

[steve]

The first year, however my comment is in reference to newly acquired turtles. Sorry for any confusion.

[rsour24]

ive had my turtle for a month in its current habitat

[novroz]

novroz - what all did u do each day with ur turtles? and how long did it take before they were not scared and started to beg for food?

Few months...her tank is in the living room so she eventually felt comfortable with people.

Here's another thing you can try that also works for me. I have to work from monday to fri, but everytime I get home I come straight to their tank and say hi and touch them a little. And now they always welcome me home.

I've seen the picture of your turtle, it's about 2inchs right? so don't handle him too much...but do come to him as often as you can. He'll recognize you easier one day.