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#161997
DavidS
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 Taming a Red Eared Slider
Hello,I just got a red eared slider which I have had for about a week. Anyway I am trying to I guess find some way to tame him. Currently he doesn’t like any picking him up at all which I guess is normal. Though for instance when I go to clean the tank I put him in a box large enough for him to walk around in though I did this so he wouldn’t try to run away in the room or get to far. When I had him in the box or when I pick him up out of the water he gets to a point where it sounds like he is making a hissing sound. I would like to be able to figure out a way to at least tame him enough so I can take him out of the tank at times and let him have a little more room. Any suggestions would be helpful. Also for those who have experienced it could someone explain what its like to have a RES bite you. I know it may happen at some point but I am trying to avoid that happening. I just would like to know so I am not fearing something worse than it really is. Thanks for the help.
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10/14/04 11:47pm
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#162175
TeriS4
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Message To: DavidS In reference to Message Id: 161997
Taming a Red Eared Slider
How old is he? If you got him from the wild, then it will probably take a while for him to get used to you. How I did mine is just talked to him a couple times a day let him get to know you and see you. So he see’s you are the one feeding him. It will probably take a while, but just give him a lot of tlc and he will probably come around. My painted turtle bites sometimes, because he thinks that my finger is a worm, he is always hungry, but he don’t bite that hard and he is about 5 inches. My Res has never bit me, so I don’t know. But turtles have powerful jaws, so watch out, he may always do that. Just watch out and let him get used to you. I wouldn’t play with him a lot till that happens, just stand by his tank so he can see you. Hope this helps a little
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10/15/04 10:41am
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#162200
DavidS
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Message To: TeriS4 In reference to Message Id: 162175
Taming a Red Eared Slider
I am not sure how old he is, I got him at Petco, they said around 5 years old.
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10/15/04 11:13am
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#162239
TeriS4
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Message To: DavidS In reference to Message Id: 162200
Taming a Red Eared Slider
Aww a pet store, it is hard telling how he was treated there!! The pet store here, the first time I went to look at the turtles, ohhh I wanted so badly to take them all home with me. The guy was telling me what kinds there was in there and he just picked them up roughly and just like ploped them down, kind of just dropped them. It made me soooo mad. It is hard telling what them little guys have gone through.
So your was most likely wild caught, so you will probably have to work with him a lot, unfortunaly. I am not saying all pet stores are the same, but I have heard a lot of bad things about pet stores. The best place to get a reptile is an expo or breeder! Good luck with your little guy, he will need all the love that you can give!
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10/15/04 12:27pm
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#162264
Elfomatic
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Message To: TeriS4 In reference to Message Id: 162239
Taming a Red Eared Slider
Turtles are wild animals -- they aren’t like dogs and can be domesticated .... with a lot of time and effort you may be able to get your turtle to trust you enough to allow you to hold it without wanting to escape but keep in mind that this is very stressful, especially in the beginning when it is just getting used to its new home. Most likely, it will always try to snap at you -- RES are known for being an aggressive species.
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10/15/04 12:49pm
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#163616
NinjaTurtle
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Message To: DavidS In reference to Message Id: 161997
Taming a Red Eared Slider
I got a red eared slider on Tuesday. I named him Raphael, and he sounds to me like yours. He doesn’t like being held much, and he does often try to get away from me when I have him sitting out. He’s awesome though.
Anyways, getting bit by a RES is a little confusing... see, today, I was trying to tame it using a method my girlfriends mom told me about. What you do is bend your finger and find some way to piss your turtle off so it gets to the point where it tries to bite. When it sticks its mouth out to bite, put the bend in your finger close enough so it can bite it. I did that, and it didn’t necessarily hurt, but that’s because I have thick skin and I had my finger clenched. However, it WOULD hurt if you released tension from your finger and just let it bite the loose skin, because it uses the point in its mouth to pierce skin and such. This, I guess, is supposed to show the turtle that it can’t hurt you so it sees it’s futile.
Anyways, there’s my method. I probably wouldn’t suggest it to anyone, but hey! Worked for me. Hope that helps.
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10/17/04 4:54am
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