Turtle mostly likes to watch the humans near them; if they feel affectionate, they will not participate in the activity rather watch silently most of the time.
Opposite to cats and dogs, the tortoise would not beg you to cuddle; instead, they will just feel pleased with your presence around them.
They will not jump up and down to show their excitement to the owner. They may just like to walk around you, and it will be a happier time for them to grab your attention.
Probably you are sitting in your garden, and you see your turtle roaming around you with affection. A turtle will be more than happy after getting a few pats from your hands.
Table of Contents
Do Turtles Recognize Their Owner?
The turtle will not show affection for their owners, although they can recognize them well, probably their way of expression is a bit different from other animals. Turtle use their senses smartly, you can find them starring at their owner deeply to see the visual appearance.
To recognize humans, they smell them; once they start sharing a special bond with you, it will be easier for them to come closer. It will require some effort on your part to be friendly with them.
As being reptiles, they have aggressive behavior patterns; you must have to deal with it while interacting with them. Turtle is learning to show appreciation; you already know to express it, so use it wisely to get a special place in its life.
Reptiles show affection using their body gestures, sounds, and smells, remember we should expect them to behave like mammals when it comes to amusing the pet.
How To Know The Turtle Is Happy?
The turtle will show their fear by hiding all running away and recognizing if he is scared. Turtle is not an Animal that would jump and laugh to express his emotions, so it is a bit tricky to acknowledge his feelings.
Most likely, you will see turtle happy and satisfied sitting in a corner with Peaceful expression. Sometimes you may find him looking at his favorite family member with Shiny Eyes.
Cats are mostly very expressive towards showing affection for their owners; of course, The Turtle would not be jumping around your leg and falling all day but still much adorable with his silent presence. Someday you might be pleasantly surprised by his graceful walk to search you around some corner of the garden.
How To Pet Your Turtle?
This innocent creature is a desirable pet instead of handling them is sometime a bit tricky. Turtles are supposed to be treated in some other way as compared to the other domestic animals.
If you own a turtle, you must know some tricks to handle him without hurting. Here are the few easy steps to follow when wishing to spend some PET time with him.
- Place the turtle on a flat surface. Turtle wants to feel secure and say when they are most receptive to human introduction. Better ideas to place them on the floor rather than on carpet and rug will make them feel comfortable moving and roaming around.
- Try to approach them from the front side. If the turtle cannot see you and your hand suddenly appears, it might get frightened. .Always think about the mental wellbeing of your pet and try to comfort as much as possible with your general behavior. It is a sensitive creature unable to tolerate any kind of unnecessary drama, so hold on your emotions while treating him.
- You can touch his Chin and cheeks by using your finger gently, and you may rub your finger under the chin area. It will give him a pleasant feeling to feel your touch.
- He will also allow you to touch on the top of the head. You can run your middle finger on the turtle`s head, avoid touching the list nose, and Eyes it can make him angry sometimes. While being aggressive, he can try to bite you, so be careful with him.
- Once he starts trusting you, it is time to message its neck gently, keep a softer touch not to make him anxious to move back in his shell.
Let him crawl to move forward and come in your lap, make sure he is sitting well enough so as not to fall with some movement—this lap time essential to bring him closer to you.
What Can Be The Basic Needs Of Your Pet Turtle?
You have to understand a few important things if you want to be a turtle owner as compared to most of the pet animals with the terms you have to adopt a unique way of thinking. You may have to go a long way to win his affection, but once you can recognize it as his Ally, he will not let you down.
There are four main things to care about Turtles
- food
- survival
- reproduction
- basking
Food
You will find your turtle always looking for the food, and this is their natural instant as they have not much to do in their daily routine. Moderate physical activity and body structure make it hard for the turtle to move briskly, so their main focus is to find food.
When titles are in captivity, they feel happy for being in their comfort zone when the most critical priority is to get some food. They will not take an interest in toys; instead, they would be happy to see you playing, but that would be going to happen be the later stage of attachment.
Survival
The first thing this animal thinks about is survival; all other elements are linked to it. If they considered a living place dangerous, they would not like to stay there anymore. The presence of a Predator near them is quite distracting for their mental health. They will try to hide from the possibly dangerous situation.
Turtles are believed to be cowards, well, is it true? Being honest, their priority is about safety, and there is no reason to do any harm if you only want your survival.
As human beings, we are different from the Turtles, so It is not logical to make a comparison of the human brain with a reptile`s attitude about survival. You must have read about many parents who put their lives in danger for the sake of the proper fraction of their children, turtle things differently they always think about their safety in the first place.
Reproduction
Turtle has a natural urge to pass on their genes for further generations. Turtles are very much interested in the process of reproduction. You will likely see male Turtles fighting to win the rights over a female mate. And you may observe that this fight is significant for their mental well being.
It will not get into something dangerous that might hurt one partner, and it is just a struggle to prove your superiority over the other member of the community.
Female turtle can lay eggs without being fertilized by a male-although these eggs are not going to hatch. Wild turtles do this due to temperature and cycle changes; that’s why we can see them out on roads many times during the scorching weather.
Basking
Basking is very important for turtles as it helps them to maintain good health. You will find them struggling to find a right basking spot even they can fight other turtles to occupy their favorite basking spot.
You can see a happy turtle basking in the sunshine with calmness on his face. Turtles are prone to make strange sounds when they are satisfied and amusing to enjoy their surroundings.
Understanding The Needs Of Your Turtle
It is normal to feel that your Turtle doesn’t like you much; he can behave like a moody and melancholic individual. He will likely only come around his feeding time; if you still want to have a turtle as a pet, you have to show some responsibility. Just a box for a dish of water is not enough to keep the turtle happy. Like all cold-blooded animals, they need direct ultraviolet rays to feel healthy and energetic.
They need a small pond cotton tank where they can enjoy swimming. You need to make a diet plan according to the turtle; some are herbivores, while others depend on the predatory type of food. You are the only responsible person to take care of all the needs of your beloved Turtle. Be rational, and don’t expect too much gratitude from this little chipmunk.
You have to show patience for a long time as a turtle owner, unlike cats and dogs, who will seek love from humans, the turtle will be hesitant. Because of this, you need to show more empathetic behavior to handle him.
Despite all your care and attention, he may take longer to accept you as your owner. When they feel safe, they mostly learn to worth the efforts of their caregivers.
Turtles Bond With Humans
Turtles are likely to spend time in solitary, they feel concerned about their privacy, and they are the real loners. However, some turtle does express recognition for their owners but within the safe boundaries. It is still a question that this recognition is probably due to food, but it is encouraging sign that your pet is familiar with your presence and feeling safe with you.
Most people love to have dogs for the share of special human bonding as pack animals. Too, cats are very cuddly and expressive about their feelings towards the entire family members. It is believed that humans want to spend quality time with their pets; they can closely relate to their pets’ emotions for leading a balanced life. When to talk about turtle or tortoise, they have a strange streak of mystery, which we have to accept with an open heart when adopting a reptile pet.
Do not make any rash decisions; consider all related factors to choosing a pet. Do research, ask friends and family, and then move ahead with confidence to find that perfect companion for many years. Tortoise and some turtle have a longer life span of around 20-25 years, maybe to give ample time to spend with your special friend.
What Can Be The Possible Harms With Turtles
Generally, turtles are not listed in dangerous animals; they still need to take care of the safety of your family. Snapping turtle is capable of inflicting a painful bite and some other breeds too. Try not to leave him alone with young kids without adult supervision. Aggressive turtle can potentially prove more suspected of damaging a bit. A Turtle may be Salmonella carrier that can make you very sick.
Due to fatal salmonella disease in most countries after 1975, a ban is restricted to own small turtles(less than 4inches). Smaller ones come into frequent interaction with kids; they most likely hold them or bring near their mouths. A size of turtle can be the carrier as Salmonella bacteria can’t rinse off from a turtle. These bacteria live into their bodies, not necessarily making them sick likewise can prove very dangerous for humans. Salmonella causes abdominal cramps and severe diarrhea in kids under 5years of age.
Keep babies away from the turtle while maintaining good hygiene practices for other members. Wash your hands properly after being into contact with the animal; ensure to scrub the surface area where he possibly touched.
How To Know Your Turtle Doesn’t Like You?
When you go near them, they try to hide, and this is probably the sign of disliking from your pet. It happens due to some underlying fear about security, and not thinking positively about you. It can take a few weeks and sometimes months longer to realize your integrity. When they are finally able to feel that you are not going to hurt them in any way; instead, you care about their needs and change their behavior.
If you recently got a new one and tries to bite you when handling for food, that might be his initial reaction. After some time, they will start feeling comfortable with you; know that it’s all about your patience level to bear with him.
If the situation persists after your honest efforts and turtle is still trying to bite you’re after spending many months of ownership, it calls for further action. Something is triggering this aggressive behavior in turtle; probably, you miss something vital about your pet.
Here to discuss a few possible reasons for his anger.
Mishandling
They might not like how you handle them; turtles can`t be faithful as dogs, unlike any rough attitude, will compel them to resist back. It could be the result of some pressure they feel from any of the family members, so naturally, they are afraid to live freely.
Although they have a durable shell, it doesn’t mean you can hold it carelessly. The individual needs of your pet demand to adopt a lenient attitude with them. Take care of their shell while using the brush to clean the edges; any possible scratch or bruise can hurt them to react angrily.
Living Pace
Many turtles living in a small tank can leave all of the restless and violent. Ample space to move around is vital for the turtle to live in peace. It could be a possible reason for their annoying attitude that struggling for space can make them anxious to react badly.
Food
If the turtle does not feel satisfied with the given quantity of food, he will try to bite you. Ensuring you are providing him enough meals to fulfill his energy requirements, otherwise fighting over, will make him more violent towards you.
Stress
Any living condition can stress out the pet for showing impulsive behavior. Loud music or noisy surroundings can make turtle uncomfortable and check the tank’s cleanliness to prevent toxin living conditions.
Key Takeaways
After knowing all facts about adopting a pet turtle, you may have to accept the conditions related to your decision. If you have babies at home, hold on for a while to bring the turtle pet as the bacteria can make kids sick.
Turtle pet will take time to adjust with you, but ultimately, you will succeed in winning his heart. Your journey with the turtle will have various ups and downs. Let’s see how successful you are on your way.
- Turtle recognize their owners
- They feel emotions like happiness, boredom, and loneliness
- They expect their owners to acknowledge their needs: food, shelter, basking
- They get stressed in a suppressed environment
- They fight back to resist aggressive behaviors
In case you find all efforts worthless to make him comfortable with you, contact pet authorities to take him away from your place. Don`t leave him loose as that may kill him, so it is not a kind decision for a pet.
Hey, I work as a manager of a pet store in Texas. Dealing with a variety of pets is not only part of my job but also my passion. These adorable, loving creatures are so excited when they find their new home. However, many new pet owners struggle in taking care of their pets and come up with a lot of queries every day. So, based on my knowledge and experience, I am using this platform to address major issues faced by pets, their food options, grooming techniques and so on. The major issue I addressed is that most of the part-owners prefer to surf through the Internet instead of going directly to the vet. And the worst part, they are rattled with multiple types of information available there. So, my target is to provide authentic information with my experience. Walkthrough my blogs and ask any of your queries. I would love to help!
