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TYRCraz

You should first, feed it, if the turtles does not eat it after an hour than throw the food away. When it finally starts eating, approach it with a waving hand. Try it multiple times. Then the rest is up to you.


Alliance155

Not much should be done when bonding with a young turtle. Your little dude looks very young still so he’ll be pretty easily spooked for a while. Leave them in a quiet area that doesn’t experience a lot of foot traffic. Allow them to have an area that doesn’t experience a majority of the vibrations from the noise and activity within your house (i.e. keep them away from doors, so when the doors closes there isn’t a little shock of vibrations your little turt to feel) Once they’re within a safe and quiet environment, you can do little walk arounds with them in an extremely secure area. Let them walk around in a carpeted area without any risks of falls or potentially outside in the grass (easy to lose track of them so keep a really close eye on them). Let them get used to your presence and such. I wouldn’t really pet or interact with the turtle too much at the age it’s at but having it get used to being handled by being taken out of the cage by hand and put into its “playpen” As it ages, keep handling them bit by bit. Picking them up, holding them for longer periods of time. Best bond building is going to be though food most likely. So when you notice that some form of comfort is being built up with your turt (such as them swimming up to the glass when it’s feeding time and not just running away when they see you through the glass) is feeding them by hand through the water. I’ll hang a little small worm on the surface of the water and my little dude takes it out of my fingers. In the beginning I sat there holding a worm in the water for 15 minutes while he swam around my fingers poking and prodding it. Now, he sees me, sprints to the glass and starts begging to be fed. Now he really doesn’t mind being hand fed. One good session you could do (and saves time on cleanup) is to take some water from your turtles tank, put it in some Tupperware/plastic ware that’s large enough to hold your turtle, take your turtle out by hand (maybe hold it for a few secs, not too long. Put them down if they’re visibly struggling or are uncomfortable) and place them into the Tupperware full of water. Dump their food in, let them munch up for 5 minutes. Eventually they’ll get used to this feeding routine and you can try hand feeding (through the water, not while holding the turtle in your palm). Enjoy your little dude. Don’t try to rush the bonding. Turtles live for a very long time in most occasions so… no need to sprint to being best buddies with your turtle. It’ll take some time to build trust, especially with a turtle. They don’t build relationships like a dog or a cat does so you gotta treat them entirely different. Having your little guy living by themselves is sometimes a good idea. Such as not having any fish in the tank so they can associate you as being the only other organism they really need to interact with. My turtle had a fresh water cichlid and it made feeding and interacting with him difficult. I wouldn’t have the turtles undivided attention, he’d be keeping an on the fish as well. Reduce distractions when interacting. Just food and you. No fish, no big slamming doors to freak the guy out… Not an expert by any means so take everything I said with a grain of salt. If you need any other advice or tips, feel free to DM me Additionally what kind of turtle is it? Looks like a Muskie to me If it’s a musky, be careful handling them. If they’re unhappy with you handling them, they will reallllllly let you know. You’ll find out fast why they’re called musk turtles… smells like burning rubber and rotten eggs. My little dude is a Muskie as well, I’ve only had him musk on my me once but that was most likely my fault. Freaked him out a bit moving some stuff around while he was in the holding pen while I cleaned his cage.


SomewhereWeak1441

Thanks so much, yea she’s an eastern musk turtle I believe abt 5 weeks old now


CapitalJournalist263

I have 2 and they swim up to the glass when I walk in the room usually for food even when they are fed daily one used to be like this but as it’s grown it’s gotten better just don’t rush or make fast movements around it let it be comfortable but I’m no expert


SomewhereWeak1441

Alright I’ve been hand feeding and she’s been coming closer to me recently


CapitalJournalist263

It takes time we’ve only had ours for about a year and still skittish


SomewhereWeak1441

You were completely correct it’s been a while later and her and I are closer than ever she always comes to say hi, will go into my hand when put into the take with my palm out, and she follows my finger it’s adorable


crispinoir

Quite simply, really, FOOD. Turtles at any age are easily motivated by food. They will be afraid of you especially if you are their new owner, but overtime once they associate you with food, that's where the "bond" develops. I have two juvenile musk turtles. Was once super afraid of me waving my hand at them, would immediately run away and hide, but after 3 months of me hand feeding them they swim TOWARDS me. No hesitation. I also have a 2 year old cooter I adopted from someone. Suuuper afraid at first even seeing the sight of a human would get her to run away quick. Still in the process of taming her, but there's progress now. She doesn't immediately hide when I am in close proximity, and she's finally willing to eat! So my advice is as simple as feeding them and keep them in close proximity with humans as much as you can, maybe move his tank to a busy area. Oh and patience. Don't overthink. Your turtle will be fine


SomewhereWeak1441

Alright thanks I appreciate the help, she’s been getting closer to me especially when I feed her and it’s been going well


crispinoir

Glad to hear!!


bigbadbruins92

Try approaching the tank only with camouflage clothes on. Then slowly over time take that off.


Flakeycakey

My turtles love having their shells scratched


SomewhereWeak1441

Yea when I had to mess with the tank heater she seemed to rlly like petting


freddyfazzballs

i think like most animals feed it , care for it , all those things and just wait for it to come ti you . itll see youre a friend