Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A year ago I put my 3 box turtles into a new outdoor home. Since then they have become increasingly shy. They used to eat worms from my hand. Now they often hide when they see me. They are eating some of the food I put out. I have stocked them home with plenty of earthworms, strawberries, edible greens, tomatoes, and of course there are LOTS of other resident bugs. Is the gone wild normal? I keep reading about people whose turtles come running up when they come in view. Thanks. Patsy

oops. uploaded wrong pix.this is where they live.

I no expert for sure. My kids are all different. Most have become very wild and hide when I am around they just watch from the log and brush piles. I do have one the original (peeps) that acts so happy to see me, and will come out and watch me weed or do a new planting. Also lady will come out for food but lady would go to McDonalds if she could drive. The rest are pretty shy for the most part. We thought we had lost or Skippy had died in a pile or underground for we hadn't seen him for six months going into fall then as I was working I saw the leaves move and checked and there was Skippy and he is 6" not small.

P.S. Love your enclosure looks like a little turtle heaven.

Thanks. That is one of the bennies of living in the tropics. I have to de-forest about every 3 months. The papayas are volunteers./p

I would love to see more pictures of your enclosure if you don't mind. It looks great!

I will try to get out Friday and take a few before/after pix. I need to beat the wilderness back a bit. I used sweet potato for a ground cover to start with and have to rip is out weekly or the turtles would never see sunlight.I am in the process of moving the h20 closer so that the hose is not exposed to mowing blades. I water about 15 minutes every morning.Love those battery run timers. Thanks for the interest./p

here are a few before pix. I will try to clean it out and take the after pix on Wednesday (doing my taxes!)1.entrance next to a papaya treee. 2.growth hiding 2 of the "ponds." 3.3rd "pond"

That's great. Where do you live? Looks so lush.

Lovely home for the turtles and I see no reason to trim anything back. What you can do is take a camp chair in there and sit with a small bucket of worms or other bugs and bring the turtles out and feed them from time to time. They will begin to associate you with food and will learn to eat from your hand again. That is really all we can expect from our turtles. They actually don't prefer the company of humans, but they know a meal ticket when they see one, lol!
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Tess
Kingsnake.com Forum Host

>>A year ago I put my 3 box turtles into a new outdoor home. Since then they have become increasingly shy. They used to eat worms from my hand. Now they often hide when they see me. They are eating some of the food I put out. I have stocked them home with plenty of earthworms, strawberries, edible greens, tomatoes, and of course there are LOTS of other resident bugs. Is the gone wild normal? I keep reading about people whose turtles come running up when they come in view. Thanks. Patsy
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To reply to your original question.. btw that pen is really nice looking...
I think it is normal for some to revert to being more shy & acting more wild when they are outdoors.
They're just like any other animal or human..each individual behaves differently so I don't there's anything wrong with them because they became more shy once they were able to live in what's more normal conditions for them.
My largest box, Charity, has always been the way you describe whether she's indoors or out. She's been here for 4-5 years now.. she's always runs away from humans.
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PHRatz

thanks for your reply. I haven't had the time to check this site lately. I do miss the interaction, but am glad they seem to be healthy. Today my male ate Avocado- new food, easily available - hurray! Patsy

I would say that it's normal. Don't worry about it.

I have been real busy lately and haven't visited this site. I hope you notice this email. You and Pratz seem to know lots - today I fed my male 3toed (?) avocado. I got the idea from my next door neighbor who has a behemoth sulcata that devours avocado. Think avocados are ok? Thanks.