Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been reading about a lot of RES owners who let their RES run free in the house. Some turtles even follow their owners around. I was wondering if anyone in here does this. I know you have to be carful because turtles can get lost very easily. Is is cool to let my 2 RES walk around my room every now and then if they seem to be having a good time?
Thanks,
Marisa

Of course it is fine, as long as you dont have anything dangerous lying around. I let my turtles run around in my room occasionally. Before I let them out, I cover all the electrical plugs so that they dont shock themselves, and make sure there is no sharp or heavy things around that might fall on them. My turtles are both around 11/12 years old, so they can be strong enough to knock things over.

i will definatly try that when i get my res's, i read that res like to bite electrical cords and eat any little fuzzies or bits of stuff on the floor too!

Cheers!

Nicole
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this is how a Res looks when he eats

Actually it's not such a great idea. I am sure others on here will tell you too that there is alot of danger in letting them run around on the floor. Number one is that the small threads on your carpet can get tangled in their toenails and end up cutting off circulation and making their toes fall off. Another hazard would be any dust or cleaning stuff you might use on your carpet, remember that they absorb stuff through their skin and even carpet fresheners would be toxic to them. I am not one to say if they enjoy it or not but it seems mine just run for cover and hide in any dark hole they can find when they are out of their tanks. The choice is yours but I wouldnt recommend it. I think they are much more happy in their safe homes. If you feel they need to run maybe try lettting them go in the yard..(with very close supervision!!)Good luck!
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Slow and Steady wins the race...

I agree with Turtle Fancy. Turtles are more like fish than dogs. They don't really want to run around your house and explore, they are running for cover. Trying to find a safe place to hide. I don't do it.

Nancy

Thanks for your replies. I guess if I let my turtles run around I'll keep my eyes on them the whole time. I won't let them get tangled in my rug and won't let them get near anything they can try to eat.

I cannot emphasize this strongly enough. DO NOT let your turtles run around on your floors. It is not something they will readily enjoy and there are too many health risks for the turtles AND for you. The turtles can get stressed out which is not good for their overall well being and come in contact with all sorts of hazardous materials that could poison them or at the very least make them extremely ill. They could get a small carpet fiber wrapped around a toe. If this goes unnoticed it can constrict the toe and they could lose it! This could happen even to a whole limb.

Now as for your own health. Turtles can harbor some pretty nasty little crawlies that can make you really sick. Ever have Salmonella? I suspect if you did you would NEVER want it again!! How about giardia -- NOT FUN!! These are very painful and uncomfortable things to have that can make you very ill. If your turtle is urinating on your floor or carpets or defecating and is carrying these things the potential for contracting them is there. Not worth risking it for something that is unnecessary for the turtle's well being.

Just some things to consider.

res are aquatic not terrestrial
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1.0 dumpy treefrog
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i used to know this woman who had an res. she was like 70 and had the turtle for over 25 yrs. she said that the turtle walks in and out of the house, sleeps in her room and when her turtle needs to go potty...bangs her shell against the door to let the woman knows that she needs to go potty. weird huh? but this old ladydidnt have an aquarium. the turtle was huge (over 5 lbs i think) and had a little plastic 3 inch deep and 2 ft long, 12 inches wide....dish with water....i didnt know about RES then. i assumed they were land animals then. and it was a female res, looked healthy, stayed outside a lot. anyway---that was someone that let her RES free in the house.
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0.0.1 Red Eared Slider

The turtle was "potty trained". LOL!! Well I don't doubt for one minute that that is what the lady believed and told you but I suspect if you looked under her funiture you would find plenty of "questionable stains". As for living in a pan of water as long as it was able to get it's head under the water to eat it could adapt to this. (obviously it did). Still not a good way to keep the animal.

this lady also had her cockatiels fly around her house and she had plastic on her furniture. i totally believed her about the turtle being potty trained. i plan on building a pond in the backyard in our new house. but i sorta only want to let the turtle out there if she's supervised. id be scared if a hawk or something were to attack, you know? does that ever happen?
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0.0.1 Red Eared Slider

It is not impossible but if you have a pond that is 3ft deep predation usually is not an issue. I have lost only one turtle ever to predator. He had a habit of sleeping on basking rock at night instead of under the water and a raccoon took him one night. (either that or an oppossum). Otherwise I no predators have taken any of my animals.

You have to make sure the pond area is fenced off so that the turtle can't wander off though. Then it would be a sitting duck for something to snatch it up and carry it off.

thats pretty cool. do you have a link of pics of ponds and gates or fences around it? i want something pretty and nice.
thanks
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0.0.1 Red Eared Slider

I'm sorry but this is a horrible idea. Sure some people do it, but that doesn't make it okay to do so. RES are comfortable in water, so why do you want them to roam around on land? You are taking them away from their comfort zone, and like someone said it can (and will) cause stress. RES in nature typically do not roam around unless they want to get eaten... I believe you see them walking around when they are searching for other water sources or maybe even food, but I'm not really sure about it. Most of the pictures I've seen of RES in the wild are them basking on logs and rocks. Yes they are on land, but they aren't moving. I've even read that they sometimes stack purposely (not just because there isn't enough room) just to gain height to see if there are predators.

RES may look like they are enjoying the walk, but thats because they always have a smile on their face no matter what. Trust me, letting RES walk around is only done by careless owners. It doesn't benefit the turtles at all so why do it? I suppose some owners like to see the turltes struggling which is why they do it, just out of fascination. I feel that the RES are only looking for water or a way to escape. (As for that story of the 70 year old women allowing her turtle to roam around freely, I believe that was a Box Turtle or some type of land turtle. Those typically always roam around freely).

So do it if you want to enjoy watching torturing your RES, otherwise provide it a nice swimming and basking area and it will be happy and stressfree.

Amen....

They are designed for a life in and around water. Land is for basking and laying eggs otherwise they are in the water.

Stacking serves two purposes they highest guy gets the best rays and when they are stacked it is a safety device. The highest man on the pile sees trouble and dives which triggers the rest to hit the water.

I think too often we try to do what we think is best for our sliders based on how WE would want to do things not by considering how the animal normally lives it's life and would most likely perceive things.

Steve

I thought RES were semi-aquatic...so i assumed they enjoyed land. thats interesting. i've taken my turtle outside 2 times (i know im a horrible parent for not letting her soak up the real sun) anyway...i got a bunch of boxes and made a little boxed in area for her.....she hid the whole time. i thought she didnt like it so i just let her stay in her tank. what do you guys do for your turt to have natural light? im moving in a couple of years and i want to know how i should make the pond area. do you have any pics? i've only seen pics of elaborate koi ponds.

oh, and that 70 yr old lady did have a res. RES are the only type of turtles that have the red streak, right? and it looked like the pics of adult res. i dont know, maybe this turtle was just used to it. it didnt seem scared of people. it actually walked up to us.

i have another horrible story. my cousin got two turtles 1RES and the other--i have no idea. his mom didnt like them in the house so she told him to let them loose in the backyard. they eat the leaves of plants and lately---have been eating the dogs poo. AND the dog has been drinking the pool water (where the turtle is seen swimming every now and then) and the dogs poo is white(and their vet said that if the dog is still living...then its ok). this turtle has been free in the backyard for 14yrs. the second turtle was stolen by the pool guy. i told my mom to tell them that this is all bad and that i want the turtle. i'd ask for the dog too...but my dogs are not well socially. its crazy too...i went to their house a couple of years ago looking for the turtle...i couldnt see him.

sorry im off track. do you guys have any internet links of ponds?
thanks
cathy
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