Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 2 baby RES and they don't bite at all unless I am feeding them and they mistake my finger for food (this only happend once). I was just wondering if my turtles are going to get more aggressive as they get older and try to bite me. Do RES usually bite fingers if they feel threatened?

It really depends....my adult male is very tame and the few times that he has mistaken my finger for food he has never applied any kind of jaw pressure when he did bite, and I hardly felt anything. He has never bit me as a defense. He also has been hand fed for much of his life which has helped make him a bit more personable.

My two juvies though are a bit on the snappy side and will bite HARD if they feel threatened when you have to stick your hand in the tank for whatever reason. So, like you I hope this calms down a bit as they continue to get used to the interaction.

Ironic though that the two small ones really hurt, and yet the decent sized 6" male is a big wuss.

It can really vary from turtle to turtle.

I have two RES that are about two or three years old. They never have been aggresive biters. Only, like you said, when they mistake my fingers for food when I handfeed them. I think they like being petted on the head too much.

They're normally pretty good, but sometimes when they get nervous about being moved, they kick and scratch me with their back feet. So I have to be careful how I hold them if I can tell they're agitated. I've lectured them about this, but they're not very good at minding

Devin