Whether or not turtles actually can recognize people is something that is often disputed and also something that nobody really knows for sure. Some have suggested that turtles do not necessarily “recognize people” in the same way that we humans recognize other people, however like most animals they are able to acquire an understanding of who feeds them and some may even begin to warm up to allowing themselves to be touched.
However typically most turtles do not really like to be touched, especially on their shells and will hiss as a warning for their predators or pet owner to back off. It has been said that turtles lack the cognitive ability and emotional depth to have the understanding of recognition. Since they are wild animals, they are used to fending for themselves in the wild, but when they become domesticated they quickly learn that people are the new providers of their food and may appear to be excited when it is feeding time.
Many pet owners have often mistaken this type of behavior as affection, however most will quickly find out that once the turtle has been fed they will often prefer to be alone and act as such.
I have 2 new terrapins and am deeply suprised by their affection…..They enjoy being held……They enjoy there feet to be stroked and also there heads and chins…..It has nothing to do with food as I played with them and petted them a lot yesterday and on trying to feed them they were not hungry and didn’t want food ……but still when I went near them they come straight over too me and wanted to be picked up…..I know this is not the norm for turtles…. maybe there previous owners trained them I’m not sure
When the time is right they are planning to bite you and scurry from your house. If you listen closely you will hear a trace of mission impossible music playing.
I agree that the desire for food may be the main reason pet turtles appear “happy” to see their owners. However, there are exceptions. Like the previous post, I have a RES turtle named Bob, who truly loves attention. He is not wanting to be fed. He enjoys his belly stroked, and we even play games together. Yes, that’s right. He swims laps and intentionally swims into my hand, gets his belly stroked, and swims on. He will do this until I tired of it. And we also play peek-a-boo when I’m in the bathroom. He can swim to the end of his tank and I pop out of the bathroom and he gets excited and swims to the other end, then he comes back and waits on me to pop out again before he swims off. He is quite the character. Let no one tell you that they show affection only to be fed. Bob and I know differently.
I have two female pet turtles (for roughly five years) who have never hissed or attempted to bite me and they seem to enjoy a good petting and even a handshake. They do not hide in their shells when I grab, touch them or even get near the glass of their enclosure. Sometimes they get visibly excited when I show up and they have already been well fed and don’t want anymore food either.
They do, however, get easily upset when strangers get too near and that basically sells it for me that they know fully well who I am and that they can trust me.
I think it’s pretty narrow minded to think these animals can never truly bond with you especially if you’ve raised them from babies as I did. I trust them and I’m confident the feeling is mutual. It’s always going to depend on the personality of the one you get – but let no one tell you that you’ll never be able to bond with one because it’s simply not true.
I have a painted baby turtle. His name is Jake. I know he has formed a special bond with me. For the past 6 days of having him I constantly take him out of his tank and hold him and let him move around on my lap. He gets a bit curious and excited as he’s exploring me. The one thing that assures me he likes me and is bonding with me is as I put him on my floor to crawl around, he comes to me as I’m sitting and crawls in between my legs. He could go anywhere and he does but he navigates towards me everytime and crawls under me or explores near me. He hasn’t hid in his shell yet. I know he adores me. When feeding time comes which isn’t much but minnows I allow him to feed only in his natural environment and not outside the tank. That’s for human interaction and I really feel he knows it.
We have had a long neck turtle for about 3 years in our childcare centre and the other staff just throw the food in where he takes it from hand and only I pick him up out of the tank, lol everyone else is to scared to touch him incase he bites. I let him walk around the room and outside but where ever I go, he tends to follow me and sits near my feet or under my knees and only goes in his shell if there are too many kids around. I love spending time with him.