I have a red eared slider in my 1000 gallon pond....I only see him maybe once a
week and when I approach under he goes. Is their any special food I can put out
to coax him out more often?

Well I'm by no means a turtle expert, but I did just finish building my
turtle pond (they always escaped from my large pond!) and I'm now the proud
owner of a Red Eared Slider. And then a few days ago the neighbor came
over with a "gift" of an Eastern Painted that he had seen crossing the road
on his way home from work. The distinct difference between the two is
that the painted acts like you would expect a turtle to..... he makes brief
appearances, and disappears quickly whenever a human approaches. The
slider, on the other hand, calmly hangs out on the rock island, swims lazily
and slowly, and comes over to the side of the pond when he sees me
approaching. I truly believe this is because for the week before the
pond was ready I kept him in a fishtank in the house. He got to know my
sight and sound, learned to realize I was his source of food, and eagerly
anticipated his treats of chicken and beef. So, my recommendation, if
it's feasible, is to net the turtle from your pond, set him up with
temporary housing IN your house, and let him get to know you. Maybe then
when you put him back outside, he'll know that you always come bearing gifts
of chicken and beef! I really don't see any way of "taming him" unless
you can get him to figure out that you are the food source. Good luck!
Sue

"Mainpin" wrote in message
...
I have a red eared slider in my 1000 gallon pond....I only see him maybe
once a
week and when I approach under he goes. Is their any special food I can
put out
to coax him out more often?

Yertle the First used to swim up to me during feeding time, put his little paw
on the rocks at the side of the pond and look hungry.
Unfortunately the koi were right there also.
And when one of the koi tried to eat Yertle's head along with the koi kibble
Yertle took exception to that.
I toss all my turtle treats on the island I have in the middle of the pond for
Yertle the Second.
Keeps them from the fish and the watergardening labradors.


k30a

But RES's need to eat UNDER water.... I guess Yertle #2 grabbed a piece off
the island and then went under with it?
Sue

"K30a" wrote in message
...

Yertle the First used to swim up to me during feeding time, put his little
paw
on the rocks at the side of the pond and look hungry.
Unfortunately the koi were right there also.
And when one of the koi tried to eat Yertle's head along with the koi
kibble
Yertle took exception to that.
I toss all my turtle treats on the island I have in the middle of the pond
for
Yertle the Second.
Keeps them from the fish and the watergardening labradors.


k30a

Yertle the First was a painted turtle.
He, unfortunately, died during a fish round up.
Somebody stepped on the poor little fellow.
Yertle the Younger, is also a painted turtle but very shy.

I used to toss land snails on the island. The snails would crawl up the iris
stalks and Yertle would go right up after them, he'd push the stalk over and
crunch! there went the snail.


k30a