Box turtles, shy?

littleginsu

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I see all of the beautiful photos of these mischievous tortoises who let their owners pet them.. and wonder why I am doing wrong with my Flash. Are box turtles inherently more cautious or reserved? Anytime I try to look at Flash or put food in her enclosure she propels herself into her shell and will not "reappear" until she knows I (or whatever the disturbance was) is gone. Is this normal? I have never handled her a lot but only because I did not want to upset or stress her out. Should I spend more time touching and "being" with her?
 

kimber_lee_314

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Some box turtles are shy and some are outgoing. I have a black gulf coast box turtle that never lets me look at her. She closes up the minute I get near. I have other box turtles that come on the run as soon as they hear me. They are all different. Hope that was helpful! :)
 

stinax182

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my ebt is very shy. i have had her for less than a year and i believe the winter and being inside has gotten the best of her because she doesn't do much and is very reserved.
 

Saleama

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I have two that will eat out of your hand, heck, they will eat your hand if you let them, and then I have 10 that won't eat if I am near their tank/crate. My uncle has two that will run to the fence and beg like dogs for food (I rescued both of these awesome little guys from craigslist by the way) and another 7, 4 of which he has had for over 20 years, that will run away as fast as they can when they so much as hear you coming. The thing I found most helpful is to find their favorite food and just hold it up to them. Two of mine will even eat out of my hand while I am holding them in the other! Naturally though, they usually act as yours does.
 

lisa127

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I have two box turtles. One is extremely outgoing. Comes running towards me when she sees me hoping for food. I can watch her for hours and she wouldn't care. The other one is not as outgoing, but not painfully shy either. He never closes up in his shell, but he will take off into one of his hides if he thinks I'm going to pick him up. He also will not eat out of my hand, and the outgoing one will not only eat out of my hand but comes close to chomping my fingers!!
 

Bibbit

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I'll echo some of the statements already said. I've got three and they are all across the board. One is the alpha male who dominates the enclosure. If I sit on the bench to watch them eat, he will walk across my shoes and stare me down. I've had him 13 years.

The second I've had 12 years. He is somewhere in the middle. He tolerates me and will come out of his shell if I hold him, but he does not come running like the first.

The third I've had 1 year. She will eventually come out of her shell and run off if I mess with her or get too close, but she'd definitely prefer that I not come around. I'm hoping she will warm up, but perhaps not. Like yours, she might not be that into me (I loved that).

I'd try the food thing and will with mine. They are deliberate little creatures, so perhaps eventually you can wear her down.
 
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