does he want out

Question
QUESTION: a friend found this turtle on the side of the highway in an area turtles are not found. so i work in a petstore and she brought it in to give it some care. anyways i wanted a turtle and fell in love immediatly. I think it is a painted turtle 1.5 years old and a male. i have had him for about 2 months and i have a 40 gallon tank with a good filter. i have a UV basking light that i leave on for most of the day and a basking dock. i feed him a variety of foods once a day. i have read many care guides, etc. anyways my question every time i enter the room where his tank is he swims up to the glass and frantically tries to swim out towards me. is he just really happy to see me? or does he want out? or what?

thanks

nicole

ANSWER: If the turtle was found in an area where turtles are not found, then it wouldn't have been found huh? Aquatic turtles may travel some distance and aren't always found right at the water. They may migrate to new areas to find better water or food resources, maybe during drought, during breeding season to find a mate, or a female may come onto land to find a nesting site. Chances are that there was a water source nearby that you just don't know about.

The best thing for wild turtles you find, is that you leave them wild so that they can propagate, so I would suggest placing the turtle back where it was found, or to a better habitat if you like. But, every turtle taken from the wild has a tremendous adverse impact on survival of the species, since they take so long to mature and have babies.

You have a wild turtle, that I'm sure has lived all his life in the wild being afraid of anything that might be seen as a predator, and this includes people. The chances are that being a wild turtle, he is naturally stressed and is disturbed when you come into the room. So, chances are he is trying to get away. It may just so happen that toward you is naturally toward the light source or the exit. He may have a wall behind him or something...but, it would probably be an anthropomorphic error in judgment to assume that he is happy to see you and is trying to come to you. If he was captive raised or you had him from the time he was a hatchling and he imprinted on you, this might be different, but not with a wild turtle.

Many of the following links can also apply to painted turtles.

http://redearslider.com/
http://www.anapsid.org/mainchelonians.html
http://www.anapsid.org/reslider.html
http://www.allturtles.com/setup/indoorWT.php
http://www.geocities.com/margareth100.geo/res.html
http://www.turtlepuddle.org/
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

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QUESTION: he was found dying on the side of a highway so there is no way that i would take him back to place he was found. Turtles are not native to where i live because it is too cold, so there is no way he was wild. someone who didn't care just left him on a busy city highway. There are no water sources on highways or in the city.  

He swims towards me when i come in the room which is the opposite direction of the door and any light source. he follows me around in his tank from when i enter the room and circle around his tank.

maybe you should ask more about my situation before you suggest things that would end up killing my turtle. i found my answer somewhere else, thanks for nothing.

Answer
Maybe you should provide more background before expecting some kind of miracle answer nitwit. How is someone to know your house lay out or where you live? You didn't even say what state you were in, and until you do, I doubt you are correct...especially being a pet store employee, those of which I have always found to know absolutely nothing about herps! Turtles are native in many mid western and even northern states. They often hibernate in lakes under the ice....but I don't expect you as a pet store employee to know that. They also inhabit urban areas many times.  

You are just an anthropomorphic idiot.


And another thing...you found the answer you were looking for somewhere else is what you did, because it was the answer you wanted to hear all along. If you had the actual knowledge to know what is a right or wrong answer, then you wouldn't need to ask someone else on the net.