Do turtles recognize their owners?(Turtles Personality Explained)

Md Ful Mia

Due to the pandemic COVID19, people suffered from depression and anxiety caused by staying at home for a long time and perhaps living alone. Many people are trying to combat loneliness by having a pet, and today, turtles are one of the most fascinating animals, the reason why they are popular these days. Turtles can make a great companion and surely wipe away your depression and anxiety due to their looks and behavior.

Long-time pet owners have a good orientation regarding their turtle’s characteristics, habits, and behavior. But if you are a new owner or planning to pet these prehistoric reptiles, then you might be wondering if turtles can recognize their owners.

Don’t worry, as this article will help you understand everything about a turtle’s sense of recognition.

Do turtles recognize their owners?

A lot of people underestimate the capabilities of turtles as they are slow-moving animals. However, turtles are extremely intelligent animals. Yes, turtles can certainly recognize their owners, and if you ask turtle owners, they will also say the same thing. Turtles may recognize their owners in many ways but ultimately through their sense of sight and smell.

Turtle’s Sense of Sight

Turtles have a strong vision in both water and land. How amazing! right? They have excellent visual features in dim light. They use the dim light to orient themselves on land at night. Turtles use their sense of sight to stay away from predators, to find mates and food to eat. Some turtles have an outstanding full-color vision that enables them to see even in the deep darkness of the ocean, the shallow water of muddy coasts, clear water surface, and above the water. It is well-known that some turtles, such as the red-eared sliders have remarkable seven types of cone cells used for visual acuity to detect different colors. It is how turtles can see patterns to recognize their owners.

Turtle’s Sense of Smell

Turtles use the sense of smell to detect their owners. In line with this, they have an exceptional olfactory sensory system and a vomeronasal organ located in their nasal cavity. Olfactory is used for smelling, while vomeronasal is for receptors which allow them to detect even the tiniest particles. It is why turtles are sensitive to different odorant chemicals and thus the best factor to recognize their owners. Turtles used their sense of smell for navigation and identifying the presence of Earth’s magnetic field as a guide back home – according to the new study of National Geographic.

Here is proof that turtles do recognize their owner:

How to know if your turtle loves you?

It is somewhat a lovely question to hear, and perhaps you might giggle to know if your turtle loves you. Once you have a turtle pet, you will be amazed how much it loves you, at least for most owners.
You will know if your turtle loves you when it follows you wherever you go, wakes you up in the morning, goes near you, and smells you like a dog does, and most of all does not leave your side.

Another thing is unlike strangers – pet turtles would not be defensive when near you. It is a good signal of comfort and trust. It is also the best way to know pet turtles truly recognize their owners.

Let us take a hear from real turtle owners what they say about their pet turtle:

What Turtles Love?

It could be helpful if you are knowledgeable about what your turtles love. By knowing the things they love, you can keep them happy and playful. Here is a list of what turtles love, and you might want to take note of it.

Turtles love to swim and hide underneath rocks and logs.
For Russian Tortoise, you might want to have a combination of sand and soil on their tank as they love to dig and explore. It is also beneficial to regulate humidity levels, so this is the best substrate for the Russian Tortoise.
Red-eared sliders love mealworms, fish, and frogs because they are omnivores, but sometimes you can give them leafy greens.
Box turtles love to explore their territory, so give them a spacious tank with water, rocks, logs, aquatic plants: and then a division of stairs, soil, and sand.
Painted turtles love to go for a crawl and bask in the sun. They need plenty of spots to go around.
Caspian pond turtles love commercial turtle pellets. A cuttlebone is good for them as a calcium supplement.

Why does my turtle not like me?

There are many reasons why your pet turtle might not like you. It could be you or your turtle but before we get to the blaming game, let us dig in more details on why your pet turtle might not like you.

Have you experienced your turtle frantically swimming around the tank when you are coming near to the tank or when you are making any movements nearby? If that is a yes, then most definitely, your turtle might not like you.

Below are the following possible reasons why your pet turtle might not like you:

You give foods not according to their taste.
You always get the turtle out of the tank.
The tank is too small.
There is no hiding place in the tank.
You are making too much noise.
You don’t discipline yourself to do water changes regularly.

It must be so frustrating to have a pet that does not like you. Not to mention the price you will have to pay to keep it healthy and happy. Doing more research about raising turtles is a good idea as it involves a lot of money and time. But do not worry if your turtle might not like you. You want to give a turtle the time to recognize you as an owner and food provider, not a stranger. Taming turtles does not happen overnight. It is a process, and you must know that it needs to have a lot of patience and determination. Check out the following tips to bridge the gap between you and your pet turtle.

Tips On How To Tame Baby Pet Turtles And Make It Not Afraid Of You

Turtles can be hard to tame, especially if you do not have any ideas on how to do that. Apply the following tips, and you should be able to see significant change after.

1. When you come near the turtle tank or turtle tab, try to squat slowly and quietly, and then wave like you are waving to say hello to a friend and greet it with a happy face. This trick will help to let your turtle know that you are not a big monster who wants to eat them. If you appear to them real quick, they would be threatened and stressed out, and you will see them swim frantically away from you. Do the following for 30 seconds at least three times a day. After waving, then leave without handling the turtle. The goal of this activity is for the turtle to get used to your presence and recognize you as a super friendly owner. By doing this movement will certainly help your turtle be more comfortable whenever you are near and understand that you are making movements just for the sake of doing your activities and not really trying to harm or attack them. And many pet owners find this an easy and effective approach as turtles have excellent visual features to detect patterns.

2. Once the turtle is used to your presence, try to do a hand feeding. (if you know it is applicable for your type of turtle, as some turtles are dangerous, so feed at your own risk). Hand Feed is an effective way to interact with your turtle. It is an effective way to get closer and make it feel like you are a food provider and do not want to do anything harmful. Conduct hand-feeding at least two times a day.

3. After some time, it is getting used to your hand-feeding, try to handle it by grabbing it gently into your hands and letting it sit within the water level as your initial attempt, try to pet a bit, and then release. Avoid taking it out of the water immediately, as this can be stressful for turtles. Turtles feel threatened when they are out of the water, so you want to do that in a slow process.

4. After a few seconds of handling, let it go and give it treats to make it feel like – “Wow, after handling, I get treats.” In this way, you give it time to calm down and orient itself to feel more comfortable interacting with you. Then, you want to try the same activity and gradually lift and increase the level higher and higher out of the water. Do this a few times a week.

Turtles are timid by nature. Taming pet turtles can still depend entirely on age and husbandry. But give it a try, and you will be amazed at how incredible they are as you get along with them.

Can Turtles recognize their name?

Turtles have unique ear compositions as they do not have ear openings. Looking at their appearance, you might think they do not have a sense of hearing, but they do. Their eardrum is surrounded by a bony outer wall and covered with scales. Turtles do not have a well-developed sense of hearing. But there is no mistake in the design of their anatomy since their sense of hearing is vibration-sensitive, which means they can hear even at a lower frequency applicable to both land and water. It is helpful to detect predators in the way. So it is hard to believe they can recognize their names when you call them. But one thing is for sure that turtles have good eyesight. When they perceive your presence, they come to you and make you feel like they can recognize their names when you call.

What does my pet turtle think about me?

Turtles have a wide range of species. And they all have different characteristics, habits, and preferences towards their owners. You will know what your turtle thinks about you by reading their body language since you can’t communicate with them thru tongue. For example, you will know your turtle recognizes you as the owner when it follows wherever you go. This type of behavior will make you think that it loves to be around you and feels safe in your presence. When your turtle runs to you and gives you a tap with its flap on your feet, then that is the ultimate sign to know your pet truly loves and trusts you enough. And when that happened, you would be moved to tears by this unbelievable gesture. Turtles can be personable and charismatic. Take good care of them as they are good at removing your stress and exhaustion.

Final thoughts

Turtles can undoubtedly recognize their owners due to their excellent vision and sense of smell. You will know your turtle loves you when you can handle it comfortably in your hands and when you go near, it will hurriedly swim to your presence. How beautiful is that! Even though your turtles might not like you, you can still study their behavior, be patient and apply what you have learned in taming these ancient reptiles. Some pet owners take them weeks, months, and even years to tame their pets successfully, so don’t give up.