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?