Monday, June 4, 2012

Turtle!

The turtle has been... mistrustful.... of people since we got her. She hides when you move the top on her tank, but today she had an aha moment.

See, she's been getting worms as a supplement to her diet, and because she was hiding before, the worms had a chance to burrow into the gravel. Today she realized that the hand coming into her tank was bringing meaty treats, and she watched me take a worm from the cup, and tracked my hand as it came into the tank.

She hid again, but I dipped the end of the worm into the water near the edge of her hiding place, and waited a moment, and when that worm started squirming... well, her instincts were clearly screaming at her to take it but she just wouldn't, so I dropped it.

I let her eat that worm and she came back to where she could see the cup, and I dug out another. Again, she tracked my hand as it came in and waited, watching the end of the worm dangle in the water. This time she grabbed for it, snipping off the end. I dropped it for her and she pounced much faster than you would think a turtle should be able to.

The next one she took from my fingers (keeping my fingers well clear, lest she mistake fingertips for wormtips) and I was so happy I fed her three more.

She's currently staring at the cup holding the worms with an intent expression, waiting for it to open and reveal it's magic meaty goodness once more.