The feeding part didn't work so well. Despite being in the same blue tub as always, she could obviously tell things were not normal and she was too distracted to eat. Occasionally she would happen to spot some food, reflex would take over, and she'd grab it. But mostly she was trying to escape. Despite being mostly aquatic, these turtles are surprisingly strong climbers.
So I decided to let her go for a walk. At first she stayed on the patio close to me, but after a while she headed off into the weeds (of which we have no shortage!) and pushed herself half under the dead leaves.
I think she'd be tough to find if you didn't know where to look. Eventually I had to pull her out to go back in her tank.
Some days she can be quite a handful, thrashing around with her sharp claws and drawing blood if you're not careful. But today she was being quite calm, even after I removed the leaves she was hiding behind.
Although turtles aren't particularly intelligent, they (like many animals) have a surprising range of behaviour, which isn't easy to predict. It makes them seem like they have a "character" even if they don't in the human sense.
[thanks to Shelley for the photographs]
Hey, watch what you're saying! You're gonna hurt Millie's feelings. She's a smart one! :-)
ReplyDeleteWay to go, Millie! I am a huge Millie fan.
ReplyDeleteAhh, she's cute! I bet she has tonnes of character, I know our turtles always did. I think all animals do, even our fish have their own little characters and attitudes. Maybe that's why I like having pets so much. Getting to learn each one's personality is kinda cool. They don't follow any sort of group mentality or listen to peer pressure or anything, they are just themselves. Although it does seem as though Jaxie has trained Jodie to bark at everything that goes by so that she can retire and just lay on the front step all day!
ReplyDeleteI had to show my friend your Millie post - she has a turtle too :)
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