Not so Cuddley

My dog might be my best friend, my Turtle is a really cool guy I know. It is a weird thing, a relationship with a reptile. Most animals keep FOOD as their top priority, turtles too. So your real way into their heart is food. Establishing a routine and making edible offerings will win any creature over. When I first got Clyde he would dive under the rocks as soon as I approached his tank. As time went on he wouldn't hide but he would only watch to see what I was doing. Only after I left the vicinity would he start to collect the food I left floating in the water. Then he got a little bolder, He would get excited and come over to the area where I put the food. He would start eating as soon as the first crumb hit the water. That is a rewarding feeling, knowing he is comfortable with me. I thought that this was it- we had reached the height of closeness- Clyde knew me and wanted my food. However, I apparently live with the Turtle Whisperer. I had Clyde for about 2 years when I had to go away for a month. I promised my boyfriend that if he fed the turtle every other day I would come back before a water change was necessary. Even though we live together he never showed any interest in Clyde. (I'm sure a lot of this had to do with the work involved in changing the water). So I go away and come back and find everything in good order. Its hard to tell if a turtle has missed you, but I was confident that we would find each other again. Right away I realized something was up. I reached into his tank to adjust a heater when he swam right up and nipped me. Not hard- it was his proximity that was alarming. Every time I went near the tank He was practically jumping out of the water, begging for food. I couldn't put my fingers near the water or he would make a grab. After a week of this I mentioned it to my boyfriend. He smirked but didn't say anything and he hadn't seen anything odd all week. Two days later I walked into "the turtle room" and saw what was going on. My boyfriend had trained Clyde to eat out of his hand! He was leaning over the pool with a shrimp offered up and here came Clyde for quick grab. In two years it had never occurred to me to try for such familiarity. Frankly I don't think the turtle wanted to go here with me either. I still stink at the game, try as I might, I always flinch when he goes to take the food. Even though he rarely misses and even though his bites don't hurt. I cannot hand feed him without pulling back or dropping the food. I have to hand it to my boyfriend though, that was really the taming of Clyde. After that he lost all fear of humans. I can put him on the floor and he will hang out and walk around even while humans are passing bye. Granted he has no interest in sitting on my lap and he would not like to go for a walk, but there is a real connection in knowing he would eat out of my hand.