One day a month or two ago my dad found a snapping turtle in the middle of the street. It had to be at least 80 degrees outside, and there wasn't any lake or pond in the area, so we decided to keep it for a while. He would be dead otherwise. Just recently we upgraded his environment. He's living in a bigger tank, with a bunch of gold fish, whom he can hunt down at will. He's nothing but a baby right now. I just find it interesting how well he adapts to the environment. The water is pretty deep in the tank, and higher up there's a little patch where he can sit on to stay out of the water.

The thing being so high up, I doubted whether he could reach it or not, but alas, he found a way. At first he tried to lodge himself between the tank and filter to stay out of the water. Once he knocked it down and got trapped underneath, he sought for some other way to stay dry. Now, let me point out that finding the patch, and getting on top of it are two totally different issues.

He first noticed there was something there when he went up for air and got trapped underneath it. What he first did after this discovery was the direct approach. He swam/crawled/squirmed his way to the top of the water, and got a claw/flipper thing onto it, and the other against the tank. I thought for sure he'd get his way on top, but once he took the claw off the tank, he did a sort of scrunched up backflip to the bottom of the tank.

On his second attempt, he made good use of the small rock we put at the bottom of his tank. He used it as leverage under water to get both claws onto the patch. Now let me point out... getting on top of the patch, and staying on top of the patch are two totally different issues. The thing floats on top of the water... but can easily be pushed back down or lopsided because of his weight. He pulls himself onto it, and two seconds later, he's doing another backflip.

Third attempt, he's determined, as he places his back claws onto the rock, and gets both front claws on the patch. STEADY MAN! STEADY! When he first got on it he was a little shaky, but he quickly lodged himself in the crack between the patch and the tank. Mission accomplished.

Now his next goal is to catch a goldfish... they do eat other fish, don't they? :/