Coming out of their shell….

When the little diamondback terrapin hatchlings arrived several weeks ago, they were pretty quiet.  They spent a lot of time huddled inside their shells in the corners of their tanks.

Checking out the human.

Now, however, they seem to be coming out of their shells!  Each is exploring his or her environment.  Each seems to be feeling more comfortable in their temporary habitat, and several will often rest floating in the water column with legs outstretched.  Each is developing its distinct diamondback personality (or should I say turtleality?)!

Sleepy.

The tiny creatures are still wary of the enormous two-legged beasts that handle them daily to feed and clean the tank.  I can’t say that I blame them; after all, we weigh almost 20,000 times what they do!  (Please don’t do the math.)

Who's this in the mirror?

All in all, it’s fun to see the terrapin hatchlings coming out of their shells!

Just hangin' out.