As with most red-eared terrapins, I was adopted from a pet-shop. One good Sunday four years ago, I was lazing in the common miniature tank with my fellow terrapin mates (similar to the Chinese junks where the forefathers of Singapore travelled in to get to Nanyang, it was cramp, smelly and food was hard to come by) when suddenly, I saw the face of a guy peering into the tank.
My ancestors used to have this word of advice for us - when someone looks into the tank, it's time to spring into action and start moving around. Best is if you can move towards the person. It's something like a mating call, only now, it's to entice someone to adopt you. So I mustered up all my energy to swim towards that guy's hand (remember that I wasn't well fed!) and as what my ancestors forewarned, he took hold of me and inspected me.
I gave him the cutest and happiest wriggle of my life. Lo and behold, he fell for the trick and chose to adopt me! Of course, he chose my sister Nanook as well. He probably thought that it would be better for me to have company but really, terrapins are solitary creatures. We are happy being left alone to bask in the sun or in my case, meditate in a dark corner.
At this point, you must be wondering whether my brothers played the same trick. Well, it's another long story.. to be told another time.
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My siblings and I
From top left: Dodo, Dona, me (Nooki) and Nanook
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