One of my grandsons, T, is crazy, CRAZY, for turtles. Tortoises, terrapins, snapping turtles, turtles who live in the lake and the ocean. He wants turtles as pets, toy turtles, and turtle costumes. When I keep them, we have to watch turtle videos on Youtube.
As it happens, I have a friend who is a certified box turtle rehabilitator and I took them to visit her two unreleasable terrapins the other day. T was in heaven. Little brother, not so much. He’s two and was sleepy and a little leery of small animals with mouths that might bite.
I must say that RK and Cleo were absolutely great with T who held them sideways and upside down at times. When told that they didn’t like being held that way, he was good about bringing them upright again. He inspected every part of them and was gentle and respectful. Not bad for a five-year-old. 
Last Thursday his mom and dad invited me to go with them to the aquarium a couple of hours away in Chattanooga. There were turtles everywhere. All kinds of turtles! I think the boys wore themselves out going from exhibit to exhibit looking at all the different animals! I know I did, but it was wonderful.
T kept saying, “Dad! Put me in there!” He would have gone swimming with all the turtles if he could have. And he touched a snake–a ball python that an aquarium guide was holding. In some ways, he’s very brave, but in some ways not.
If you’re in the area, I recommend the Chattanooga Aquarium. There are two separate buildings housing all kinds of aquatic animals from otters to sharks. Let the little ones bring a swim suit or something to get wet in and they can wade and play in the outdoor “creek” which reminds me of Granny’s “cement pond” on the Beverly Hillbillies, but is only about ankle deep. The boys were dying to get in there, but we didn’t know about the play area and hadn’t prepared.
Can you find the frog?
