She is a Clever One

My red eared slider turtle is quite a trickster. I would have never realized she had made me feel so guilty before until I found some facts about turtles. Turtles notice who regularly feeds them and show affection towards those people by getting excited when they are approached. They also like to trick their care giver into giving them more food by constantly moving around in a desperate way as if they were starving–how clever. (http://exoticpets.about.com/od/aquaticturtles/tp/knowaboutRES.htm)
 
"I spot my turtle doing something really unusual. Her head and body was below the water, her arms were moving quickly and at the same time she would move the little pebbles in her tank. She would lower her head towards a pebble pick it up in her mouth then drop it back down. I thought my dad had just forgot to fed her and she was just hungry. I couldn't help but feel terribly guilty–pour thing was probably starving. (I know how that feels when I get out of practice.) I turned to my dad who was in the living room watching TV  and asked him if he had fed her. My dad told me he had when he had got home and I was then confused with my turtle's behavior, but I decided to feed her again anyways. She devours it." Field-notes, 9/17

"I notice my turtle moving back and forth in the tank, constantly lifting it's head above the water. It caught my attention while watching TV in the living room because I could hear something, but it wasn't loud. I turned and saw the water in my turtle's tank moving side to side slightly. I watched from the couch and saw my turtle moving to one side of the tank and then to the opposite side in a quick motion. My turtle would also push it's hand up on the side of the glass--half its body above the water." Field-notes, 9/23

She had tricked me. Everything makes sense now; my turtle had cleverly tricked me into feeding her again. She had used my guilt in her favor–I can't say I'm upset. (How impressive and intelligent.) It now also makes sense why she would always move in a frantic manner when my dad would walk passed her tank. (She was excited to see him.) My dad was the one who would mostly feed her.

10/14/14 Photo taken by Nayeli Robles
"The Clever one"

I wonder if I was to feed her more often instead of my dad, would she get excited to see me too? Would she like me more than my dad? Is food the key in her liking me?