Hey, no jokes about tortoise soup -- shudder. At first I didn't like soaking at all, maybe because I didn't feel well. But I finally decided to enjoy the whole experience. Ok, here's something new: did you know that I can "drink" from both ends? It's true. One of the amazing thing about tortoises is we can also take in water from the cloaka, which is the all-purpose opening under the tail. The water has a more direct route to the kidneys that way, isn't that cool? What a great way to design desert animals who don't get to drink regularly in the wild.
Dr. Johnson also said to not use any type of ointment on my skin or eyes (not even the opthalmic stuff) as it will make my scales fall off. Since scales provide protection, that's not a good thing. But I'm really glad to not be so dehydrated anymore. Maybe the scales will grow back around my eyes again soon? I wonder what made them disappear in the first place? I only had ointment on one eye and only one time so that's not the reason. Also Dr. Johnson was concerned because I started sleeping under the infrared light at night. Getting extra heat is how we tortoises rev up our immune systems, so that was a sign of physical distress too. But now I'm feeling a lot better. I think it's time to crawl in my little box, get some shut-eye and dream of grazing in the back yard...... Zzzzzzz.
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