Deja Vu All Over Again!

I thought I was off the hook with soaking this time, but evidently my tortoise mom had second thoughts. She was worried about my kidneys, especially after comparing my pre-hibernation lab work from 2011 to 2010 (urates increased from 7.1 to 9.8!). So she came up with a new plan for soaking me today. All I know is I was peacefully sleeping away when suddenly I heard my tortoise dad's voice as he pulled me out of my toasty burrow AGAIN, then I got weighed AGAIN (still 3161 grams), and then put in the soaking pan like usual. Except this time it was slanted so my butt was at the low end. Then they added just enough water to make sure my cloaka was completely covered. My tortoise dad called it a butt puddle. Then they did something else that's new: they covered me with a dark cloth so I wouldn't be disturbed by sunlight, even on this rainy, gloomy day.



The only good news I can report about this new strategy is at least I could snooze during my 15 minutes of soaking as my head stayed high and dry. And when they weighed me afterwards, I did gain 10 grams this time (3171 grams). But I still thought it was a rude experience and so I gave them my "What the HeQQ?" look when they uncovered my head at the end of soaking. But I must say, they are fast at reweighing and scooting me back into the burrow.



Whew! Glad that's over for another two weeks. Glad I soaked up a little more water this time, and I'm really glad my tortoise mom and dad do all they can to help me hibernate safely this winter even though I don't like it one bit. But I didn't like this new burrow either, and now I must admit it's really comfy this winter, especially since Tortellini helped dig it out some more for me so about half my shell sits below floor level. Warm, dry, dark and quiet, mmm, the best place for a tortoise to spend Winter Solstice. Zzzzzz....