Sorry I've been gone so long. I've been doing my best, honest!! But it's taking a lot of energy to deal with extreme heat this year and some worsening health problems. I really work hard just to eat enough, with lots of help from my Tortoise Mom and Dad. He rounds me up and she hand feeds shredded food. But still....
Then my favorite Tortoise Sitter stayed with me last month and noticed my worsening/different struggles. So before my trip to see Dr. Johnson at Exotic Animal Hospital for my latest check-up, my Tortoise Dad made a video of me eating. Oh it's not pretty as I bite the air a lot. A lot. Anyway until that visit, everyone thought the problem was my weak bite from jaw muscles that have atrophied. And we thought that was from my original struggle with the bladder stone, but that's not it either. It's something else. Old age? Kidney failure?
Anyway, here's the big surprise, er, well, shock to everyone but me: I can't see out of my left eye. Dr. Johnson thinks I have glaucoma, and I definitely have a cataract. My pupil doesn't constrict and I simply can't see. So that explains why I bite at the air a lot. I line up for a bite when I can smell food, but when I go in for a mouthful, I end up with air or a twig instead. Very frustrating and exhausting.
Then just as we were reeling from that news, Dr. Johnson called with results from my blood tests that say I'm anemic. Why? That's the million dollar question. But we do know that I need to eat more protein so my Tortoise Mom ordered Mazuri Tortoise Diet for me. I haven't tried it yet, but we're hoping it's as good as they say. Zoos use it, so it must be good. Anyway that's next on my plate.
Meanwhile my Tortoise Mom is feeding me on the right side of my head, and talking to me more so I'm not startled by movements that I can't see way ahead of time. The irony is that my Tortoise Mom has the same eye problems. What are the chances?? And, did you know tortoises can get all the same diseases as people? Whoa, I thought all I had to do was keep my shell in good shape, my bladder flushed, and I'd be healthy for several more decades.
The good news - yes, there is some - is that we've had a lot of rain this week. Finally!! It's been 114-117 degrees for so long that it's just too hard to come out and eat as slowly as I do now. But the rain was so refreshing that I even slept out of the burrow one night, just hoping for another drink of fresh rainwater. Pure joy!!! Life is hard, but always worth the extra effort to keep on keeping on. Stay tuned for my report on the new Mazuri diet. If I like it, there might even be recipes!!
