As I was saying...

... before spending all Fall, Winter and Spring indoors in the bathtub. Whew! What an endurance event for me and my Tortoise Mom and Dad! But even though my scary blood tests improved so much back in October - protein levels improved with Mazuri feeding so no more anemia - I was still way too skinny and weak to hibernate all winter. Dr. Johnson thought I might get to hibernate part of the winter, but when he checked me in January, my weight was still too low to risk it. So then I wasn't allowed to go outside until the temperature was at least 80 degrees during the day. And I couldn't stay outside overnight until it was at least 65 degrees at night.

Also I kept having trouble with my right eye that sinks in due to muscle loss. So that meant getting daily eye drops to prevent uveitis, blepharitus and infection. Plus daily Mazuri tortoise diet with greens. Plus soaking to prevent dehydration. And THEN, during the Spring, my Tortoise Mom had eye surgery so she couldn't take care of me, or even see very well, so my Tortoise Dad did it ALL! What a great guy. I am so grateful. He doesn't have my Tortoise Mom's voice that always gets my attention, but I like his voice now too.

The good news is I finally got to go back outside and sleep in my favorite burrow. The bad news is that I got an eye infection almost instantly, but my Tortoise Dad thought I was just sleepy when one eyelid wouldn't open very well. Then my Tortoise Mom had a bad dream about me and marched outside with a magnifying glass and flashlight to help her see better so they could examine me closely. Sure enough, her dream was right about my being sick. So then I got antibiotics in my eye and that cleared things up pretty fast.

Meanwhile she noticed that I really, really like having water pour over my face when my Tortoise Dad is washing off the Mazuri after I eat. Then he noticed I was swallowing the water that poured down into my mouth. He also noticed that I got really big drinks in my blue pan when the water level was higher so I didn't have to bend my neck down to drink. Ever since then, I've been getting big drinks both in the pan and I get to enjoy the sprinklers in the yard too.

When I got my check up with Dr. Johnson, he noted that my neck muscles pull up better than they pull down so it made sense that I was drinking water in a whole new way. (And boy am I drinking water now!) He also said that since tortoises don't have tear ducts and my right eye sinks in due to muscle loss, it's important to keep that eye washed clean every day. "If only there was some kind of fountain..."

Well, folks, thanks to my Tortoise Mom and Dad, there IS!!! Here is my very own tortoise height fountain that washes my eyes out and lets me drink water overhead too. Woo hoo, I am one happy gal!!