Sorry I've been away so long. A lot has happened and I got in a funk and decided to tunnel deep into the old burrow and pretend I could stay there all winter, like that was going to work. Nope, not a chance. Now I'm sitting in my new winter pen with the new, shallow burrow and that's where I'm spending the winter. I alternate between being huffy about it and just tucking in the new burrow and pretending I'm where I want to be.
The good news is that when I went in for my pre-hibernation check up, I had gained weight. First time ever that Dr. Johnson rated my weight as normal and healthy. Yay! My beak was green, my scales looked good and I was acting very perky and alert, like a healthy tortoise. So Dr. Johnson said I wouldn't have to sit in my soaking pan, that I could just drink when I want to, whenever they run the hose near me. I like this news a lot! You know how I feel about that soaking pan.
The bad news came just three days later: the lab report on my blood work says I have elevated inflammation markers (herophils, lymphocytes, WBC), elevated calcium (wrong season for that), and elevated uric acid which means my kidneys are working extra hard. So Dr. Johnson delivered the disappointing news that once again (!) I can't hibernate in my favorite deep burrow as my tortoise mom and dad will have to monitor my condition all winter. Hibernation is a tricky time and could be hazardous to my health. So I have to hibernate in the new, shallow burrow so my tortoise dad can pull me out every two weeks to check my weight. Any weight loss means trouble and an urgent visit to Dr. Johnson. We did that last winter. But this winter, since my uric acid is also high, I have to get soaked for 20 minutes every two weeks too, to take some stress off my kidneys. Back to the blue soaking pan. Every two weeks. All. Winter. Long.
Ok, now for the ugly news: in the Spring, I will have endoscopy to see what's causing this "consistent blood abnormality". Dr. Johnson strongly suspects a problem in my reproductive tract. If he's right, and I have an ovarian cyst or tumor, that means - shudder - that means another "open-shell surgery". Oh no, not AGAIN!!! Do I need a trap door on my carapace? Hinges? Geezzzzz!
So that's why I marched into the old burrow a few weeks ago, and refused to come out. My Tortoise Dad could see my face but I was sleepy and not interested in coming out. My tortoise mom knew I had to come out of the old burrow before I was too sleepy to crawl out on my own, so last Sunday she spent a long time with a strawberry slice on a wooden spatula and her arm stuck as far into the burrow as she could get it. Then she talked and sang to me until I perked up at her voice (you know how I love her voice), yawned, looked around and noticed the strawberry. Guess what? She knows how to go "fishing" for a tortoise. Here's the proof:
Once I was close enough to the entrance, my Tortoise Dad pulled me out and sat me in the grass. I thought I was living large with strawberry tops, shredded carrots, cool grass and a drink of water. Yay, life is good after all.
But THEN, when I started walking back to the old burrow, suddenly I found myself plopped down in a new winter pen instead. WHAT??? Oh I did not like this ONE BIT! My Tortoise Dad put me in the new shallow burrow but I was having none of that. So I marched right back out and tucked my head in the corner of the fence and flipped dirt all over my shell to register my displeasure. Well it didn't matter, they left me there anyway. The next day I sat begging at the gate and my Tortoise Mom felt sorry for me so gave me a little treat to soften the blow, but I've had nothing since as it's time to clear out my digestive tract for the winter. She also gave me a pep talk about getting bad medical news, but still having another chance at life. Ok, I know that's true. I just don't want to have another surgery. But I do know it's time to have the endoscopy to find out what's causing all my bad blood work. I really want to get well, and if I have a big untreated problem, then it could contribute to getting another bladder stone. YIKES! I do not want that either!!
Well I'm sorry I don't have all good news. It's disappointing when we've all worked so hard for exactly two years now, but obviously something still is going on with me. This afternoon I decided to make the best of it. I came out of the burrow and they weighed me. I weighed 3320 grams. I ate a little grass and then I got a big long drink when they soaked me in that crummy blue pan. Anyway drinking and soaking usually makes me "express my bladder" so that's what I did. I did a good job too, complete with lots of urates. I did such a good job they weighed me again and I weighed 3230. Yep, I expressed 90 grams of urates, about three ounces of prevention....
