Grazing and blogging again

Wow, I am one lucky tortoise. I've had such good care all summer, complete with shredded food and medical care to address my neurological/autoimmune disorder that causes muscle wasting. I even had three tortoise sitters checking the back yard at various times of day during the hottest part of the summer (119 degrees -- yikes) when my Tortoise Mom and Dad went on vacation. (Thanks, Terry, Meghan and Brenda!!)

The steroid injections are down to monthly now, instead of weekly, and the anti-inflammatory eye drops are only once or twice a week now, but they have really helped. I can see and I'm downright perky (for me). And hungry! A very good sign for a tortoise who needs to tank up on vital nutrition for hibernation.

This is how Tortoise Dad gives injections. He's fast, I'm patient--a winning combo!

I didn't fare well during boarding at Dr. Johnson's office back in April. I dehydrated so badly that it was downright dangerous. The techs called in Dr. Johnson to help but then he realized that despite their best efforts, you just can't put a 48 year old tortoise in an indoor environment to eat and drink in an all new way. I was so stressed and dehydrated that I lost nearly 15% of my body weight in 10 days. And it took nearly two months of my Tortoise Mom's extra care to help me recover. So no more boarding for me.

So for their next trip, my Tortoise Mom and Dad called on three really nice friends of mine to check on us and the yard to make sure there were no "catastrophic events", as Dr. Johnson called it. That means checking morning and evening to make sure no one accidentally flipped over or got caught out in the heat. We were good and stayed underground most of the time to avoid the extreme heat. I don't remember it being this hot during 99% of summers. It hit 122 back in 1990, but I was in my 20s then and also living in a different back yard. No problemo. This summer has been hard, and even the burrows heat up too much. But it's been cooler for a few days, so I came out to catch you up on the news.

I haven't been blogging because I have been underground so much this summer, and also pretty weak after getting so dehydrated back in April, and then really getting a lot of daily medical care from my Tortoise Mom. But it has all paid off, and I'm feeling a lot better now. I'm even coming out to graze on cordia flowers morning and evening, just like old times! I also get Mazuri diet plus organic kale (mmmm). The best is a Mazuri salad with Bermuda grass clippings mixed right in. Yum! I'm supposed to get 50% of my diet from grass, with Mazuri diet to provide extra protein for my muscles. With more muscle, I start doing laps around the yard. Actually my shell thumps on the patio are I lurch along, so I might need some padding. 

Summertime, and the living is easy

Despite the scorching heat, and being left under the watchful eyes of my favorite sitters, I managed to gain 20 grams while my tortoise mom and dad went on vacation. They were careful to soak and weigh me, and even hand fed me the morning they left just to make sure I had a good start to the week. Then last night when they came home, they got me out of my favorite burrow (the old one, of course) to check on me. My tortoise mom had been a tad worried so she got me squared away while the car was still being unloaded. Anyway, it was all good news: I get Gold Stars for gaining a little weight while they were gone, and for chowing down like I was at an all-you-can-eat buffet last night, even though it was past my bedtime and still 106 degrees outside. I ate until it was pitch dark, then headed back to the burrow for some sweet dreams. Life is good!

Thanks to the best tortoise sitters in the world for making sure there was a steady supply of high protein treats left in the grass and under the littleleaf cordia every day. Of course, Tortellini greatly enjoyed this too and was waiting at the patio door for someone to deliver the goods at 7:30 last night. That Tortellini makes sure things happen! She even stands on her front tippy toes to INSIST that the treats keep coming. Last night she got the few desert willow and hibiscus flowers that weren't already fried by the heat. That's fine with me. I'm still on my low-carb, high protein diet to rebuild muscle. I've got a long ways to go to rebuild my hind legs and jaw muscles. But it's summer, and that's the best time for me to recover well enough so I can hibernate this winter. Can you see how well my neck has healed from the feeding tube? No turtlenecks or plastic surgery for me. I'm a good healer!

My tortoise mom tells me there's a really special tortoise in Santa Barbara who never hibernates. He sleeps on a heating pad in winter and eats Trader Joe's salad every day. Oh, and he weighs SIXTEEN pounds. Whoa, that's almost twice my size!!! Here's the really cool thing about Harry: he's been passed down through family and friends for nearly 100 years!!

Maybe I'll dream about Harry in Santa Barbara. He's a super survivor too.