Assisted Living

This is what happens at least weekly. I get my weight checked and a steroid injection if it's due (down to monthly injections now). I also get eye drops once a week or so to control inflammation so I can see better.

Then twice a week I get a mixture of Mazuri Tortoise Diet (extra protein to help build muscles) plus shredded grass, flowers and organic kale. Mmmm, Tortoise Salad, courtesy of my own personal backyard chef!

My compliments to the chef!

Tomorrow I'll get an early pre-hibernation check-up with Dr. Johnson to make sure I don't need any further treatments to prepare for a long winter snug in my burrow. Road trip! Actually I'm pretty happy riding in the car in my box. I snuggle down in the newspapers until it's time for another weigh-in. Everyone sure is concerned about my weight, but it's a good sign of how much I'm eating and drinking. My weight is down since early summer even though I'm eating every day now, but it's because I flush my bladder every time there's a drop of rain from monsoon storms that suddenly blow in. I feel disappointed when I flush but don't get to refill my bladder when it's so hot that the rain dries before it hits the ground. Hence the weight loss, but losing urate weight is a good thing -- no more bladder stones! Whenever there is enough rain, I drink like there's no tomorrow and actually smack my beak. Mmmm, rainwater is so refreshing!

Today is my 47th birthday!!!

Wow, hard to believe I'm 47 already. Where does time go? Oh, yeah, I do spend all winter hibernating. And then I spent 90 percent of my time underground the rest of the year to regulate my body temperature. Especially these last few years as it's been hotter than ever here. Tortoises respond to the increasing heat by staying underground more and more. Even Tortellini just dashes out for 15 minutes at 6 a.m. as it's too hot to graze like we used to "back in the day".

The good news is that because it's been even warmer than this time last summer, I got my birthday present early: Yep, right now I'm cool as a cucumber deep down in the old burrow. Home Sweet Home!! Before that, my tortoise mom and dad monitored me from my special winter burrow and pen every morning. So I got "walks" in the grass every morning, plus water from the sprinklers -- like rain on a timer!! -- and then a special shredded tortoise salad back in my pen, which I heartily ate every morning. I can eat well if the food is easy to bite. My tortoise mom figured this out while watching me try to bite food that took too much tearing for my weakened jaw muscles. So she made me a salad of shredded kale, bean sprouts, carrots, and even hibiscus flowers for me. It's like having my own personal chef!! Anyway I did gain weight and feel good until someone turned up the thermostat to Blazing Hot, so I started trying to escape to the old burrow even more and then I started losing some weight. That's when my tortoise mom and dad realized I needed more relief from the heat, so they let me go back to the old burrow. I thought that was too good to be true after they had nabbed me so many times over the last few months (Curses, foiled again!), so I got right to the burrow entrance and stopped: Not falling for this again. But my tortoise mom assured me it was ok and even gave me a nudge to go in the entrance. Wow! FREEDOM!!

I haven't been back for a check-up with Dr. Johnson because my tortoise mom isn't able to take care of me following endoscopy due to her own health problem, so that's why she came up with the plan to "walk" me every morning to encourage eating, drinking, peeing, and just generally perking up. Anyway I'm really grateful for all the TLC. The best days were when Tortellini came out to graze too. Woo Hoo, just like old times!

So today is my birthday, but it's so hot that I'm staying in the burrow this morning. Tortellini dashed out for a few minutes but she's a lot more active than me and always has been. But even she is having to stay underground more with this heat. I know we live in the desert, but it wasn't always this hot all the time, especially overnight. We used to come out and graze for an hour or so every morning AND evening. Plus we had rain! Oh how we love rain!! We practically dance in it!! But we've only rain once this year. I tanked up and then flushed and flushed and flushed my bladder (Ok, I'm a hoarder), unlike Tortellini who flushes her bladder a lot so it's just a ladylike amount of urates that she leaves on the grass. Not me. So that's why my tortoise mom sits me in the sprinklers a lot because it feels more like rain to me so then I tend to drink and flush more.

I really am trying to do better as I don't want another bladder stone. My goal is to live many more decades without any more bladder stones or surgeries. I'll always be a "special needs" tortoise with weak hind legs and jaw muscles from nerve damage from the gigantic stone that I was hauling around for so long, but my tortoise mom and dad love me enough to accommodate those needs. It's not easy but I'm very grateful for a second chance at life. Having more birthdays is the best gift of all!!

P.S. Happy Birthday to a very special girl who turns 7 today. I hope you can visit me again soon!!

Happy Mother's Day!

I'm wishing that for my very own Tortoise Mom who went out in the rain and got soaked so I could get a giant drink of rainwater on Wednesday. Wow, I thought I'd miss out because there's no good place to collect rainwater in my little pen, so I was out of the burrow looking up in the sky, just hoping I could get a refreshing drink. Rain water is not like hose water. Nooooo, rain water is primo and we haven't had much of it in more than a year, so I was really worried that I would miss out.

But then my Tortoise Mom magically appeared to "walk" me outside the pen, where I could get a good drink of the world's best water, fresh from the sky. So I drank and drank and then I flushed my bladder twice, leaving two piles of urates (ok, I've been saving up again). And then I drank some more. It was like I just can't flush my bladder until I have the water I like to replace it. So I'm all fresh and frisky now. Oh, and when they weighed me the next day, I had lost 124 grams which accounts for about 4 ounces of urates plopped out on the patio. That's a lot for a dainty gal like me.

So I'm really grateful to my Tortoise Mom who has been walking me, weighing me, giving me favorite foods to build up my strength. She's recovering from her own surgery so really trying to help me avoid more surgery. We'll see what Dr. Johnson has to say about that.



I also want to wish Tortellini a Happy Mother's Day. She was a very good egg layer when my brother Charlie was still alive. Anyway there were never any baby tortoise hatchlings until Tortellini arrived on the scene 25 years ago. For a while there, it was like having an Easter egg hunt in our yard twice a year when a clutch of eggs would hatch. Over the years, my Tortoise Mom adopted out nearly three dozen baby tortoises through the Turtle and Tortoise Society. Now they have to do it through the program at Arizona Fish & Game. Anyway I think Tortellini deserves a celebration for all the baby tortoises she produced to make other families happy too. Happy Mother's Day!

Adios, August!

After surviving the hottest August on record (seriously), we awoke this morning to just enough rain to leave dark splotches on our dusty shells. But it was cloudy for a change, so I could venture out from under the Little Leaf Cordia to graze on grass and hope some flowers would magically fall from the desert willow tree. They finally did, but only because my tortoise mom picked them for me. For some reason, the desert willow tree with darker pink flowers doesn't produce as many flowers as the lighter pink variety, and they don't drop on the ground either. They just shrivel up, still stuck on the tree. So my tortoise dad planted this new tree for me in 2009 after I had my surgery, but now my tortoise mom has to pick the flowers. It's not the automatic tortoise feeder like the old tree, but at least it still puts on flowers. The Mexican Evening Primrose and verbena finally fried up in this "excessive heat," and other plants are burned and brown. August didn't used to be like this here. It rained every afternoon and it cooled off at night. Not any more!

My tortoise mom tried to soak me while I was busy eating flowers under the desert willow this morning. The drip emitters were watering the tree and she added a slow running hose in hopes I'd soak a little without putting up a fuss. Let's face it, she was hoping I wouldn't notice that my cloaka was taking in water, the most direct route to my bladder. But the water wasn't deep enough, and really, I'm not tolerating that soaking business even if it is in a tree well instead of my blue soaking pan. I have my standards!



My weight goes up and down depending on whether I've had a good drink and/or "expressed" my bladder, which means flushing out the urates that cause bladder stones along with urine. So on Monday, another 116 degree day, my tortoise mom was alarmed that my weight had dropped to 3120 grams, a new low for the summer. She was really afraid the heat was hurting me. But bright and early on Tuesday, I let her know I wanted a drink from the hose, and I really tanked up. When she weighed me, I was at 3303 grams. That's only a few ounces, but it shows that things are moving in and out as they should.

Anyway I happily drank from the hose, with my face in the water. Oooh, so cool and refreshing! Did you know that tortoises don't drink standing water? We need fresh, running water. So that's why not having rain all summer with this record heat has really been so hard. If we ever do get rain, we will be so happy! Tortellini and I always know when it's going to rain ahead of time, and we sniff the ground looking for rain water. I hope that happens before hibernation. We only have a few more weeks to really tank up for winter. By early October we stop eating so that our digestive systems will be empty during hibernation. We don't want any undigested food sitting around all winter!

Weighty matters

If urates were gold, my tortoise parents could have my vet bills covered for life!

When I said I outdid myself last night by drinking and expressing my bladder so it flushed out the urates, I was not kidding. Those urates must weigh a lot because I weigh 116 grams LESS this morning than just two days ago. Yikes! Who knew a bladder flush could add up to so much weight? (4 common ounces)

So it's obvious there's a lot of variation in my weight depending on what I've been up to. Back when I was tube feeding, a meal would equal 100 grams. And to keep things simple, so could a healthy poop. Equilibrium!

Well I'm not upset about this weight loss. Losing urates is a very good thing. Two years ago I was hauling around a bladder stone that Dr. Johnson said accounted for 1/10 of my total weight. Shudder. So I think flushing out 4 ounces of urates last night is a very good thing. I have to work hard at it because Dr. Johnson says some tortoises, especially urban tortoises, tend to make bladder stones. We don't know if it's diet, access to water or just genetics, but now that we know I have that high risk factor, we stay on top of it with soaking to promote bladder flushes and check-ups with Dr. Johnson. He can actually feel stones when they're smaller and remove them without invasive surgery. My goal, of course, is to not form another stone if I can help it. So I'm a soaking/flushing tortoise now. Who says a tortoise (of a certain age) can't learn new healthy habits? You can see what I'm trying to prevent here.

Did you know that tortoises don't drink standing water? That's why we come out if there's a chance of rain. Oh we love rainwater! We'll sip it right off the patio or when it collects in the grass. And then we store it in our special bladders that take in water from the mouth and from the cloaka. When rain comes so infrequently in the desert, it's a handy thing to be able to tank up from both ends!

The rest of the time we get water from our food and store it all until the next rain. That's why picking up a tortoise in the wild can kill them as they will flush their bladder in an attempt to protect themselves. Then the bladder is empty and they might not survive until the next rain. They don't get to soak like I do.

Grazing again!

It's been a very hot, tough couple of months and I haven't felt perky enough to graze on the grass in the yard. I either didn't come out of the burrow at all for days on end or I just sat under the Little Leaf Cordia and nibbled on dried flowers. My tortoise mom picked Desert Willow flowers for me, which I love, but that's not enough food for an adult tortoise. So I haven't been blogging and I hadn't gained any weight at all. My tortoise mom was really worried. She even coaxed me into eating a little romaine and kale while waiting for Dr. Johnson to call back last week, but he said they don't offer enough fiber so that ended that. My best bet is eating grass which has the right amount of protein, vitamins and fiber to pack on the pounds for hibernation.

Anyway, I started feeling better in the last few days and I've been coming out of the burrow to eat grass again. My tortoise mom was so happy when she found out I had gained 30 grams in just two days. Finally some progress and normal eating behavior! I know I have to tank up so they'll let me hibernate outdoors again this winter. No one wants me to have to stay indoors all winter again. So I'm eating again, but much slower than Tortellini, so I stay out in the yard longer to make up for it. She, of course, is at an ideal weight and lack of appetite has never been her problem. In fact, if she went shopping, it would have to be at Tortoise Shells Big & Tall.

Dr. Johnson rates my weight at 2.5 on a 1-5 scale with 1 being way underweight and 5 being very overweight. My goal is to hit a "3", the healthy weight, again. I haven't been at that weight since the bladder stone surgery almost two years ago. So I'm working on it!



Last night my tortoise mom gave us some strawberries. Oh what a treat! We smacked our beaks and savored every mushy bite. By the time we were finished eating, we looked like toddlers who got into their mom's lipstick. But we sure were happy!



Tonight I outdid myself when I let my tortoise mom know I needed a drink by sniffing at the ground and following her. So she filled my soaking pan and I went right to work drinking water and expressing my bladder to get rid of urates. Usually I fight the soaking pan, but not tonight. No more bladder stones for me!

By that time it was late and I was so tired I was literally dragging my shell as I lurched along heading for bed. I decided to sleep outside, tucked under the edge of some yard equipment instead of going back inside the burrow. I'm weak but I'm feeling better. I finally feel like grazing again, and that's really good news.

True Confession

I have to confess that soon after my last post, I faked out my Tortoise Dad while he was doing yard work. I was innocently sunning myself, or so he thought. But I slipped past him and climbed into the old burrow with Tortellini and I've been tucked in there ever since. Oh sure, they've dragged me out to weigh me a few times, but I just go right back into the old burrow and snuggle in my favorite corner. Happy, happy!

There was an Easter Egg Hunt in our yard and one of the cute hunters risked her new Easter dress to take this photo of me inside the burrow. You can see I was keeping on eye on things, but no way would I come out, no matter how many flowers she put right under my nose. Anyway I didn't take the bait, but Tortellini did.



Since I've been dug in so deep in the old burrow, I haven't come out to eat or walk much lately and it shows. My weight has dropped off in the last month, and my hind legs are weak. So, as of today, I'm back in the new burrow and my tortoise parents/personal trainers have put me on a strict exercise and grazing program. I ate grass and walked twice today. I drank a little water too. But I also hissed which is what I do when I'm not fully alert so then I startle easily. I guess they're right that I should be active by now. After all, it's June. Prime tortoise grazing time. If I don't get out more, the lizards will take over. Seriously, there are three collared lizards in our yard. I don't mind because they don't eat grass or flowers. They just hunt bugs in the grass, which is fine with me. I guess I'll be hanging out with them more now. But I'd really like to go back to the old burrow. It sure is dark and cool and that makes me very sleepy. Oh, I'd better not think about that right now.

So it's time to wake up and eat the grass. I haven't been strong enough to eat grass since long before my surgery, so it's good news that I'm chomping down on it with such gusto now. I need to do a lot more of that so my head muscles will get stronger again too. Plus I get my weekly soak. I hate to soak, but it does help flush my bladder of any urates that have collected. It's not pretty but I sure don't want another bladder stone. An ounce of prevention...

Oops, I did it again!

In case you've never seen how a desert tortoise "expresses" her bladder, here's a photo showing urates (calcium deposits) that have been collecting in my bladder. This is what built up to cause my Ripley's Believe-It-Or-Not-sized bladder stone. So it's very good news to see urates getting flushed out of my system. NO MORE BLADDER STONES! NO MORE SURGERY! See how I'm doing my part to prevent that from happening again? An ounce of prevention is surely worth a whole pound of bladder stone!

I am doubly efficient today because I not only expressed my bladder but I did it so neatly in my favorite blue pan!! I just never knew it could be this fun!