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.

Party on!

Well the fun just never ends around here. I've gotten so many nice birthday greetings, plus a friend wrote me a birthday poem:

A tortoise at 45
Will help you be happy and thrive
Give her some greens
But please hold the beans
So she won't toot and give you surprise - Eric Laubach

And now Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital has added my photos and blog to their FaceBook page. So I'm getting even more fun greetings and maybe some new fans!

With all this encouragement, I'm doing my part to gain weight by turning my beak green, which means I've been chowing down on the green and leafies which I really need for the high protein to rebuild my muscles. As of Monday I weigh 3406 grams, so you can tell I'm doing my best. And I'm gulping down water all by myself too. Especially now that's it's so hot here, I really enjoy a long, cool drink.



Ok, you can see I'm really getting into this--there's even salad on my head! Plus I'm starting to eat a wider variety of foods, a very good sign of recovery. Now how much do I have to eat to catch up to Tortellini who tips the scales at 3900 grams AFTER hibernation..... Hmmm, carry the one, subtract 4 from 9 -- calculating -- Whoa! I'd better get busy. That's a lot of grams!!!!

Wow, I love all my birthday greetings!

Thank you for all your best wishes and greetings and encouragement as I continue my recovery from surgery. It's so fun to hear from you!

The wonderful vets at Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital are even adding my photos and blog to their FaceBook page. Check it out! I am so delighted because I wouldn't even be alive if not for the excellent care I get there, especially surgery and umpteen follow-up visits, including a few emergency trips. Thanks, too, to great neighbors who happened to be home to help drive me when I needed it most!

So I am one lucky tortoise, and I'm realizing just how rich I am in friends and people who care about me. That makes my birthday even more special, and encourages me to always do my best to gain weight and rebuild my muscles. I've been doing a good job at regrowing the scales that dropped off around my eyes, so I don't have reverse raccoon eyes anymore. See?



But I need to work harder on turning my beak green by eating more greens instead of just cordia flowers. But it's easier to bite flowers since I'm still missing so much muscle that powers my jaws. See the dip in the top of my head and my skinny leg (a little tortoise cheesecake)?



But I'll keep trying to eat more and get stronger. Just for YOU! Thank you so much for caring about me and helping me recover.

Free at last!!

I woke up this morning to find that the barricade came down! So THAT is my extra special birthday surprise! Wow! I can hardly believe it! I marched all over the yard, climbed the new burrow, and sniffed the entrance of the old one. Yep, it's really true: I am FREE AT LAST!!!



I am amazed that I am free to go in the old burrow. I wait and wonder: Am I still dreaming?



Then I explore the top of the new burrow, just to compare.



I also got a special birthday salad with a pink candle in it. Cool! I am loving this birthday business!! Who knew turning 45 could be so great?!!



After a soak and a snack (gained another 64 grams!), guess where I'm going? Yep, the old burrow still does it for me!!! This is my best birthday EVER!

It's my birthday!!!

Not every tortoise gets a special cake for their 45th birthday!! But then who else has a "tummy tuck" like mine?





I am one lucky tortoise!! I get all this TLC, a new burrow, hand feeding and - best gift of all - a new lease on life!! At 45, I'm in the prime of my life and could live another 40 or 50 years!!

But I hear there's one special present waiting for me. I wonder what that could be? I guess I'll have to dream about it tonight.....

105 degrees here all week

Tortellini and I are hunkered down deep in the new burrow where the temperature is about 20 degrees cooler than outside. Since we are cold-blooded, we use our environment to control body temperature. No elaborate system of sweat and evaporation for us. So we don't no need stinkin' deodorant. Although if we did use deodorant, it would be dirt colored and smell like dirt too. In short, dirt is GOOD!

Not only is the heat a factor in our burrowing deeper this week, but I'm getting some extra beauty sleep because my 45th birthday is coming soon. I hear there's a celebration in the works. I wonder if I'll get a special treat? I already get a second chance at life and that's the best gift of all!

Here's a photo from the archives. Back in March, when I still had my feeding tube, I had to get reacquainted with Tortellini again as she hibernated all winter so we were separated for the first time since 1987. If you must know, I sniffed to see where she'd been and then I bobbed my head, which is a tortoise greeting. It's pretty basic. We learn it in Head Bobbing 101.

As you can see, Tortellini is a plus-sized desert tortoise. She always gets to choose the best spot in the burrow. But it's only fair since she's usually the one who dug it out. I'm glad we're back together, surviving the heat in the new burrow. Did you know desert tortoises spend up to 90% of the time underground? Think about it: it's too hot, it's too cold, but the burrow is always juuust right!

From Grandma's Archives, circa March 2009

Weight Watchers: 3330 grams!

This was the scene inside the burrow this morning. Do you like what we've done with the place? You can barely see Tortellini dug in behind me. She sure knows how to make herself at home. And of course we know interior design is all about comfort and function.



Then I got on the scales again. Great news: I weighed 3330 grams this morning, a gain of 150 grams in one week!! Woo Hoo!! This is such an encouraging sign that I'm doing better. I've gained 300 grams since Dr. Johnson removed the feeding tube. I think he'll be really glad about that.



I was still feeling drowsy though--YAWN!!--and started to head back inside the burrow, but my tortoise mom plopped me down where some tasty flowers could get my attention to wake me up better.



Mmmm, breakfast of champions!!

Flower Power

Since today was cooler, Tortellini and I lined up at the entrance of the burrow, blinking our eyes in the bright morning light before we came out for breakfast. It's the first time in a few days because it's just been too hot to venture out!

We are delighted with the new burrow now that it's all finished. It stays a steady at 84-88 degrees inside whether it's 70 degrees overnight or 107 during the day. Tortoise Dad added a lot more dirt (nature's insulation), plus a little shrub by the entrance to boost humidity. Before he did that, when the weather heated up to 110, we were trying to dig under the globemallow and Mexican evening primrose to cool down a bit. But it wasn't enough and we were pretty miserable. So we really appreciate our new, cool digs. The new burrow even has a screen for extra shade and privacy. Thanks, Tortoise Dad!!



The other day I put my face right in the drip sprayer in the new desert willow tree just to see what it was like. But today I got down to business and actually drank the water. I've been soaking in my little blue pan every week, but I sure won't drink from it, so it's strictly a "cloaka intake" thing. But I do like the fresh water spraying in the tree well. Plus it turns on like magic every morning!



After my drink, I sat under the Littleleaf Cordia where the ground is always covered in a flurry of small, white flowers. Mmmm, they are my favorites! That's what I ate before my surgery last September because I wasn't well enough to bite off anything else like grass, leaves, hibiscus. Now I'm rediscovering how delicious those little white flowers are. Since the weather started cooling yesterday, and the wind is blowing, fresh white flowers made a thick carpet under the cordia. I spent more than 2 hours "vacuuming" them up. Meanwhile Tortellini showed up just long enough to eat my romaine in record time and then scooted back in the burrow. She's not a gourmand like me.



There's more good news: even before I ate and drank this morning, I still weighed in at 3190 grams so I'm at least holding steady. With a few more grazing sessions like today, I'll start feeling like my old self BBS (Before Bladder Stone)!

Morning rounds

I got up early this morning and patrolled the fence and garden, all by myself. In fact, Tortellini slept in. She might have been tired from all her recent burrow "remodeling." She's definitely a DIY tortoise! President Obama could hire her for infrastructure projects. She's one very short bulldozer!

Weighty Matters

The scale doesn't lie: I've been eating! I've gained 156 grams in two weeks! My weight is up 90 grams since my last weigh in and that was before my weekly soak! Plus yesterday I took my first drink of water on my own since my surgery. It was out of the tree well, quite fancy as tortoise drinks go. You know we only like fresh, running water. Rainwater is like Perrier to us tortoises. Clean, refreshing and worth flushing the bladder to stock up on a new supply of water.

Tortellini weighs 3900 grams after hibernating all winter. I have a lot of catching up to do but now weigh 3190 grams after two weeks outside, with lots of "salad bars" and prodding by my tortoise mom and dad. But just two days of sharing the new burrow with Tortellini is reminding me to get busy being a self-feeding tortoise again.

I even came out of the burrow by myself this afternoon. I didn't stay long, but I did sniff everything and see what Tortellini was up to. Of course she was busy eating every flower in sight, plus my salad. Maybe she's finding that being my burrow mate is a pretty good deal afterall?

Sad news

The world is a little sadder because Aunt Darlene died today. She always sent cards and asked how I was doing. She called us turtles even though we are tortoises, but that's ok because we knew she cared. She was very funny and lovable and so it's hard to know she's gone.

There were many tears at our house today and everyone will miss her. Even though I never met her in person, I'll miss her funny cards and fake tortoises that make me do a double take. I know the color is wrong on this "turtle" but I still had to bob my head and check it out. Fake-out!!

Guess who came to dinner?

Since I have to stay on my own side of the barricade until I perk up and eat better on my own, Tortellini hitched a ride over to my side of the yard to remind me to get busy. Boy, she can make hibiscus, cordia and desert willow flowers plus romaine disappear in a hurry! Chomp, chomp, chomp! So I perked right up and started eating too, although my manners are far more delicate than hers.

Then Tortellini prowled the barricade wanting to go back to the main attraction, our old burrow. But it's hot and they decided I need some company so she ended up being my roommate in the new burrow instead. She did her bulldozer thing and suddenly dirt was flying out the doorway as she dug out a cool spot for herself. She is one busy gal! Then she snuggled right down in the best corner, farthest from the doorway. So I have a roommate in the new burrow now. As roommates go, Tortellini is about the best. I'll bet she wakes me up and gets me moving tomorrow morning. I think the lazy days of rehab are now officially over with Tortellini as my new therapist. Eat. Dig. Walk. Prowl the barricade. Oh a tortoise's work is never done!

Day Nine

Like I said, I did eat a lot the first few days and was pretty active. I even gained 66 grams so I weigh 3100 now. That's pretty light for me still so I need to eat a lot of protein-rich foods to gain weight and build muscle. So I keep finding a salad bar wherever I go.



Even though they keep dragging me out to try to interest me in food, I'm a mid-morning tortoise, and just not interested when it's closer to my bedtime. You know what they say about early to bed and fairly early to rise, makes a tortoise healthy and able to go mano a mano (really, gular horn to gular horn) with Tortellini.

Maybe they'll finish landscaping my burrow soon. I do like my new reed awning for extra privacy. The lizards are always a little surprised when they see me tucked in behind the doorway. You can almost see them putting on the brakes before they scurry away. My work is done. It's good to be outside but it will be better when that barricade comes down.

Rehab moves outside

Well, I thought I was going to get free rein in the backyard but Dr. Johnson said no, I have to be monitored every day for two weeks to make sure I start eating on my own. I also need weekly soaks in my little blue pan. So rehab is ongoing, only it's outdoors now.

After Dr. Johnson said my red blood count is stable afterall, and there were no parasites in my poop, they let me go outside. So I made a beeline for the burrow after letting Tortellini know I'm Back and In Charge, and it's time to scoot over and let me have my favorite spot in the burrow. Yep, that's what I said as I bobbed my head and shoved her a bit to drive home my point. It's a good thing she's not super alert yet as she outweighs me by 800 grams!



But I got the shock of my life when I found they had blocked the entrance. What the ...? Can you see my frustration? Did you know a tortoise could be so exasperated after waiting 8 months for this homecoming?



Well never underestimate my determination. I promtply climbed on top of the burrow to look for another way in. Finally I took the plunge and was saved from hurting myself by my tortoise dad. I could be the world's first bungee jumping tortoise, that's just how determined and fearless I am after dreaming of getting back in my burrow for so long.



So it was back to the drawing board. Tortoise dad built a new burrow just for me. I didn't like that one bit. Then they divided the back yard between the two burrows with a giant barricade. People who visit laugh and say, "Tear down this wall" like some important person. Yep, that's what I'd like too.



Meanwhile, here's my new burrow for at least two weeks. It's my job to perk up and feed myself so I can gain weight. I did eat twice and gained 66 grams but I haven't been very perky since. For one thing, I do not like coming out later in the day. I only like mid-morning but it takes someone being able to pull me out of the burrow first. I know, I'm not cooperating very well. But really, I'm just adjusting to this new burrow and suddenly it's hot and I have my own schedule now. I'm on tortoise time now.

Another blood test!

Twice in one week I got my blood tested. Last Saturday I had everything checked by a lab. But Dr. Johnson said my red blood cell count is way low since a month ago so he wanted to recheck my RBC in the office. So I got dropped off for a while this morning. I had a nice time at Arizona Exotic Animal Hospital as everyone is always so nice to me. Even the blood draw is not too bad, but I'm pretty good at all this medical stuff by now.

I didn't produce any "fresh" poop, so they took the tiny sample they found under a newspaper when I was going to bed last night. Hope that was good enough. They said my RBC is still low but better than what the lab reported from last Saturday's test. Could I be anemic? And why such a big change? We'll just wait to hear from Dr. Johnson now. He'll know what to do.



I'm still not eating, but I have been soaking in my little blue pan. And I'm looking forward to another walk in the backyard this evening. I might even munch on a tasty weed or some new globemallow leaves. I like sniffing hibiscus flowers but so far I haven't taken a bite. They had big plans to turn me loose in the backyard this weekend, but for now that celebration is on hold.

And now, it's time for an afternoon siesta after such an eventful morning. In my little yellow box. YAWN. I do need my beauty sleep!

Diet change

I got Oxbow Critical Care in my feeding tube twice a day for 7.5 months, which is around 450 feedings and involved dozens of syringes and many squirting hay incidents. Here's the recipe: 1 tsp. Oxbow CC (powdered hay, vitamins) mixed with 4 tsp. warm water which made 20 ml of hay mixture. I never even got to taste it as the feeding tube delivered it straight to my stomach. Then they flushed the tube with 10 ml of water. Sometimes it blurped out of my mouth or back out the feeding tube, so then they would give me a little less. I also started eating a little on my own these past few weeks and I even munched on globemallow outside on my walks.

Then last Saturday, Dr. Johnson decided it was time to remove my feeding tube. He took me in the back to work his magic, and I went from this:



To THIS!



So now I'm supposed to feed myself. But I'm not. I did get an antibiotic packed in the incision where my feeding tube went into my neck. My neck looks good and feels so much better to be free of the tube and stitches. But I was really tired after my visit to Dr. Johnson so I slept a lot. Then the weather changed and I always hunker down when cooler air blows in. My tortoise mom has been soaking me in my little blue pan and my tortoise dad has been taking me for walks outside, but I'm still not eating. They even played "SpongeBob Squarepants" to perk me up again. Then Dr. Johnson called to say my blood work is off and my red blood cell count needs to be checked again. Also he wants a fresh sample of poop. Now that's a tall order since I haven't been eating. Stay tuned.....

Playing in my blue pan

Here's one of my favorite games. I love my blue soaking pan, but not when there's water in it. I hate soaking! But I love to climb in everyday when it's dry so I can just play in it, then hang my front legs over the side and listen to what's going on or doze, and then play some more. When it's time to get out, that's when the real fun begins. I'm sure it's physics, but eventually I hurl my shell far enough over the side to get out. It's more fun if I flip the pan up on the way out. Extra points!

I feel pretty, oh so pretty!

Does this hibiscus flower disguise my rehab look? I'm pretty tired of stitches in my neck and stretchy cloth tape wrapped around my front leg so my scales won't catch on the tube. After 7.5 months, it looks pretty ratty and makes my leg look like a mummy.

There's also tape on my shell to hold the feeding tube in place. Except the tape won't stick to my shell anymore so they keep trying different spots on my shell. This means I could easily be a walking sticky note now. Wonder how that glue will come off the ridges of my shell? A gal always wants to look her best.

Just think, when my feeding tube comes out, my neck can heal and I won't be wearing tape anymore either. Maybe I'll get a spa day to clean my shell and spruce up my scales? I have shed a few on my other front leg for some reason. My tortoise mom found one stuck to the bottom of her sock the other day. That was some trick: spontaneous scale ejection.

Countdown to Freedom!

I get to see Dr. Johnson today and we're all hoping he'll yank out my feeding tube. Well, not "yank" exactly, but whatever it takes to set me free. Without a feeding tube, I can go back to the burrow, grazing when I want and generally being an independent tortoise gal again.

I've been practicing for this day. My tortoise mom has been taking me out for "walks" in the back yard so I'll start nibbling on globemallow, hibiscus and grass again. So far, I've only munched a few globemallow leaves and some interesting weeds in the grass. But it's May and my internal clock is saying it's time to get more active, including eating and drinking.

I've been pretty impatient and just a little huffy for a week or so as I REALLY want OUT! So I thump my shell in the tub to protest having to be confined until I've done my tortoise "business" on the papers. Then it's full speed ahead as I go for a walk outside, or at least get to "graze" on romaine leaves in my indoor set-up in the guest bathroom and the laundry room. I always have to walk around to survey the area before I settle down to eat. And boy do I eat! Sometimes I spend an hour or more just chowing down on romaine which I get besides my morning and evening feedings of Oxbow Critical Care in my feeding tube. My tortoise mom has been making it up twice a day for 7.5 months now so she's counting the hours until the tube is removed too. My tortoise dad is looking forward to getting the guest bathroom and laundry room "back," whatever that means.

Since I've been more active lately, I've been playing in my blue soaking pan every day. I don't really like it when there's water in it, but when it's empty, I climb in and play for long time. Finally I decide it's time to get out and that's when the real fun begins. I hang my front legs over the edge and try to climb out, but there's no traction for my back feet so it's like working out on a treadmill. Eventually I'm able to make it over the side by tipping the pan a bit. Then I climb out feeling very proud of myself. Tortoise Gym.



So here's what it looks like on a typical day after I've grazed on romaine leaves, dragged my favorite yellow box around which rearranges all the towels on the floor, and played in my blue soaking pan. Not even the magazines are safe from me moving them around. Ah, a tortoise's work is never done!

When good syringes go bad

This is what happens when a sticky syringe encounters a little extra pressure in the feeding tube: Hay "pesto" goes SPLAT! Seriously, there's a lot of washing up involved.

This messy little incident started the day. Then I upped the ante by pushing through the barricade during my outdoor exercises and making a break for the burrow. I thought I was home free, but they caught me just a few feet from the burrow. I can march pretty fast when I know exactly where I'm going. No stopping for snacks or sniffing globemallow, I do not pass "go", just keep making a beeline for the burrow entrance..... RATS, they caught me. But it was great fun while it lasted.

I've been staying outside for more than an hour on most warm days, but my cover is blown now and I'll get more supervision and a stronger barricade to keep me out of trouble.

Only two more weeks until I see Dr. Johnson again. If he says my feeding tube can come out after more than seven months of twice daily feedings, we'll all do a Happy Dance. And then, once my neck heals where the feeding tube is stitched in, I'll get to make a beeline for the burrow with a whole cheering section.

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!

World's first potty trained tortoise?

I "used" my blue litter pan today. It's true. While my tortoise mom was busy today, I entertained myself in the exercise set-up in the guest bathroom. I rearranged the towels on the floor, the magazine basket, my yellow box and of course my blue soaking pan. You know how I love to play in my pan, but I outdid myself today. What a funny surprise when my tortoise mom discovered I had pooped in the pan so she didn't have to clean up. Wow. Stop the presses!!!! Put me on Letterman!! Who knew I was this savvy in a personal hygiene sort of way?

Three-alarm clog!

My feeding tube clogged up so much this morning that we made a rush visit to see Dr. Johnson. Thank goodness he flushed the tube right away, plus he gave my Tortoise Mom some new syringes to make sure it doesn't happen like that again.

I had a good exam and all good news. Dr. Johnson examined the torn and "mobile" scales on my left front foot and said they are ok, probably just happened since I started walking around outside a little again. He also moved the tape on my feeding tube so it doesn't pull so hard on my stitches when I stick my neck way out. After all, I have flowers to sniff and places to go now on my daily walks!



I'm still not gaining weight or getting stronger but Dr. Johnson said that will happen when I can spend the summer outdoors. I plan to bulk up, for sure. But I don't think I'll ever catch Tortellini. She's one hefty gal!

The best news is I MIGHT get my feeding tube removed at my next appointment in May. If so, I'll be free to be a 100 percent, full-time OUTDOOR tortoise again! Woo Hoo! I really, really want to crawl in my burrow and just come and go as I please. Don't get me wrong, I'm really grateful for a second chance at life. And I really appreciate all the tube feeding and poop cleaning and special care to help me recover since surgery last September. But it's been a long haul, and let's just say, you can't take the urge to hibernate and the love of the backyard out of a tortoise "of a certain age". How I love to sniff the ground and listen to the birds, graze (like a very short cow) and be a regular, outdoor desert tortoise. So it's good news: If I keep doing well, we only have another month of all this indoor care and tube feeding business.

Now where's a calendar so I can scratch off the days?

Hippity Hoppity, Happy EASTER!

Uh-Oh

Not me!

Potty Training

I love to play in my blue soaking pan. Please don't tell me it's a cat litter box, no way! It's my personal blue lagoon where I get soaked twice a week to battle ongoing dehydration, and play in it when it's dry the rest of the time. It's just fun to climb in and then flip it up and flop out the side so my shell makes a loud "thunk". It's one of my favorite toys, besides my yellow box that I like to hook on my shell and then drag around. It turns me into a larger tortoise, like getting a "shell job."

Today I surprised my tortoise mom when she found me in my blue soaking pan. I was feeling quite pleased with myself because I did my business in a ladylike way right in the pan, and it was totally my idea. Mmmm, I love my little blue pan. And my little yellow box. Perfect toys for me!