So Funny!

Yesterday as I'm flipping through Windows while multi-tasking at work, I catch Rosita on her web cam doing this:

So Funny!
What are the chances of getting this exact shot? Not only that, but how likely is it that I am going to see it while it is live on the web for 45 seconds?
I can't get over how cute I think this is. She's eating, but it looks like maybe she is laughing. Or sticking her tongue out at the camera saying, "Quit looking at me!" I'll have to try to clean up the image and get at least some of the glare off. I also need to move the camera to a different angle - one that is less affected by the sunlight. Being able to see each slat in the back of the chair the camera is resting on is quite annoying.

I did a full cage clean a few days ago. I used a litter box shovel to remove all the sand and bark before temporarily relocating Rosita out of the construction zone. She wandered around her barren cage seeming a bit distraught about where everything was going. I felt sort of bad. I brought her to the bathroom and let her cruise around in there with the doors shut while I used bleach and scrubbed it clean. I knew she would be safe, and I kept an eye on the cat, just in case. But when I heard a clanging noise, I ran upstairs only to find her shell bumping up against the pipe behind the toilet. She was exploring the terrain, and the sound echoed through walls making it sound much worse than it really was. So I finished up and brought her back to her home. I put more dirt (in case you're a tortoise owner, it's actually Bed-A-Beast) than bark in this time, thinking it will hold moisture better. She loves to get comfy by digging down in it and nestling in.

Coming soon: a new, bigger cage for Rosita...

I'm Coming Out

Last night Rosita met and hung out with some of my friends. It was a coming out party of sorts for her. However, the evening didn't start well. She was behaving very anti-social even before anyone came over. Just sitting in her hideout, not even coming out when I offered her food. She's never turned down food from my hand, so I was a bit concerned about her. When I mentioned that she was not acting like herself, Heidi questioned what I expected her to do, reminding me that a tortoise is not a terribly active pet. I assured her that I wasn't basing my expectations on the typical behavior of a puppy, rather Rosita's own past actions.

I let her be alone for awhile and then took her out for a soak. Unlike her usual attempt to get out of the water right away, she just sat there. Then she squeezed out some poop and obviously felt a lot better. I put newspaper down on the carpet in the living room and brought her upstairs to roam free with the guests. And she did just that. She was very friendly and active walking around, accepting a lettuce leaf from Karen, allowing Marni and Heidi to pick her up and touch her head. She was the life of the party until she forgot her manners and pooped again (on the newspaper) in front of everyone. Fortunately, she's got a lot of life ahead of her to learn and practice proper etiquette.

If She Were Capable of Grunting

It turns out Rosita has not been getting enough fiber. She's constipated. I feel like a bad tortoise-mom. But it's not like I've been feeding her white bread. You'd think leafy greens and fruit would keep any living creature pretty regular, but I've learned otherwise. How do I know she's constipated? Well, let me tell ya...

I noticed that she was very inactive the entire day (thank you webcam). I took her out to walk around in the bathroom with me. She walked around for awhile and I picked her up and rubbed her shell and head for several minutes. She seemed very relaxed and when I sat her back down, she just sat there. Her back legs and tail (which is usually tucked underneath) outstretched and her "belly" on the floor. I got down on her level and watched her. What I saw was as disturbing as it was funny. She closed her eyes tightly and recoiled her head and neck toward her shell, and then relaxed. This repeated several times. She lifted up one of her back legs, balancing on three. I swear, if she could grunt, she would have. As I carried her back downstairs and ran the water into her "bath" for a water soak to help loosen things up, the struggle was finally over.

Whew!

Breakfast with Rosita

I feel so fortunate to have today off. I sat with Rosita as she ate breakfast. Taking pictures of her is quite a challenge. She's in a glass terrarium so using a flash is nearly out of the question. Even without, I usually get some type of glare - sometimes a reflection of myself taking the picutre! The first one above is an example of that. I have to rest the camera on something to steady my hand while snapping the shot because the shutter stays open longer with no flash. While her entire body is not in motion, her head and mouth are moving like crazy and tend to blur. So yes, I realize these are not completely in focus, but given the conditions, these are the best ones I have.

Questions

After living with Rosita for almost two weeks now, I have several questions.

• Do tortoises yawn? Because I swear mine does.
  
• Should tortoises exercise? And if so, how do I get mine to move around? Hamsters have those walking wheels, but I don't think Rosita would be too keen on using an apparatus such as that. All of the research I have done indicates that tortoises need a lot of room to move around and explore, but Rosita isn't using the space she already has.
  
• Do tortoises get lonely? She was living with two other red foots before I took her home from the pet store. Does she miss them? Would she be happier with another somebody like her around? If I decide to do that, I better make sure I don't have a male and a female. Which leads to the next question --
  
• Can you neuter or spay a tortoise? Goodness knows I have a difficult enough time taking care of a full-grown tortoise -- I don't need to worry about a handful of babies!

She Pooped!

Yes, I admit, I was getting worried. We adopted her on January 2nd, and she pooped while walking into her new home - but hasn't since. The pet store told me that reptiles don't go as often as mammals, so a week isn't too long for a tortoise. Today was a week and three days, so I was quite relieved when I received a call on my way to work from Von telling me, "She pooped!" And what a great guy -- he cleaned it up too!

When I got home today around 5:00pm, I was surprised to see her sleeping -- head tucked in -- in her terrarium behind her house. I said "Hello" to wake her up. She seemed groggy until I wiggled my fingers in from of her face and then she got up and walked toward me. My fingers = FOOD!

Heating Hardships for Repiles

Check out this story from The Onion:
Rising Home-Heating Costs Hitting Reptile Families Hardest

Thanks to my sister Jen for finding it!

Sweet Slumber

Are all creatures cute and peaceful when they're sleeping? I know she's not really cute, I mean, I do know she's a reptile. But don't you just have to "awww" when you see her like this...

While the Cat's Away...

Apparently Rosita plays while we are all at work (or sleeping, as is the case for the cat). I came home from work today and Rosita's water pond had all kinds of dirt in it. She must have had her friends over splashing at a pool party today under the sun lamp.

I have been making a habit of hand-feeding her pieces of pear when I get home in the evening. It gets her up and around and I get to spend some time with her. The last few times I have done this, after she eats the first piece, she stretches her neck out really far and opens her mouth as if biting at something that isn't there. She's not even close to my hand or the pear. I realized today that I think this is her way of begging. It reminds me of baby birds with their mouths open for their momma to feed them. I thought maybe she had bouts of really poor vision, but then I noticed she does it when my hand isn't even in her cage. She walked right up to the glass chomping at the air. It was so cute!

Tucked in for the night and sleeping

Loves to eat!

What life would be like as a GIANT tortoise...

Rosita's bathtub

She found a backdoor

Bathroom Crawl

Rosita was up when I got up this moring around 8:30am. She was very ready to eat when I gave her breakfast of collard, kale, carrots, and pears. She ate all of it right away and then went into her home. She pretty much stayed in there for the rest of the day.

I took her out around noon and gave her a soak. She completely submersed her head underwater, which was terrific because she's been so dry and it's affecting her eyes. The bad news is that she didn't want to stay in the water for more than 2 minutes. She got out by herself for the first time today. Although I helped a bit when her little butt and tail got stuck on the edge of the tupperware.

Today was also the big day we drilled a hole through the wall to set up a webcam. I was so amazed that she did not seem at all frightened by the loud sound of the drill. She didn't even flinch when it came on.

I thought she should be moving around a bit more, so I planned a mini adventure. I turned on the heated floor in the upstairs bathroom, and took her up there to wander and explore. She spent about 20 minutes or more exploring each part of the room: under the vanity ledge, around and behind the toilet (where she turned her body sideways to fit between the wall and some plumbing!), and around me. I was surprised at how she would come really close to me. At one point, she even put her front leg on my jeans while looking up at my hand. I think she thought I had some pear for her to eat, but still. Even though she still tucks her head in when she is startled by my hands being too close to her head, she came up to me more than once. When I picked her up to go back to her terrarium, I took a moment to rub her head. I hear they like that, and she didn't seem to mind. I want to make sure I'm touching her and having a lot of contact with her now so she gets used to me while she's young.

She tucked in for the night around 7pm, so I turned her lights off.