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!
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