Fascinating

I continue to be enthralled watching Rosita. (At least when she's not motionless for hours on end.) I remodeled her terrarium today, and I loved watching her inspect every newly positioned item. For awhile she was persistent in her attempts to leave home and explore the rest of the basement. I picked her up and put her back in no less than half a dozen times. I wish I could know what she wanted, where she wanted to go.

A couple of days ago, I brought a plastic container of chopped apple to her and hand fed her a few pieces. It didn't take long for her to see the source just outside her cage. I watched as she figured out how to use her mouth to move the container toward her. She tipped it up with her claws at such an angle that she could get at the fruit. She is one determined critter when she wants something.

Better with Betadine

I'm so happy to report that her tummy is already starting to look better - more smooth like a healthy plastron. Yay! Rosita Rocks!

Resilient Rosita

Despite all the trauma at the vet, Rosita is doing well. She didn't devour her food like usual when it was served up yesterday morning, but she did eat it all eventually. Last night she head her head burrowed in the dirt underneath the side of her plastic house. Apparently she slept that way and didn't move all night because she was in the same position this morning.

The Longest Day

Rosita, Von and I just got back from thet vet. We're all very tired and two thirds of us are already in bed and probably sleeping. Poor lil' Rosita has some type of shell rot on her tummy - either bacterial or fungal, we dont' know yet. I have to put some medicine (betadine) on her twice a day for two weeks and go back for a re-check. If there is no improvement with the topical treatment, we'll have to do injectable meds. Because reptiles metabolism is so slow, taking meds orally isn't the best method. It's good we caught it as early as we did, and it's not causing her other trouble. Plus, since she's young, she's healthier and better able to manage weakness.

We visited Como Animal Hospital and we were so impressed. Everyone was incredibly friendly and knowledgable. Nonetheless, it was horrible having them poke and prod her. They clipped her nails to show us how. While the one guy was holding her vertically, she closed her eyes for awhile -- and not in a relaxng kind of way. More like, she was thinking, "Please God, let this be over soon." Or maybe that was just me projecting my thoughts... I almost cried.

While we were talking to the vet, Rosita pooped. Actually, this was about the third or fourth time she pooped during our visit -- she shouldn't have to go again for weeks! I don't know if Rosita was trying to give the hint to take a stool sample or not, but it worked. The vet suggested we do a fecal test for worms. Turns out Rosita has hookworm and TWO other types of parasites! So after clipping her little toenails, they took her in the back to "de-worm" her. I'm sure I couldn't have handled watching them stick a tube down her throat with the medicine, so it's probably best I was not a witness. When we go back for our two week checkup on her shell, she'll have the second (and final) round of de-worming.

What a trooper. My lil' redfoot sat motionless but awake in her plastic shoebox car seat on the way home. All this after the most active day she's had in months -- non-stop exercise (pacing) in her cage. Exhausted as me, no doubt. * sigh *

Tort's Tummy

I'm worried about Rosita's tummy shell. Please contact me if you have any advise or suggestions about about this happened, what it is, how it can be prevented, and how to cure it. Thank you!

Settling In

I can't believe it's been a week since I last posted. So much has happened! The biggest news is that we assembled Rosita's new house and she moved in. I can't believe how much work the whole thing was:

• Moving all the pieces from the truck into the house; moving furniture (including unplugging the TV, DVD, stereo, etc. from the armoire) and assembling the house upstairs; then realizing how imposing the monstrosity is in the living area, we took it apart, moved it downstairs, and reassembled.
• Various trips to Home Depot (heat lightbulbs, clamp lamps, curtain rods, plastic carpet runners, plywood panel) PetSmart and PetCo (under tank heating pads, more substrate, black light for nightime heating, better UV light)
• Re-evaluating lighting, which led to an online purchase for a UV/heat lamp
• Joann's for fabric
• Researching foggers, misters, fountains, humidifiers, and vaporizers

The good news is that we're 80% done! Of course I have plans for more decor and better display of lights. And the web cam is not looking good - but it is up and running. But here's the (almost) final product -- YAY!

Rosita is in the lower left corner by her water pond - look for the yellow spots. The other tortoise is a plastic friend until we find another Red Foot down the road...

Ginormous!

Whoa! We just got a new house for Rosita, and man, is it BIG! Enormous! Colossal!
76" x 37" x 36" = 6 feet wide x 3 feet deep x 3 feet tall
I can't wait to get it set up and introduce her to it! Unfortuantely, she and I both are going to have to wait until the weekend. I won't be home much until Saturday at noon...
The best part -- it was only $75!!!! Thanks Andrew!

Tortoise "Grandparents"

My parents were in town yesterday and stopped by to meet Miss Rosita Bonita. I took her out to show her off and she walked around the kitchen floor. I also hand fed her a bit of an apple. Afterward they commented that she was a lot cuter that they thought she would be. They pictured her just sitting around motionless. They also said she has more personality than they imagined.

Of course, I'm not surprised at their reaction. I mean, how can you not love this lil' face?

Like a fish

For an animal that can't swim, Rosita sure puts her all into drinking! She submerged her entire head underwater and drank several gulps before coming up for air. It was cool how I could see lumps moving down her throat as she was swallowing. It was as if she knew I was watching and would be impressed. Twice she stopped for a moment, looked at me, and let a few drips fall from her chin. Then she went back down for more.

Will Work for Food

I had a bonding moment with Rosita the other day. I bribed her to get into her pond - to drink or soak, either one would make me happy. Of course the one thing I can use to get her to do pretty much anything is FOOD. I put a piece of pear on the far edge of the pond so she would have to go in to reach it. It turns out that she doesn't have to get all four feet in the water to reach the other side. Her neck stretches further than I ever thought possible!

The problem was that instead of grabbing it with her mouth and eating it, she pushed it off the edge and into the crack between the pond and the wall. I felt too guilty to let her go without. Afterall, that was the whole reason she got in the water to begin with. So I put another piece on the edge, and once again she inadvertantly pushed it off. The space between was very narrow, and I could tell she was looking around wondering how to get down there. She did her neck stretch, but it was at such at angle that she couldn't reach it. When it comes to eating, she is very persistent. She was not going to give up. And it pained me to watch knowing that there was no physical way she could retrieve it. So I gave a little help. While she was extending her neck, I gently picked her up and lifted her hind half into the air at such an angle that she was able to reach it. I thought she might retreat when I picked her up, but she seemed to know exactly what I was doing. She opened her beak and grabbed that fruit like a pro!