Nemo's Traumatic Day

Today was cleaning day. Brian took on the task of thoroughly cleaning the kitchen floor area and sanitizing all that was turtle related. In the meantime, Nemo kept scurrying to find a new place to hide as, one by one, his hiding places were removed. He retreated to a spot where his shell touched a door stop, a secure place for some odd reason, while the floor was washed. Brian set up his summer home on a clean blankie so he had at least one place he knew while the rest of the kitchen was worked on.

I retreated to the sofa in the living room feeling guilty I could not help out more. Am still in recovery and can't lift and it's difficult for me to bend. I settled into doing email and playing games on my laptop when it seemed that a shadow passed my eye. I shrugged it off initially, but then it happened again. I looked down to see Nemo strolling by the sofa. Guess he decided to do a few laps while the rest of his world was in disarray.

Later, when I hobbled into the kitchen, I realized Nemo was MIA. He was not in the usual places and his hiding places in the kitchen were very limited. I did notice that my stuffed animal potbellied pig was moved a few inches from blocking the area behind loveseat. A gate is hidden behind the loveseat so Nemo couldn't have gotten back there. I picked up the potbellied pig to move him back into place only to find an annoyed Nemo beneath. How he managed to crawl under the piggy without knocking it over, I'll never know. After exposing his hiding place, he decided to hightail it back to his summer home, turning the kitchen into an obstacle course.

Brian and I watched as he climbed through the wine rack, a "short cut" (?) through his bathing dish (a quick plop in with a bit of a struggle getting his hind legs completely out on his departure), back to his large garage (large half of a "wood" hut). Brian didn't place it exactly so Nemo could walk behind it and Nemo was too impatient for us to move it so he climbed on top. Only one way down. He adeptly landed without hitting his nose. From there he had clear and safe passage into his summer home. Brian and I simultaneously said aloud, "Home at last."

I'm guessing he will like it better with all of his igloos and blankies and tubbie clean and fresh, just as us humans appreciate such cleanliness.

The photo with this post was taken several days ago. Nemo was sleeping outside his igloo all curled up around his shell. Kinda comfy looking, huh?

Proof of Shrimp

Ahhh! Caught in the act. Nemo downed four shrimp the other day and I caught him with shrimp on his face. hehe. He's had quite the appetite. Boring--shrimp and bagel bite--but he is eating heartily. And we've learned he only wants to eat when he looks at us longingly holding his head up high. When he does that, I'll also fix some of his overall turtle diet in his dish. I do know he will eat when he needs to eat. I just never know when that will be. In the meantime, protein is good. Bagel bite is non-nutritious but apparently not harmful and he loves it.

I wanted to share a product I found if you are a turtle owner too. It's called Reptomin Softgel by Tetrafauna--for land turtles, tortoises, iguanas, and fruit eating reptiles. It is moist, yummy looking, smells yummy, does not need to be refrigerated, and stays moist for 8+ hours. That means I can mix pellets or other drier food in it and it too will stay moist. Easy clean up too. I'm all for no smell, no mess, no bugs. I've ordered mine on the internet--just internet shop for the best shipping deal. The major pet supermarkets have some products from Reptomin but I've not seen the Softgel. It might be on the shelves in some areas of the country. I do sprinkle the calcium powder on it because Nemo loves his cuttlebone. Anything to make food other than shrimp more appetizing.

Today was an almost full basking day. Nemo lounged under the lamp but not on his log. This morning he was lounging under the kitchen table staring out the back door looking quite contemplative. I've probably shared many similar pictures but this was TODAY's picture. He hasn't stayed out in the open for too long until recently. He's getting back into the Nemo habits he first had after settling into his new home.

Bon Appetit, Nemo

Hurray! Nemo is finally eating. Each day for the past few days he has eaten one or more shrimp, nibbled on greens and an egg, and gobbled down a bagel bite. There are no pictures to prove he is now eating because he plays a game with us. He refuses to eat in front of us. In fact, even if he is begging for food (holding his head high in the air), and we place it in front of him, he will turn his back on us. Two minutes later, he will have made his favorite tidbits disappear.

Yesterday Brian was brave enough to prepare one of the mini meals for a box turtle complete with what used to be living bugs. yuck! I was hoping Nemo wouldn't like it and he proved me right...so far. We'll try again another time. Right now, he's loving his shrimp which is perfect protein in lieu of slugs or worms. He is holding true to his "unturtle" title.




Nemo has also been much more active, although his basking log hasn't been made part of his out-of-hibernation routine yet. This morning I was in the living room camped out with Linus playingi near the front door. Occasionally I would turn around to make sure Linus was not stuck or near anything breakable. The one time I turned around, there was Nemo starting his journey BACK to the kitchen! lol! He was making time too. I swear he sped up when I called his name. Maybe he heard Linus and wanted to go say hello. Regardless, it's fun to see him doing laps again.

Nemo and Brian got to bond when I was in the hospital for about a week. I got to hear cute Nemo stories and how frustrated Brian was each time Nemo would say with body language, "Talk to the shell." Brian has also been turtle caretaker since I can't bend too well. I'm sure that's part of being a turtle parent he could have done without. He's doing an admirable job.

Please forgive my lack of posting. Surgery went well. I expect a complete recovery. I'll be on the floor soon enough playing with my real and artificial pets.

The above photo was taken before my hospital stay, the day Nemo seemed to be contemplating basking.