Nemo's little friend

Nemo is still being monitored and his next vet appointment is next week. He is now bathing on his own each morning, sometimes with a little help. But he does his complete Zen bath and we haven't had to place him in the inescapable soaking tub for about a week. He has also been eating most of three shrimp every other day. I still give him 2 ml of baby food with his vitamins mixed in to make sure he's getting the proper nutrition.

With Nemo's lethargy, possibly empathy pains from my lethargy (?), we've talking about getting him a companion. We didn't want another box turtle because of aggression with another mail and mating with a female. While looking for live earthworms at Petco a week ago (ewww), we saw two Russian tortoises. Their care was nearly identical to Nemo's. Brian and I bantered back and forth about it. What if they didn't get along? What if it helped Nemo by having another creature who was eating and running around being curious in his territory? Pros...cons. Yesterday, we made the decision.

Lucy (name goes with Linus and Schroeder) is our new addition. She is one fast little tortoise. She is much lighter than Nemo even though she looks stocky. Her shell is the size of my palm and I am the size of an average 11-year-old. First there was curiosity on Nemo's part while Lucy hid inside an igloo prepared with reptile bedding and misted moss. Nemo knew something was in his territory. He was funny stalking around. He finally gave up looking and went into his big garage. Lucy came out of hiding, saw Nemo in the garage, and raced toward him literally bumping her nose into his side. I'm not sure if she was trying to snuggle or climb on top of his shell, which we later learned is a penchant of hers. In any case, Nemo wasn't about to budge. He just stood his ground and the two remained under the garage napping.

Later, when Nemo relocated to behind his summer home, Lucy once again ran over to him and climbed atop his shell perched there like it was her safe place. Nemo wasn't amused but didn't fight it either. Each found their own sleeping spots last night and stayed there till I came down this morning. Lucy likes being on the basking log. Nemo prefers his snuggly blanket under the summer home and now with a warming pad. Lucy voraciously ate a grape and then a piece of watermelon. I moved her food dish with a huge pile of leafy greens near her but she ran for cover under the iguana. About an hour later when I checked on her, her dish was empty except for a single blueberry. I guess blueberries are out. lol. Nothing wrong with her appetite.

And so the adventure begins. Will Nemo warm up and befriend Lucy? Or will he continue to tolerate her presence? Either way, it looks to be a good fit. Lucy is young enough not to be afraid of people. I think she's going to enjoy being handled and possibly follow us around. Russian tortoises only get to be 8-10". More to come. Will try to be more active with posting. I especially would like a photo of Nemo and Lucy together.

Nemo's Favorite Napping Position

This is Nemo's favorite way to sleep--head buried under a blanket. For winter, I placed an extra blankie for burrowing in each of his hides for warmth and extra deep snuggling. For now, he's happy just tucking his head out of sight.

My lesson for the week is blogs and computer problems do not go together. Am borrowing Brian's laptop while mine is "on vacation".

Earlier this week, Nemo turned video into reality when he decided to bathe while my Tao of Relaxation music was playing in the room. It was quite lovely to watch. Recently I have turned on "zen music" when I first wake up to feed him and make sure his cool mist humidifer is filled. Each time I have done that, he has come out of hiding. He must like it! He really is a zen turtle.

It had been suggested to me that possibly Nemo has been running and hiding from me lately is because my energy is low--I'm not feeling well. Maybe part of turtle "people recognition" includes sensing their energy. If mine changed, maybe he's not recognizing me right now? Maybe I have to rebond with him? The morning after considering this possibility, he awoke to zen music and proceeded to wander to my side of the room and meander around me--even touching my feet as he circled me. I didn't intrude--did not try to touch him. I thanked him for being nice. I'm hoping the tide is changing and he will "come out of his shell" for me. lol. Well, you can use your own words...

Nemo's Latest Video Released to YouTube

I am proud to announce the release of Nemo's latest video--Crouching Turtle--Nemo's Art of the Zen Bath. He adores his new wading dish and I was able to capture many moments on camera during his recent baths. I hope you enjoy it.

Lessons from "The Dog Whisperer"

Please don’t give up on blog posts. They are in my head waiting to be written even if I’m not able to write them each day. Since being on medical leave, I tend to stay up later. If I remember, I watch The Dog Whisperer because it’s a nice non-intrusive program to have on while I’m doing other things. A few days ago, I was mostly watching the show. I do know dog behavior is more about response to human behavior.

The episode I watched was about a very hyper woman with a very hyper Chihuahua. The woman was convinced being hyper was who she was but wanted her dog to change. It dawned on me that I AM that irritating energy around Nemo. Brian and I joke about my high pitched turtle voice. How Nemo must cringe when I sing him little songs. So why am I doing that if those are my own thoughts about the impact of my interaction? I vowed from that moment I would lower my voice, make it more calming, no more songs, and provide zen music—native american soothing drums and flute like Carlos Nakai and soundtracks like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Relaxation of Tao, Memoirs of a Geisha, and bamboo flute selections. That is now in place. I’m sure it will take him some time to readapt to the “new” me.

He’s also still not eating. My friend with the two baby tortoises found some information online relative to box turtles. It indicated their body temperature needed to be between 75 and 80 degrees before they would eat—which is why they tend to eat after periods of activity. I read so much about box turtle care before Nemo arrived. He’s from North Carolina and lived outdoors. Naturally I thought 70 to 72 degrees was fine and it was from the time he came to be with me in June until about late August—which is also when my medical trauma intensified. So either or both could have impacted the “no eating diet”. You can see from a few entries ago that Nemo adores his heater. After reading the care information last night, I moved the digital room thermometer into his area. It is maintaining the proper temperature but I tend to keep the back door propped open a bit if it’s nice outside. Will just maintain warm temperature until he begins to eat again. Because, to me, that would be the unturtle part—a typically outdoor turtle who burrows in mud and leaves year round needs tropical temperatures. So be it.

The good news is he LOVES his new bath. I am actively putting together a new video of his zen bath ritual. I have received such joyful comments about Nemo’s “butt misting” pose. Thought you would enjoy a close up still of that pose.

Tuscan Zen Turtle

I had a funny incident happen yesterday. I wanted to find Nemo a new wading pool. The one he has is the saucer to a very large pot, but I only purchased the saucer. The size is great. The color was great. But it wasn't made so well and it was leaking onto the floor slowly. With the intention of finding a new wading pool, I substituted a serving dish that was appropriate high but gave him about 2" less diameter--and Nemo loves his baths.

So...at first I searched 14" serving dishes online but couldn't tell how deep they were. I decided to google "turtle wading dish" to see what was on the market so I could figure out a less expensive alternative. The first hit I got was this blog! lol! In glancing through some of the other hits, someone mentioned a Pyrex baking dish. I didn't find Pyrex, but found THE perfect Nemo wading pool. It's perfect size for him, but also matches our Tuscan Zen decor. It's called Terracotta Cazuel. Ahhhhh. I can just see him on his little floating lounge chair now in the mist sipping cactus juice. If anyone is interested, I found this at cooking.com.

Nemo Goes From Grumpy to Comfy

One area where Nemo is very turtle (although many humans fall into this category) is he detests when you move his stuff around. Turtles are very sensory and learn their territories by sight and smell and touch. It disorients them if something is moved. I did rearrange some of his area to better accommodate for chiller weather. He was mad at me for a day. He pouted the next day but poked his head out when I was around. Yesterday was wine rack jungle gym time so he was getting over that change. Today he found a comfy place to lounge at the base of the wrought iron table used as an attractive place to clamp his basking lamp.

If you have seen Cirque du Soleil Nemo balanced on the wrought iron curly cue base, the green blanket in the photo is a cushion for those things. He does like to perch himself on those...heaven only knows why.

The Garden Uninhabited by Nemo

This is part of the "zen garden" I created for Nemo prior to his arrival. You can barely see the overturned large terra cotta bowl in the back left corner shaded by the lovely wisteria. The shallow aqua bowl was to be his drinking dish and wading pool. The little pond is cute. The flowers around the pond now nearly make the pond invisible, covering it with bright pink blooms. Alas, Nemo hates it. Initially we thought perhaps he didn't like the cocoa mulch which is likely popular because I live near Hershey, PA. Brian and I changed over to large bark nuggets which looks lovely and provides for better footing.

It didn't matter, Nemo can't run fast enough to get out. A fence has been put around the area to the left of the steps to turtle proof. He tries to climb the fence. I still try to take him out a few times a week for "jogging up the hill" because he does need fresh air, sunshine, and exercise. I was hoping he'd at least like to linger for a bit. Maybe it's the therapist in me, but I wonder what scary thing happened in a garden in his past.

I still love the garden. Each time I look at it, I can feel an "ahhhhhh" thing happening. Several birds like to bathe in the "wading dish". I'm hoping to find a fat toad to live in the garden. It has to be fat so it can't escape through small openings in the fence. Maybe it will befriend Nemo during the panicked visits. lol.

In the meantime, I'm worried about Nemo. Because he's such an unturtle, he doesn't eat right. We meet his new vet tomorrow. I saw the picture in the box turtle manual of how to force feed a turtle. omg. I sure hope that doesn't have to happen. He will hate me for sure. Just want him to be healthy. He certainly seems happy.

Zen Basking

Just when I thought there couldn't possibly be any other way Nemo could lounge on his basking log, I found him luxuriating in his spa-like sunning area with his little froggy legs dangling behind him. If you go to the link of Nemo's Flickr photos on the upper right, you can see how his front legs sometimes point backwards which is what he was doing when his back legs were dangling. This is one chilled out turtle. Yesterday, he napped with both Brian and I in his space with his neck fully extended and turned to the right resting on the blanket like a pillow. This is not a turtle worried about predators. He doesn't just exist--he truly embraces his life in his Zen space. Okay, maybe not his outdoor Zen garden as planned, but he does have a Zen turtle space. He's my handsome little Zen un-turtle.