Nemo Goes to the Vet

Today was Nemo's big day out. I placed him in a deep magazine holder because I knew the plastic containers I had he would climb out of. Well he was climbing out of this one too. He'd get his little front toes hooked on the ledge and start pulling. Strong little guy. He was much calmer on the drive back than going.

Very nice lady vet. She pronounced Nemo healthy and handsome. Will have to place him on the tough love diet though. Turtles can go two to three WEEKS without food and be okay! So I needn't fret about him not chowing down every two or three days.

New diet will be everything he's supposed to have mushed together so he doesn't have a choice. If he wants the good stuff, he'll have to ingest some of the leafy greens and veggies. Back to the market. I was buying a bag of whatever to remove one green bean or one asparagus only to find out he hated it. I think stores should sell corn by the kernel and broccoli by the sprout. That will be 49 cents please.

After arriving home, I placed Nemo in his zen garden to see if he might look around for some high protein worms or slugs. Of course not. He figured out how to scale the side of the terra cotta pot and look at me pleadingly to get him out of there.

One thing good about vet visits is that, if a pet has not allowed handling, the owner becomes the good guy at the vet's office. Pet becomes very touchable and even clingy. After getting into his un-natural habitat of blankies and zen plants, Nemo took a very long bath in his little pool. I guess all that stress dehydrated him. Omg. He can't have anymore toasted bagel. He'll probably go through withdrawal. The prosciutto bugs are okay though as a treat. Yay!

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.