You can take the girl out of the forest, as they say, but you can’t take the forest out of the girl. Or something like that. Here, your mama can mutter about “the importance of full ultraviolet spectrum light” all she wants. But as a tropical tortoise who is adapted for life under deep leafyContinueContinue reading “Day 101: Redfoot Tortoise Is a Basking Beauty”
Category Archives: Malti
Day 98: Tortoise Hydration
The large shell-less being here…. Tropical species such as, say, the South American redfoot tortoise, really need plenty of humidity and hydration daily to stay happy and healthy. If conditions get too dry, lots of bad things can happen…and did happen, as I’ve shared in detail on her blog. All that to say, here atContinueContinue reading “Day 98: Tortoise Hydration”
Day 95: Tortoise Is A Leg Giveaway
“Cuteness” is widely considered to be an extremely desirable trait. But there are times it can turn into a liability. For instance, when you are very cute and you want to get away from it all and enjoy a restful nap, you may find that no sooner have you settled your adorable shelled self down,ContinueContinue reading “Day 95: Tortoise Is A Leg Giveaway”
Day 92: Tortoise Visits Shelled Support Circle
Living amongst the large shell-less beings has its perks. There are the gourmet hand-fed meals, the shell scratches, the cozy heated seats. But life in an interspecies flock also has its drawbacks….like the continually lurking paparazzi, the needy single box turtle living one habitat over from yours, your small shrieking feathered brother. Sometimes you justContinueContinue reading “Day 92: Tortoise Visits Shelled Support Circle”
Day 89: You and Me and Sea Turtle Makes Three
From the outside looking in, some might assume that tortoises prefer to be solitary. After all, there is all that napping. And the very intent head-down grazing. And then more napping. And then there is the burrowing and the digging and (for some) the hibernating….all quite natural activities for the alleged shelled introvert. But perhapsContinueContinue reading “Day 89: You and Me and Sea Turtle Makes Three”
Day 86: Turtle Lookout
The sight of a tortoise placidly plodding along evokes different thoughts in different folks. In your large shell-less mama, for example, all you have to do is, well, you don’t even have to do anything and she instantly comes running with snacks and shell scratches. That is called “the power of cuteness.” But in otherContinueContinue reading “Day 86: Turtle Lookout”
Day 83: Food Face
Some cold-blooded species can be notoriously picky eaters. But not the redfooted tortoise. Redfoots are often described as “opportunistic feeders” in the scientific literature. Personally, after nearly five years of close daily observation, I would say Malti’s gustatory style comes closer to that of a contestant in one of those “all you can eat” contests.ContinueContinue reading “Day 83: Food Face”
Day 80: Tortoise Toys
The large shell-less being here…. Regardless of species, size or even blood temperature, young beings like to play. Play helps improve motor coordination, sensory acuity, learning speed and overall confidence. Play is also fun! Malti came to me when she was just a month old – a true baby tort. She is a juvenile nowContinueContinue reading “Day 80: Tortoise Toys”
Day 77: The Lap Tortoise
When you really, really, really want snacks – and not just any snacks but the GOOD ones – the best thing to do is to climb up into your mama’s lap. She definitely won’t expect it. She will be overcome with cuteness. She will “ooh” and “aah” over you. She will give you lots ofContinueContinue reading “Day 77: The Lap Tortoise”
Day 74: Slow and Speedy
As a cold blooded being living in a mostly warm blooded world, you have to face many misconceptions. One of the most enduring of these is that having cold blood means you are slow-moving. As if. Happily, this is a particularly easy mis-belief to remedy. All you have to do is wait until your largeContinueContinue reading “Day 74: Slow and Speedy”
Love & Feathers & Shells 