One thing I’ve learned daily since bringing Malti home almost four and a half years ago is that she has endless curiosity. Redfoot tortoises are really smart! I know this from my own firsthand experiences with Malti, and I also know this because the science people say it is so. My girl can do everythingContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Smarts”
Category Archives: Malti
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Weigh-Ins
When you are caring for a young tortoise of Malti’s size, it is safe to say weigh-ins are always a, um, big event. But no matter how often other people exclaim, “Wow, she’s gotten so BIG!” or you look at her and (almost) hyperventilate while imagining how big she has yet to become, it isContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Weigh-Ins”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Hiking
Most beings, when they are little, will explore their world with their mouths. While Malti is no longer precisely “little,” she certainly is still young at only four years old, and her go-to exploration method is still to try to bite whatever it is she is interested in. To date, I’ve seen her try toContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Hiking”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Biting
When Malti was a tiny tort, she had trouble even opening her mouth wide enough to chomp down on a lettuce leaf or carrot shaving. It was at the same time really cute and really nerve-wracking to watch her eating. Sometimes it felt like she couldn’t quite figure out how to move her head andContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Biting”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Grass
In Malti’s last post here, we talked about her lukewarm interest in the food that should be her main dietary staple – dark leafy greens. But truthfully, that all changes once Malti is out on the lawn, or really in any place where the greenery is designed to be decorative more than edible. Take ryeContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Grass”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: First Earthworm!
It’s never been any secret that Bruce, our little flock’s rescued box turtle member, is an avid hunter. Which makes sense, considering that when our paths first crossed, he was foraging for his dinner in the suburban “wild” and was very, very hungry. Malti, on the other hand…..this little princess has never missed a meal.ContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: First Earthworm!”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Arugula
If it is possible for a tortoise to be a foodie, then Malti is a foodie. She really loves to eat. During the rare moments when she’s gotten her beak on some “people” food, she has reliably gobbled down as much of it as she could before her mama was able to extract it. NotContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Arugula”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Alligator
In every household, there is one place where every family member always wants to sit. This is because it is the comfiest, of course. It is also the coziest and the safest and the most fun. And because everyone wants to sit there, whoever gets to it first is kind of like “king of theContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Alligator”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Begging
When I first brought Malti home, she was still so wild! At times she seemed nearly feral, looking at me suspiciously out of those tiny intense black eyes. And then she started to grow up. She began to put two and two together on multiple levels. Specifically, she started to catch on that the large,ContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Begging”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Bathing
If you’ve been following along with our little flock’s adventures for some time now, you probably remember that pivotal moment in May 2014 (four years ago now – wow!) when Malti first joined our family. She was so little! She bathed in a tupperware lid at first, and then “graduated” to a teensy tiny tortContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Bathing”
Love & Feathers & Shells 