I get a lot of questions about whether Malti knows who I am. Sometimes the question is more about whether Malti can recognize faces – mine or others. But then sometimes the question seems more about whether she knows me – as her carer, as someone significant, as someone she perhaps even likes or prefers.ContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfooted Tortoises: Recognition”
Tag Archives: tortoise care
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Soaking, Part 2
If you’ve been following Malti’s adventures here for awhile, you may remember this post about tortoise soaking. In that post, I shared a photo of Malti soaking in her big red plastic bathtub. The photo was taken at the start of 2018 when the red bathtub still looked big. Now fast forward to the endContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Soaking, Part 2”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Hide n Seek
Tortoises like playing games just as much as any other pet. Malti loves games – the scarier the better. For example, let’s say you feel like playing a rousing round of the super-frightening game “hide n seek.” You scour the area and discover an intriguing soft tunnel that is perfectly tortoise-sized. You crawl in…and keepContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Hide n Seek”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Moss
When Malti was just a teensy tort (which seems like forever ago but was really only a scant handful of double-digit months), her favorite hobby was hiding. She liked hiding even more than she liked eating, which is frankly hard to believe now. Her favorite hiding place was anywhere there was a big pile ofContinueContinue reading “Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Moss”
Malti Explains Redfoot Tortoises: Smarts
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”
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!”
Love & Feathers & Shells 