The Positive World Of Princess Peachy, The Happy Sulcata Tortoise

Eating A Cuttlebone for a Strong Shell & Trim Beak

2015-03-13T23:39:00.005+08:00

This is how to remove the hard shell part off a cuttlebone before eating the soft chalky part. I'm sharing this advice, which my human received from someone on one of her online groups. Apparently, we sulcatas can't digest the hard shell part of a cuttlebone, which is why your human needs to remove the former before serving the soft chalky part to us. Cuttlebones are a good source of calcium and eating it helps us trim our beaks =) By the way, vitamin D3 from unfiltered sunlight exposure will help us absorb the calcium that we eat to avoid soft shell problems and any illnesses related to calcium deficiency.

Soaking the cuttlebone in water for 2 days will make it easier to remove its hard shell, Place a something heavy like a rock on top of the cuttlebone to keep it submerged in water.

Now 2 days later. My mum's trying to pry off the hard shell from the chalky part.


Success! Let the whole soft chalky chunk of cuttlebone dry before eating :) nomz nomz!

It's so crunchy and chewy! Nomnomnomzzzz! :))

Most Recent Photo 2014 - Sleepy Time for Sleepy Tort :)

2014-10-23T16:38:00.000+08:00

Look at me now! I'm almost as big as my human's bedroom pillow :D huehuehue!

This is me at 4 years old. Taken Oct. 2014

For My Fellow Torts Refusing to Eat - Force Feeding Resource Materials

2014-01-10T16:54:00.001+08:00

This post is for my fellow tortoises out there who are currently feeling sick or poorly and refusing to eat. Your human must be so worried sick by now. Show this to your human for some alternative ways to get some food into your stomach :To the humans who are reading this post, here are four alternatives to force feed your sick tort:

ALTERNATIVE #1: Hand Feeding

Hold your tort's food right in front of his/her mouth one piece at a time. This is applicable to any mix of food that you would like to prepare for your shelled friend. And because by this time, it may be over a day since he/she last ate, you will want to feed him/her with nutritious food that is not just grass or hay. Furthermore, I highly suggest that you add a pinch of reptile phosphorous-free multi-minerals powder with calcium (and vitamin D if your tort currently has no access to unfiltered sunlight due to the cold weather) to your tort's food. My human hand fed me this way back then when I suffered from a respiratory disease and which made me feel very lethargic and refusing to eat. This is time-consuming and will require a lot of patience, but the pay-off is that you will be able to sleep soundly at night knowing that your sully will still be alive when you wake up the next day :)

Offer your sulcata one piece of green at a time. Let the leafy green touch her mouth while letting it caress/slide across her beak from side to side to allow her to smell it and hopefully want to eat it; This technique is helpful especially if your sick sully refuses to open her eyes due to weakness or if you suspect that she's gone temporarily blind. If she rejects it, grab another piece of the same type of leafy green. Be prepared to have a "variety" of tort food handy just in case your sick and picky sully refuses the ones you're currently offering. In this video, I offered Peachy a piece of mustard green, then some pieces of water hyacinth (kangkong), some jute leaves (saluyot), and some of her favorite raw squash sticks -- which is guaranteed to make your sully want to eat. "I made it look easy for my human to hand-feed me in this video taken Jan. 6, 2015 only because I wasn't sick in this video." -- Princess Peachy

ALTERNATIVE #2: Soaking in a Warm Shallow Pool of Blended Greens & Multi-Minerals Supplement
During most times when I'm soaking, my human never sees me actually drinking and yet I still manage to get water into my body. This is because water also enters thru my cloaca (butt) when I soak. Chop some of your sulcata's food such as hibiscus petals, dandelion petals, pumpkin or squash cubes (for vitamin A), mustard greens, kangkong -- chuck into a blender, add a pinch of your tort's "phosphorous-free rmulti-minerals supplement with calcium and vitamin D3", and add slightly warm water. Blend until smooth. Pour the warm soup onto your sulcata's bath tub (or whatever shallow dish/tub that your tort uses for soaking). Then let your sulcata soak into this warm, shallow veggie soup for 15 minutes to allow him/her to absorb the liquid thru his/her cloaca. Afterwards, please don't forget to soak your sulcata in a shallow slightly warm, clean water bath for less than a minute to wash off the veggie soup residue from his/her body. I would also suggest that you keep a basking lamp on above your soaking sulcata to ensure that he/she doesn't get chilly while bathing. Do this once daily until your tort is strong enough for at least Alternative #1 above. I personally recommend this alternative especially for sulcatas that are too lethargic to open their eyes. Just because your sulcata's eyes are closed doesn't mean that he/she's just asleep the whole 24 hours. He/she may be too weak to open his/her eyes. Follow this alternative to keep your sulcata hydrated and nourished to keep him/her alive (for a few more precious hours or minutes) until you get him/her to a veterinarian who specializes in reptiles.

ALTERNATIVE #3: Tube Feeding -- Replace the Syringe Needle With A Sterile Catheter Tube / Soft Tube

Use a blender or Osterizer to prepare your shelled friend's food. Just chuck in the greens, maybe add some acorn squash for vitamin A, enough water to blend the mix, and a pinch of reptile multi-minerals powder with calcium (and vitamin D if your tort currently has no access to unfiltered sunlight due to the cold weather) into the blender. Fill your syringe (REMOVE THE NEEDLE) with the blended soup, then watch this video courtesy of www.tortoisetrust.org

ALTERNATIVE #4: OP Tube Feeding (Do Not Try This At Home) - Please Ask Your Reptile Vet to Administer This
The following Youtube video is again courtesy of www.tortoisetrust.org

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:
•       My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Other Sources of Multiminerals
•       Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub (a topic on the importance of soaking)
•       Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)

Don't forget to donate to The Jill Martin Fund for Tortoise Welfare and Conservation : ) http://www.justgiving.com/jillmartinfund

My Christmas 2013 Photo & Video Op. :)

2014-01-09T21:18:00.002+08:00


HO! HO! HO!!!!!!! Happy birthday, Jesus!

Look how I've grown! I have a message for all you tort lovers out there. Watch my vid till the last second :)

Treating My Eye Inflammation

2013-01-26T18:45:00.001+08:00

"Here's what my inflammed right eye looks like today. At least now only about a fifth of my eye is covered with inflammation, unlike yesterday when half the front of my eye was covered due to inflammation. My vet says that it may have been due to an insect bite or I might have accidentally scraped my right eye on something, which caused the infection 'n inflammation. Usually, my human would use her hand to laddle warm water onto my eyes twice to make the teary red eyes go away. But since it's been three days as of yesterday, my humans decided to bring me to my vet."

"Here I am being brave 'n trusting, looking directly at my human's finger as she was about to slather some vet prescribed Tobradex (generic name: Tobramycin Dexamethasone) sterile ophtalmic ointment -- it's an antibacterial & anti-inflammatory ointment for the eyes. Pls. have your human ask your vet first before using this on your yourself :) I'm thinking here, "Easy, easy, be careful now...maybe if I don't move a muscle she won't accidentally poke out my eye". lol!"

"My human put a generous amount of the vet prescribed Tobradex (generic name: Tobramycin Dexamethasone) sterile ophtalmic ointment all over the tip of her finger to make sure that it gets on the surface of my eyeball with whatever part of her finger that touches my eye lol :D I was very calm the entire time :) I was thinking, "Pfft! Easy as a a plate of squash cubes! It doesn't hurt at all!" By the way, my human washed her hands thoroughly with anti-bacterial dishwashing liquid before she did this procedure (yup! dishwashing liquid lol! Just to be that her hand's squeaky clean 'n free from the moisturizer content of her hand soap lol!). But as an afterthought, I highly recommend asking your human to use sterile surgical gloves when doing this procedure on you :) She was very careful not to press on my eyeball. She just gently spread the ointment onto the surface of my right eye."

"Here's my 's right eye after my human put Tobradex (generic name: Tobramycin Dexamethasone) sterile ophtalmic ointment on it. About 1/5 of my eye is still covered in inflammation, while yesterday half of my eye was covered in inflammation. The vet says the ointment should be applied onto my right eye twice daily until there's no more inflammation. He also said not to worry and that it'd take only three days or less for my eye to get better :) I sat on my lap the entire time :) Pls. have your human ask your vet first before they use this ointment on you. And don't forget to ask your human to wipe the excess ointment on your cheek."

By the way, my chelonian vet injected me with steroids, vitamin A, and vitamin E before giving me a prescription for Tobradex (generic name: Tobramycin Dexamethasone) sterile ophtalmic ointment which my human needs to put on my right eye twice daily until my eye's swollen inflammation disappears.

UPDATE ON THIS BLOG POST:


"My human had been applying Tobradex on my eyes twice daily without fail. But more than week after, my eyes were still inflamed. Even my vet was puzzled, as I had access to plenty of nutritious food, I got my steroid shots twice already, got my vitamins A, D & E shots twice already, my human had thoroughly cleaned my room (the TV room lol), and my Tobradex eye ointment was supposed to be potent. So one night, my human took a picture of my closed eyes while I was sleeping. And when she went on to look at my photo, she zoomed it, and this is what she saw. As you can see there are at least four specks of dirt stuck on my eyelid. And during my waking hours, these specks of dirt constantly rub against my eyeball and irritate it. This explains why my eyes get inflamed an hour or two each time after my human applies the steroid based anti-bacterial/anti-inflammation Tobradex eye ointment on my eyeball. =)"

My human used her hand to laddle clean, slightly warm water onto my head about 15 to 20 times (about 3secs apart to allow me to breathe in between) to get the dirt off my eyes. So there you go. My eyes are bright, shiny and healthy again. Mystery solved. Case closed. =)

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:
• My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Other Sources of Multiminerals

• I Survived MBD (metabolic bone disease)

• Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)

• Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub (a topic on the importance of soaking)

Merry Christmas 2012 =)

2012-12-28T22:10:00.001+08:00

Merry Christmas, Everyone :)

I weigh 2.95 kg or 6.5 lbs or 104 ounces at 2 1/2 yrs old as of Dec. 12, 2012 =)

Whitish Chalky Substance in My Wee

2012-12-01T00:18:00.002+08:00

Every once in a while, I expel this whitish chalky substance along with my wee. Don't panic =) This whitish chalky substance is is metabolized protein, which I sometimes expel along with my wee in the form of urates. Keeping myself well hydrated by soaking for 10 minutes everyday makes it sooooooo much easier for me to detox myself of these semi-solid, white deposits. It's a good thing that Liza takes time to prepare my soaking tub everyday with slightly warm water =) Here's a tip on how to save on electricity when heating your soaking water: When it's bright and sunny outside, leave your soaking tub of water under the unfiltered sunlight for at least 15 minutes, and voila! You have instant warm water =)

"Ahh! Lovely! This is me having a wonderful bath under the sun. That whitish/pinkish, chalky, semi-solid substance that you see near my bum are the urates that I expelled while weeing in my bath."

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:
• Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub

Signs of New Shell Growth - Pink Outlines on Plastron & White Outlines In Between Scutes

2012-11-23T23:21:00.001+08:00

How do you know that you are growing? Here's how: Ask your human to pick you up and look at your plastron (bottom shell). If he/she sees pink outlines in between parts of your plastron, then those pink outlines are signs of new shell growth. It means that you're still growing =)


"Those pink outlines in between parts of my plastron are a sign of new shell growth" =)

On the other hand, if your human notices white outlines in between your scutes (parts of your top shell), then assure him/her that those white outlines are signs of new shell growth, too =)

"The white outlines in between parts of my top shell are signs of new shell growth. I'm a growing baby girl! lol!" =)

Off topic: I'm so excited because my human mum joined the Tortoise Trust forum today. The information on that site helped save my life and I am forever grateful to Andy Highfield & his team. They have a charity called the "Jill Martin Fund for Tortoise Welfare & Conservation". I want to post a banner link to that charity's website on here so that they could continue to help tortoises like myself from around the globe =) I'll work on this after the weekend. Have a great weekend, everyone!!!!!!!

Work Out Those Muscles & Bones! =)

2012-11-05T15:05:00.005+08:00

Take time to exercise everyday to help increase your body's metabolism, and strengthen your muscles and bones. Here I am exercising my leg muscles. So that in the event that I get sick and lethargic, my legs will be strong enough for me to still be able to carry myself around. I'm sure everybody gets sick at least once in their lifetime, right? It's better to be prepared at all times =) If you just woke up but for some odd reason you still find yourself too lazy to walk, then I suggest that you have a change of environment. Go outside, and you'll find how the bright environment, varying ground textures of grass & rock & pavement, and sights as far as the eyes can see, can be very stimulating to your senses -- compared to the cold marble floor inside the house and the boring four corners of your room that you are so used to. You'll find youself walking & exploring in no time =) Feel free to leave a comment below.

"Here I am exercising my leg muscles. So that in the event that I get sick and lethargic, my legs will be strong enough for me to still be able to carry myself around."

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:

•      My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Other Sources of                  Multiminerals
•       Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)
•       Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub (a topic on the importance of soaking)

• I Survived MBD (metabolic bone disease)

My Bedtime Prayer For All My Sick Tortoise Friends

2012-11-05T00:46:00.003+08:00

Dear God,
Please help all of my sick tortoise friends heal from their illnesses, especially those who are suffering from the dreaded MBD (metabolic bone disease). May they have the strength to maintain their appetite in order to sustain their nutritional needs; May they have the will to survive for themselves & for their humans who love them very, very much. Please lead my sick tortoises' humans to veterinarians who have actual experience with handling & curing tortoises. May these humans have the patience and necessary resources to get thru this challenging phase. God bless us all -- myself, my human mum, my tortoise friends, and my tortoise friends' humans. Saint Francis of Asisi, pray for us. Amen :)

Saint Francis of Asisi is the patron saint of animals.

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:
• Treating My Eye Inflammation

My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Other Sources of Multiminerals

2012-10-30T23:30:00.002+08:00

I often come across the question about what comprises a healthy geochelone sulcata tortoise diet. So I have compiled a list from my reliable sources as well as based on my own experience. Our diet should comprise "70% grass", and "30% other greens & flowers & other sources of multiminerals" to ensure that we get as much amount of fiber, calcium & multiminerals to stay healthy. Baby sulcata tortoises & juveniles like myself are especially in need of high amounts of dietary calcium and an adequate source of vitamin D3 (ex: UVB from unfiltered sunlight) to support our rapid growth stage. Remember that when choosing what to eat, high fiber, high calcium, very very low phosphorous or phosphorus-free, very low protein, no sugar, multiminerals, organic/pesticide-free/artificial-fertilizer-free and variety are the important keywords to keep in mind =) Happy nomz nomz!!!

Flowers as Part of 30% of Our Diet (organically grown/ no pesticides/ no chemical fertilizer):

• Gumamela flowers or Hibiscus flowers & its leaves (also available in most of Southeast Asia)

• Dandelion flowers & its leaves

• Petunia
• Hibiscus flowers

• Viola sp

• Rose petals

• Santan flowers (comes in color orange, yellow & pink; available in most of Southeast Asia)

• Pumpkin flowers / Squash flowers or "Bulaklak ng Kalabasa" (also available in most of Southeast Asia)
• Yellow bell flowers (also available in most of Southeast Asia)

Here I am stuffing my face with pumpkin flower or Squash flower or "Bulaklak ng Kalabasa". I've just discovered this last month! nomnomz nomnomz nomz!

Other Foods as Part of 30% of Our Diet:

• Non-toxic weeds like clovers

• De-spined Opuntia pads <<-- This is very rich in calcium :)

• De-spined prickly pear pads
• Squash (bite size cubes) - eat a serving once a week for vitamin A to avoid eye infection & loss of eyesight

• "Kangkong" or water spinach or water convolvulus (Scientific name: Ipomoea aquatica; Also available in most of Southeast Asia)

70% of Our Diet Should Be Comprised of Grasses & Hays (organically grown/ no pesticides/ no chemical fertilizer):

• Carabao grass or Buffalo grass

• Couch grass

• Kikuyu grass

• Dallas grass

• Blue Grama grass

• Big Bluestem grass

• Darnel Rye grass

• Wintergrass or Bluegrass

• Western Wheatgrass

• Fescue sp. grasses”

** Don't munch on hays that have excessively “prickly” seed heads, as these can hurt our mouths or eyes :'(

Grass & hays should comprise 70% of our diet -- but don't ignore the other 30% for other foods too, as these are our other source of calcium & multiminerals essential for our health.

IMPORTANT: One more thing, unless you live in the arid savannah, which is our natural habitat (and I highly doubt this, as there are no computers to view this blog from in the wild lol!) where nature provides a tremendous variety of food rich in dietary calcium & multiminerals & ample exposure to vitamin D3 from all-day access to unfiltered sunlight, I would highly suggest that you supplement your daily diet with a "powdered phosphorus-free source of calcium and vitamin D3" like "Rep-Cal" or "Miner-All". If you live very near the equator like me where the sunshine emits a highly concentrated amount of UVB rays and you also stay out in the sun at least 4 to 5 hours a day, then I would suggest that you take a "powdered phosphorus-free source of calcium WITHOUT vitamin D3" like Nutrobal which also contains multiminerals (But when the rainy season or cold season arrives please revert back to a "powdered phosphorus-free source of calcium WITH vitamin D3" supplement); Ask your tort's veterinarian where you could buy this or maybe order it on Ebay. It would also be great to have a cuttlefish bone in your enclosure to help you "self regulate" your own calcium intake, as well as help trim your beak! I don't have a cuttlebone yet -- I wish I do -- but having one is a best practice recommended by my expert & highly experienced source, Tortoise Trust. Again, please buy a multi-minerals supplement that does not contain Phosphorous because almost all greens already contain an abundant amount of phosphorous while only very small trace amounts of calcium or none can be found in the grasses and greens that I eat. We are aiming for a Calcium : Phosphorous ratio of 2:1 or 3:1. Phosphorous inhibits calcium absorption.

Happy nomx nomx!!!

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:
• For My Fellow Torts Refusing to Eat - Force Feeding Resource Materials

• Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)

• Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub (a topic on the importance of soaking)

• I Survived MBD (metabolic bone disease)
• Work Out Those Muscles & Bones! =)

Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)

2012-10-23T16:36:00.002+08:00

Ok. This particular blog post requires some serious talk. I will try my best to sum up everything in the shortest, simplest possible way for all of you folks out there who have short attention span like my mum :) You discuss something too long-winded to her and rest assured you will lose her. Anyway, here it is:

Bottomline:

A.. We, sulcata tortoises “synthesize our own vitamin D3 from the UV component of sunlight”.

B. “Vitamin D3 is essential for the effective metabolism of dietary calcium in reptiles.”

C. Three to four hours outdoors in unfiltered sunlight would suffice. Too much isn’t always good.

Here’s a simple flow-chart that I made to illustrate how we synthesize vitamin D3 when we expose ourselves to unfiltered sunlight, then use it to metabolize the calcium content from the food we eat:

Princess Peachy is exposed to UV rays from unfiltered sunlight --> Certain UV wavelengths including UV-B reacts with sterols in my skin to produce “pre-vitamin D3” --> A process that also depends upon heat converts this to vitamin D3 --> Vitamin D3 metabolizes the calcium content from the food that I eat.

"Vitamin D3 metabolizes the calcium content from the food that I eat"

IMPORTANT: “If inadequate vitamin D3 is available, the animal will rapidly develop the condition known as MBD or Metabolic Bone Disease. In this condition, bone density suffers and various other serious metabolic problems occur. Symptoms include swellings, lethargy, general weakness and tremors. The shell may also become soft and pliable. MBD remains the number one killer of captive lizards, tortoises and turtles (snakes are less affected as being highly carnivorous they easily obtain their D3 requirement via their prey). To prevent MBD, adequate levels of calcium must be present in the diet, and adequate (but not excessive) quantities of D3 must be provided by means of dietary supplementation or by exposure to adequate levels of UVB lighting. Rapidly growing specimens such as hatchlings are most at risk, although adults too will be affected if maintained in a state of deficiency for long enough. Egg laying females are also at great risk, due to the extra demands egg production places upon their calcium metabolism.” (Quotation from Tortoise Trust)

I would advise that you make sure you are well hydrated (read my blog post on “soaking”) before going for a long walk in the sun outside. And soon as you step out, search for a shady place that you can run to just in case the temps get too high, to avoid overheating. That’s it. :) If you have any questions, just leave a comment below.

"Search for a shady place that you can run to just in case the temps get too high, to avoid overheating."

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:

•       Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub (a topic on the importance of soaking)
•       My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Cold Season/Winter Food
•       I Survived MBD (metabolic bone disease)

• Work Out Those Muscles & Bones! =)

My Favorite Song: "I Can See Clearly Now"

2012-10-19T23:44:00.004+08:00

Here are the lyrics of my new favorite song, "I Can See Clearly Now" (Originally written and recorded by Johnny Nash in 1972). After all the heartbreak of losing my bestfriend and all the illness (metabolic bone disease & runny nose syndrome or RNS) that I went thru, I have finally recovered. Here it is. Have a good life, everyone :) Enjoy!

"I Can See Clearly Now"
By Johnny Nash (it's available on the iTunes Store)

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.

Oh, yes I can make it now the pain is gone.
All of the bad feelings have disappeared.
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
(ooh...) Look all around, there's nothing but blue skies.
Look straight ahead, there's nothing but blue skies.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's going to be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
Yeah, hey, it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)
sunshiny day.

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:

• I Survived MBD (metabolic bone disease)

• Happy Hatchday to Me!
• Treating My Eye Inflammation

Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub

2012-10-18T17:28:00.001+08:00

The sky is clear and the harsh heat from the sweltering sun is bearing down on my keratin and scutes. Today is a good day to have a 10-minute soak in my tub :) Soaking in slightly warm water lets me do several things all at once! Whenever I'm soaking, I take this opportunity to drink water, absorb water into my dry skin, clean my shell & nails, help me poop and wee, and most of all, soaking helps me flush out the urates thru my cloaca. You don't believe me? Try it yourself :)

"Do you see what I mean? This is what I'm talking about lol! Here I am having a relaxing soak on my tub while listening to my fave song, "I Can See Clearly Now" (by Johnny Nash; I got this from the iTunes Store :) I covered my poop with smileys just in case you're eating while reading this post lol! "

"I hydrate myself while soaking even if you don't see me actually drinking water from my mouth. Sometimes, the water enters my body thru my cloaca. The water is yellowish here because of my wee -- I missed my soak yesterday, which explains why the color of my wee is a bit dark. (pic taken Dec. 2012)"

I like to soak in my tub under the morning/afternoon sun or under my basking lamp, because I easily get too chilly brrrrr! I could get sick from the cold water. Plus my human makes sure that the water level is just high enough to submerge my cloaca (my butt), but shallow enough so that the water level doesn't go higher than the edges of my plastron or doesn't soak my chin. This way, even if I retract my head into my shell, my mouth & nares (nostrils) would still be above the water. There was one time when I was younger and my human was still soaking me in too much water, I accidentally inhaled some water into my nares. My nares got irritated, which later resulted in me getting runny nose :( So there you go! Be extra careful with your water level when soaking in your tub. Try having this detoxifying 10-minute soaks daily and you will find that it's very refreshing :) If you have any questions, just leave a comment below.

"Make sure that the water level is just high enough to submerge my cloaca (my butt), but shallow enough so that the water level doesn't go higher than the edges of my plastron or doesn't soak my chin. I was only about a year old here."

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:
• Whitish Chalky Substance in My Wee

•       Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)
•       My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Cold Season/Winter Food
•       I Survived MBD (metabolic bone disease)
•       Work Out Those Muscles & Bones! =)

Tipping The Scale

2012-10-16T23:40:00.000+08:00

Back in February, I weighed only 200 grams and I still fit on the palm of my human's hand. I also had calcium deficiency then so my plastron felt soft to the touch. Now, eight month later, I weigh 1,850 grams (1.85kg or 65oz. or 4 lbs) and my plastron is solid as a rock! I'm no longer in the habit of lying on the palm of my human's hand; Instead, I now like to sit snugly on her lap while we watch TV together :) What has helped me overcome calcium deficiency? My first of two salad meals per day is sprinkled with a pinch of the calcium supplement powder that my veterinarian gave me. My supplement powder contains: calcium, vitamin D3 and minerals. I'll ask my mum to ask my vet for the brand name of my calcium supplement powder (it's placed in a Ziploc bag whenever my vet gives it to my human), and then I'll post it on the "comments" field below this post. In the meantime, I would recommend either Vionate or Rep-Cal (if you're heat lamp doesn't emit UVB; a phosphorus-free source of calcium and D3; United States) or Nutrobal (if you're heat lamp emits UVB; doesn't contain Vitamin D3; by Vetark Products, Britain) a calcium balancer & multivitamin supplement for tortoises, which are some of the calcium supplement brands that Tortoise Trust recommends (I am in no way related to the owner of Tortoise Trust -- they are on the other side of the globe -- but I have a high regard for their expertise & credibility). I don't know where to buy these supplements so please ask your vet about it or maybe go on Ebay (please take extra steps to ensure that what you are buying isn't fake). Also, remember my fellow sulcata tortoise readers and humans, our ideal diet should be comprised of 70% "grass & hay" and 30% leafy greens & some acorn squash. Yes, please throw in some acorn squash in our diet because it contains vitamin A to protect our eyesight from infection and to avoid going blind -- like what happened to my deceased bff Koopa days before he died from complications caused by his advanced stage MBD (metabolic bone disease). Daily exercise and basking in unfiltered sunlight will help us absorb calcium too, while the warmth will help activate our digestive enzymes. Here is a table of my monthly weigh-in's progress as of this month:

February 2012: 200 grams
March            : 350 grams
May               : 750 grams
June              : 850 grams
August          : 1,450 grams
October         : 1,850 grams
January 2015 12 kg

I weighed only 200grams back in February

"Now, eight month later, I weigh 1,850 grams (1.85kg or 65oz. or 4 lbs) and my plastron is solid as a rock!"

You Might Also Want to See the First Time I Celebrate My Hatchday With My Humans in:
• Happy Hatchday to Me!
• My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Other Sources of Multiminerals

Happy Hatchday to Me!

2012-10-14T03:06:00.000+08:00

June 7, 2012, was the first time that I celebrated my hatchday with my new parents. My mum gave me a spa treatment the day before so that I’d look squeaky clean and smell fresh on my big day. Then on the day itself she bought me a hatchday cupcake and prepared me a salad “treat” comprised of minced lieafy greens and acorn squash & carrot cubes sprinkled with my “calcium + vitamin D3 + minerals” powder (either Vionate for adults, or Rep-Cal for babies & juveniles that use basking lamps that don't emit UVB, or Nutrobal for babies & juveniles that use basking lamps that emit UVB -- these are brand names of a "calcium balancer & multivitamin supplement" that Tortoise Trust, my human's trusted source for advice on tortoise health, recommends. Ask your vet about it or look it up on Ebay; please take extra steps though to ensure that what you are buying isn't fake).. I turned 2 years old that day, which officially marked my transition from being a baby geochelone sulcata tortoise into a juvenile sulcata tortoise. That was also the day that I finally showed my parents that I am in fact a “she”, and not a “he”, as my cloaca area had fully developed. My parents started calling me Princess Peachy or Peachy for short instead of Bruno from that day on. My first name is Princess because after my bff Koopa died, I became very, very spoiled :) I weighed 850 grams then :)

"My human bought me a birthday cupcake and prepared me a salad “treat” comprised of minced lieafy greens and acorn squash & carrot cubes sprinkled with my “calcium + vitamin D3 + minerals” powder."

"I turned 2 years old ...
That was also the day that I finally showed my parents that I am in fact a “she”, and not a “he...”

"I weighed 850 grams on my 2nd hatchday. My human mum ate my hatchday cupcake :) "

"My mum gave me a spa treatment the day before so that I’d look squeaky clean and smell fresh on my big day."

If you want to see how big I am now, you may want to read one of my other blog posts:
•         Tipping the Scale
You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Blog Posts:
• My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Other Sources of Multiminerals
•       Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)
•       Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub (a topic on the importance of soaking)
•       Work Out Those Muscles & Bones! =)
•       How I Met My Humans

The Lost Days

2012-10-13T01:38:00.001+08:00

On September 11, 2011, I was tortnapped. My parents' maid was designated to look after us while we grazed on the front yard that Sunday afternoon, but she fell asleep as I conveniently slipped under our gate lol! Before I knew it, a neighbor's driver from a block away had picked me up and brought me to his boss's house. My parents circulated "Missing Tortoise" flyers with my picture on it all over our gated residential community. They offered a small reward, that wasn't too big so as not to encourage anyone into thinking that my value may be too lucrative to sell in the black market. My mum spent the whole Monday looking for me, calling out my name, around our gated community On Tuesday, two days later, that neighbor who got me returned me back to my my mum, whose eyes had by then become so swollen from crying. Thank God I got back into the hands of my loving, Mum :)

"My parents circulated "Missing Tortoise" flyers with my picture on it all over our gated residential community. They offered a small reward, that wasn't too big so as not to encourage anyone into thinking that my value may be too lucrative to sell in the black market. At that time, my parents thought thqt I was a he, so they called me Bruno. It was only then when I turned two years old on June 7, 2012 that they finally found out that I'm a 'she'. Thus, I'm now name Princess Peachy or Peachy for short :) "

You Might Also Want to See the First Time I Celebrate My Hatchday With My Humans in:
• Happy Hatchday to Me!

I Survived MBD (metabolic bone disease)

2012-10-12T01:06:00.001+08:00

My parents were first-time sulcata tortoise owners when they got me and my bestfriend, Koopa. So all they fed us were the buffalo grass and non-toxic weeds that we grazed on their yard. I was just one year old then while my bestfriend was only around four months old. Sometimes, they would treat us to some skinned squash seeds, cubed acorn squash and water spinach (kangkong) but this was very, very, very seldom. So for a few months, my bestfriend Koopa and I happily contented ourselves with grazing on the yard and at the park, playing and chasing each other under the big blue sky with the bright, warm sunshine on our scutes. And at night, when our human parents have left us in our room, Koopa and I talked about what our life would be like in the next 100 years and we made plans on how our tortoise shed should be built when we grew larger. We talked and talked in our dark room every night until we fell asleep.

"At night, when our human parents have left us in our room, Koopa and I talked about what our life would be like in the next 100 years"

One day after a nice lukewarm bath, while my mum was wiping off the water from our body, she noticed how Koopa’s plastron felt soft; At that time, she thought that it was probably only because Koopa was just a baby – thus the soft plastron. He was 11 months old then while I was one and a half years old. That Friday , I noticed that Koopa’s gait had lost its pep and he started eating very little when we grazed outside. He became lethargic and started to sleep more often even during our playtime.

"He became lethargic and started to sleep more often even during our playtime."

My human spent sleepless nights as she frantically browsed through the web to know the root cause of my buddy’s symptoms. It turned out that seven days was not enough to turn everything around, as Koopa’s condition swiftly progressed and it was only on Monday when our human was finally able to locate a veterinarian who specialized and had actual experience in treating a geochelone sulcata tortoise. In a span of seven days from that Friday when my mum first discovered Koopa’s soft plastron , my bestfriend in the world transformed from being a very active, outgoing, voracious eaten and aggressive young sully, who always tried to step over me when we first met even if he were smaller , into a meek and fragile sickly baby sulcata who eventually lost his appetite completely on Monday, no longer moved and hardly opened his eyes anymore on Tuesday morning, was no longer able to wee and poop and caught pneumonia on Tuesday night, lost his eyesight on Wednesday, then finally died early Thursday morning as soon as my mum fell asleep while watching over him. At first, she couldn’t accept the fact that Koopa was already dead because his eyes, though no longer moving, were still open. He was declared dead by his vet when they arrived at the clinic for his scheduled follow-up check-up that Thursday morning. In my understanding, Koopa’s death resulted from complications resulting from advanced stage metabolic bone disease (MBD); his system tried to get much needed calcium to his frail bones so it rapidly depleted his bloodstream and organs of nutrients particularly calcium until each of his vital organs failed one by one.

"My bestfriend, Koopa's advance stage metabolic bone disease (MBD) led to complications, which rapidly deteriorated his health. At the time this photo was taken, our mum started to supplement our daily meals with more nutritious greens and grated carrot instead of just grass & non-toxic weeds.But it was too late because Koopa had already completely lost his appetite."

"My shelled friend only opened his eyes for the first time that Monday after his veterinarian (in picture) injected him with vitamins A, E and calcium (January 16, 2012)"

My sick bestfriend, unmoving and too weak to open his eyes during his first visit to his veterinarian. That's a healthy adult sulcata in the background, one of the sulcatas in our vet's care.

A baby sulcata tortoise -- younger but bigger than Koopa -- looks on as Koopa sits still with his eyes closed on the palm of my mum's hand.

The day after Koopa died, my mum checked my plastron and discovered that it was soft, too. By that time, she’d already discovered www.tortoisetrust.org , a highly reputable site organized by people who have years of extensive research on tortoise habitat, husbandry, and health. My mum suspected that I was suffering from the early signs of MBD (metabolic bone disease).
Although I did not show any signs of being sick at all – I had a strong appetite, I was active, I was still weeing and pooping everyday, which meant that all of my organs were still working – my parents didn’t want to take their chances so they took me to my vet the very next day. My vet injected me with small shots of vitamins A, E and calcium on my front legs (Note: Please ask your tort’s veterinarian about which part of the front leg can be injected with vitamins). Then he gave my parents a packet of powdered “calcium + vitamin D3 + minerals” to be sprinkled (just one pinch) on each of my prepared meal of minced acorn squash, carrot, water spinach (kangkong), bok choy (pechay), and jute leaves (saluyot). From that day onwards, my diet is now comprised of 70% grass & hay, 30% leafy greens & acorn squash (squash is my source of vitamin A to prevent eye infection or blindness) sprinkled with a pinch of my “calcium + vitamin D3 + minerals” powder.

This picture of me was taken on Dec. 26, 2011. At that time my humans had not attempted to check my plastron yet if it were soft or not. I'm not sure myself if my plastron were soft at the time because I can't reach it with my own arms lol! I weighed less than 200g back then at 18 months old. As of Oct. 2012 I weigh 1,850g (28 months old) and my plastron & the rest of my shell is rock solid :)

"From that day onwards, my diet is now comprised of 70% grass & hay, 30% leafy greens & acorn squash (squash is my source of vitamin A to prevent eye infection or blindness) sprinkled with a pinch of my “calcium + vitamin D3 + minerals” powder. "

Here I am eating jute leaves (saluyot)

Symptoms of MBD or Metabolic Bone Disease in sulcata tortoises include swellings, lethargy, general weakness and tremors. The shell may also become soft and pliable. This video of Peachy was taken in Jan. 2012. At first, I thought she was just dreaming or sleep-walking (lol) whenever she did this in her sleep. It turned out that she's actually having tremors -- this is one of the symptoms of her MBD.

Lesson learned: the combination of eating just grass & non-toxic weeds, while exercising under unfiltered sunshine are not enough to keep a healthy geochelone sulcata tortoise like myself. The vitamin D3 that I get from sunshine won’t do me much good if none of the food that I’m eating contains a sufficient amount of calcium and other vitamins & minerals. Now, my diet includes some 30% leafy greens & acorn squash too, not just an all grass diet like before (grass should comprise about 70% of my diet). For calcium supplementation I would recommend either either Vionate for adults, or Rep-Cal for babies & juveniles that use basking lamps that don't emit UVB, or Nutrobal for babies & juveniles that use basking lamps that do emit UVB, or Miner-All multi-minerals supplement; Please ask your vet about it or look it up on Ebay, but please make sure though that what you're buying isn't fake. Please buy a multi-minerals supplement that does not contain Phosphorous because almost all greens already contain an abundant amount of phosphorous while only very small trace amounts of calcium or none can be found in the grasses and greens that I eat. We are aiming for a Calcium : Phosphorous ratio of 2:1 or 3:1. Phosphorous inhibits calcium absorption. I continue to get daily 10-minute soaks under the sun and exercise time to this day. My bedroom (my humans' TV room by day, my sleeping room by night) now has a basking lamp in one corner that's turned "on" the entire night where I could go and bask anytime I felt a little chilly; otherwise I'd find a dark corner to sleep on. Today, nine months later, I have gained at least 1,650g at now 1,850g (1.85kg or 65.26 oz. or 4 lbs.) . Had my bestfriend, Koopa not died, I would’ve suffered the same fate as he did. This experience has taught my parents how serious metabolic bone disease (MBD) is to sulcata tortoises. My mum has helped and continues to help a lot of individuals who own sulcata tortoises that are suffering from or may potentially suffer from suspected early stage MBD by sharing what she knows about this fatal disease. In a way, my bestfriend, Koopa’s passing helped me and many other sulcatas survive MBD. Rest in peace, my dear friend, Koopa. You did not die in vain. -- (Dated: January 29, 2012) **If you have any questions, just leave a comment below.

"This is me, Peachy at the time. The combination of eating just grass & non-toxic weeds, while exercising under unfiltered sunshine are not enough to keep a healthy geochelone sulcata tortoise like myself. The vitamin D3 that I get from sunshine won’t do me much good if none of the food that I’m eating contains a sufficient amount of calcium and other vitamins & minerals."

"Rest in peace, my dearest friend, Koopa. You did not die in vain." ( Koopa, February 8, 2011 to January 19, 2012)

This is me now. Dec. 2013. My human sprinkles a pinch of powdered supplement called Pecutrin (Calcium/Multiminerals/Phosphorus/Vitamin A/Vitamin D3/Vitamin E) on my food daily.

You May Also Want To Read Some of My Other Related Blog Posts:
•       My Recommended Nom Nomz List: Grasses, Flowers, Greens & Cold Season/Winter Food
•      For My Fellow Torts Refusing to Eat - Force Feeding Resource Materials
•       Why Basking in Unfiltered Sunlight is Important For You & Me =)
•       Having A Detox Spa In My Soaking Tub (a topic on the importance of soaking)
•       For My Fellow Torts Refusing to Eat - Force Feeding Resource Materials
•       Work Out Those Muscles & Bones! =)
•       My Most Recent Photo 2014 - Sleepy Time for Sleepy Tort :)
•       Treating My Eye Inflammation

Here are the lyrics to my new favorite song, "I Can See Clearly Now" (Originally written and recorded by Johnny Nash in 1972). After all the heartbreak and illness (MBD and "runny nose syndrome or RNS") that I went thru, I have finally recovered. You can get this song from the iTunes Store. Here it is. Enjoy!

"I Can See Clearly Now"

By Johnny Nash (it's available on the iTunes Store)

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.

Oh, yes I can make it now the pain is gone.
All of the bad feelings have disappeared.
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.

(ooh...) Look all around, there's nothing but blue skies.
Look straight ahead, there's nothing but blue skies.

I can see clearly now the rain is gone.
I can see all obstacles in my way.
Here is that rainbow I've been praying for.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's gonna be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
It's going to be a bright (bright)
bright (bright) sunshiny day.
Yeah, hey, it's gonna be a bright (bright) bright (bright)
sunshiny day.

How I Met My Humans

2012-10-10T22:13:00.001+08:00

I used to live in a small apartment with my former human named, Leonard. His apartment did not have a garden nor did it have any space where I could spend time to bask under the sun. I think Leonard worked the night shift because I noticed that he was always nowhere to be found whenever I awoke in the middle of night. And whenever I woke up in the mornings, I would see him sleeping until the sun set which was also the time for me to sleep. So for the most part of my one-year-old life then as a baby sulcata tortoise, I lived in a 16”x16”x4” glass enclosure along with three other baby sulcatas. We had a UV lamp above our glass enclosure that was kept on during the daytime to serve as our artificial sunlight. This is where I mostly slept, ate my greens, pooped and weed.

Every two or three days, Leonard would let me and my shelled friends soak in a very slightly warm shallow bath where I always took the chance to drink up at least 2 days’ worth of my water reserve; This was a good time to go to the loo, too! On few occasions, when Leonard was off from work and had visitors at our apartment, he would take me and my shelled friends out of our glass enclosure and show us off to his friends. It was during one of those occasions when I first caught a glimpse of my soon-to-be human mum and dad – Liza and Jeff. As soon as Leonard set me down on the floor, Liza got sooo excited! Her gaze followed my every step. Heck! She hardly noticed the rest of Leonard’s other human friends anymore. I didn’t really mind the attention. I was flattered. But it’s not like I made an effort to look cute! What could she possibly have seen in me??

"It’s not like I made an effort to look cute! What could she possibly have seen in me??"

Until one night, I suddenly woke up to the sound of a car engine and some voices. I looked up as I saw Leonard handing me and my three shelled pals inside our glass enclosure to Liza and Jeff – the couple I saw at one of Leonard’s dinner parties. I was confused. All I heard was something about Leonard and his girlfriend moving to a new apartment, and that we had to stay with our foster human parents for a month until Leonard had settled in to his new home. It was dark inside the car as we rode on our way to our new foster home. Jeff was driving, while I quietly sat inside our glass enclosure on Liza’s lap. I felt embarrassed too because Liza kept covering her nose. I worried that she might not like me because I was stinky. We finally arrived at their house. It was dark outside but I could tell that it was a much, much bigger place than where I live. When they set our glass enclosure inside the room, I noticed a baby tortoise that looked just like me, only much smaller, sleeping at a corner (I later found out that his name is Koopa. I will talk more about him at a later post). Finally, I grew tired from the confusion and worry until I slowly dozed off.

Me & my shelled friends eating skinned squash seeds at our foster parents' home.

Me & Koopa sharing some leafy greens inside my old glass enclosure

The next morning, Liza let me soak in a very slightly warm shallow bath under the sun. I was so thirsty so I drank my fill of water glug, glug, glug, glug, glug! As I thought to myself, “You’ll never know when you’ll get your next drink”. It was very refreshing! Oh and the warmth of natural unfiltered sunlight on the back of my shell, forehead and legs while I soaked! It was so good; it felt a hundred times better than the heat that I got from the UV lamp back at our apartment. Liza used a toothbrush to remove the dirt from all over my shell carapace and plastron, and it took a week of daily 10-minute soaks and shell scrubbing before I was completely free from that stinky smell. That’s when I realized too that I wouldn’t have to worry about water anymore, as I now had my 10-minute soaks daily. After soaking, my human would gently wipe my mouth, nose, feet and shell with a paper towel then set me down on the floor to roam around. At first, I was not used to having more than 16”x16” of space around me so I usually stayed put in my small area of “comfort zone” even when I was allowed to graze in the garden. It was a wonderful place! I got to walk around the house a lot and grazed on the grass in the garden a lot. Liza gave me so much attention. She tried to pick me up a lot and hold me close to her face. I wasn’t used to this kind of attention so at first I always worried that she might want to eat me! She would always pick me up and try to give me a pat on my forehead as she looked into my eyes and softly talked to me. I got used to this eventually. And though I could not comprehend her human words, the soft cooing sound of her voice comforted me. I thought to myself, everything was going to be okay.

"Oh and the warmth of natural unfiltered sunlight on the back of my shell, forehead and legs while I soaked! It was so good; it felt a hundred times better than the heat that I got from the UV lamp back at our apartment"

"At first, I was not used to having more than 16”x16” of space around me so I usually stayed put in my small area of “comfort zone” even when I was allowed to graze in the garden."

The next month came and I wondered when Leonard was coming to get me back. One day he came for my three shelled baby sulcata friends so I was left with just Koopa, my foster parents’ baby sulcata tortoise. I never saw Leonard again after that. But even though he never came back for me, I knew deep in my heart that he still loved and cared for me very much – so much so that he let me stay at my new home where he knew that I would get better attention and care from my new human parents. Thank you, Leonard, for giving me a better chance at life. You will always have a special place in my heart.-- Princess Peachy, January 2012 (some names were changed to protect the true identities of the characters in this true story)

"I was still a bit pale then during one of my 1st few morning exercises under the sun at my new parents' place."

You Might Also Want to See the First Time I Celebrate My Hatchday With My Humans in:
• Happy Hatchday to Me!