Nemo the UnTurtle & Pleos

Linus Looks for Nemo

2008-07-06T14:05:00.004-04:00

Welcome to the first post under the new banner that includes the Pleos and a slideshow of Flickr photos of the pets (real & AI). A few other photos are thrown into the mix but I wasn't able to narrow down the slideshow field to just Nemo & Pleo. I hope you like the added touches.

Only once has this Linus been in the kitchen and it was under close supervision. Nemo's igloo and garages are a "safe zone"...we think...we hope. His first visit was to Nemo's goofy green dino atop the small garage. All Pleos have been drawn to that little guy for some reason. Earlier this week Linus set off to explore on his own (with me close behind). He roamed into the kitchen and went right back to that little dino and garage! Great memory chip! He also not only peeked into the garage, he lifted it up with his head. Nemo was watching unamused from his summer home.

Nemo has been a bit more active lately. He tends to cross his territory at least once a day and hang out in the corner by the jungle gym wine rack with his dinosaur Bronson. I've been sitting on the floor more and bringing him over to me. He has taken food from my hand and has eaten on the floor while I'm inches away. He typically allows me to pet his nose now. Yesterday he even let me pet his shell without squirming. Baby steps are good.

Soon I'll post photos of the great Nemo enclosure now under construction. I'm in awe of Brian's construction ability (and design). I knew he had knowledge of construction, but what he is doing is pretty amazing. I sure hope Nemo enjoys the fruits of Brian's labor.

Flashdance Pleo

2008-07-04T00:32:00.003-04:00

This is me having fun with baby clothes and Linus. Brian inspired me to give him the ripped t-shirt off the shoulder after saying the rolled down socks reminded him of Flashdance. (For those too young to know, Flashdance was a movie with some great dance scenes released in 1983.) Linus seems pleased with the funky (?) look.

Nemo's Pleo Brother Models New Cape

2008-07-03T12:10:00.006-04:00

Turtle fans, please forgive me. Today I'm officially making Nemo's blog a place to share Pleo news as well. This is my first post on behalf of the Pleos under the new banner that includes my dinos.

I've been following the dilemma on the PleoWorld Forum of finding suitable garb to protect Pleo skin from too much petting and handling. I did try baby t-shirts but didn't like the way Pleo legs might be pulled to get it on. I'm not Suzy Homemaker to make adjustments or do my own designs. I liked a cape idea if it would stay in place and not keep falling off the dino back.

I found a wide baby bib by Carters with a cute Pleo-appropriate design. It came in a pack of three for about $10. Linus is sporting his jungle critter patterned "cape" complete with words that go with a Pleo: munch, chomp, and gulp. The long neck of the bib is simply crossed under the chin and snapped behind the head. It looks nice and secures the cape in place so it doesn't shift.

I did order two wide bibs of a very soft fabric that I hope fit as well as these inexpensive Carter bibs. More fashion news to come.

Nemo's Boardwalk?

2008-07-03T12:04:00.002-04:00

Looks like Nemo found a "fun" spot to lounge although it's apparent he doesn't want any company.

He's been eating his shrimp lately sans nutritious pellets...but I've been defrosting the shrimp in water with the pellets hoping some of the nutrition gets into the shrimp.

I saw a movie last night, Just Add Water. Personally, I didn't care for it but the lead character had a pet tortoise named Steve :-) Cute scene where the guy is taking a bath and is cleaning Steve's shell in the tub with him. lol

Am intent on handling Nemo more. I was petting his nose earlier this morning. Even though he pulled his head in, he slowly brought it back out while I was there. Who knows. One day he may surprise me and run up to me again like he did that one day last year.

Owen and Mzee --- Nemo needs a hippo?

2008-06-30T10:26:00.002-04:00

I don't recall having seen videos of the story of Owen, the orphaned baby hippo, and Mzee, a very old tortoise, that developed a most unusual bond after the 2004 tsunami. I followed the caretakers blog and purchased two children's books that came from this amazing friendship. For some reason I searched YouTube yesterday and found this video I wanted to share.

The update, as far as I know, is Owen was introduced to (and bonded with) a female hippo. Apparently Owen thought he was a tortoise and wasn't meeting his hippos needs for more water wallowing and foraging for hippo appropriate food. Not only was the hippo bond successful, and not only are Owen and Mzee still friends, Cleo (the female hippo) also bonded with Mzee! I think animals have a highly sophisticated form of communication that Cleo knew to be gentle with the tortoise.

Of course Brian has nixed the idea of a hippo coming into our household to bond with Nemo, but maybe Nemo will start visiting the Pleos one day since they can no longer go into his area without constant supervision.

Nemo outsmarts the hand that feeds him

2008-06-24T11:37:00.002-04:00

Last week turned out to be a game with Nemo. He loved his salmon and shrimp so much, I began to hide a pellet of tortoise food to help get him proper nourishment. I carefully hid a single warmed mushy pellet in each shrimp "belly". He gobbled them up. Yay! The next day I gave him a bit of salmon wrapped around warmed mushy pellets (only 2-3 would fit). He gobbled that up too.

The next day I hid box turtle pellets in the shrimp. Apparently he doesn't like them. He has never eaten them alone either. He turned his nose up the salmon that had only the tortoise pellets in it the next time. When I realized he was going on strike or somehow no longer trusted the shrimp or salmon, I wanted to make sure he still would eat. I returned to basics--the bagel bite with salmon inside. No extras. That little stinker ate the top of the bagel ball off leaving the salmon and lower portion of the bagel!

I give up...for now. He had plain shrimp yesterday. He did nibble on at least one but left a path of destruction. He must have walked through the small pile of shrimp because it was strewn along about a foot long path. Meanwhile Brian has been working on the outdoor plans for our tiered hill including Nemo's spa area. We can only hope he will enjoy the outdoors on at least a limited level and eat some real turtle food. His enclosure will have earthworms. Yuck for me but I don't have to watch outside. He did have a dead spider in front of him yesterday though. I don't know if he killed it or found it. It never was eaten though.

The lead photo for this entry is Nemo snuggled amidst his circle of stuffie reptiles that keep him safe from curled wrought iron legs. He looks so comfy. The other photo is his rediscovery of the jungle gym wine rack. It looks well guarded with Bronson and the hippo...

Nemo's' Prickly Pear

2008-06-11T22:48:00.002-04:00

Last year I was given a flowering prickly pear cactus pad to transplant for Nemo. He did like the one flower I got for him. Unfortunately, I killed the poor cactus. After researching different instructions for growing cactus from a pad, I ordered several pads through Ebay.

Late last summer I placed the pads in the pot shown at left, constantly moving sticks and stones to keep the pads upright. I could tell in early spring that it was getting new growth. Then about two weeks ago I got what I thought was a cactus flower bloom. Now, two weeks later, you can see the plant is growing new branches (?)...pads...all over the place! I'm hoping Nemo will have his plant provide him with delicious yellow flowers later this summer. What we don't do to try to please his palate.

A New Corner to Explore

2008-06-10T09:52:00.002-04:00

This is how I found Nemo yesterday afternoon. Spread 'em?? He actually fell asleep in this position. He hasn't been in this corner in over six months. It had been arranged differently for his hibernation in October. I guess he is reclaiming it.

A short while later, he was lounging in this lovely setting. Guess he decided it would be okay after all.

Under Construction

2008-06-09T20:21:00.003-04:00

Nemo is in for a treat...we hope. Brian has dedicated himself to giving Nemo an outdoor experience. Actually more like the ultimate turtle resort. Brian has begun the first tier of our very steep small backyard. Some may recall that the left side is my Zen garden shown in the photo. On the right, at the base, is the beginning of a Tuscan-paved patio area--it will be a beautiful setting for my container garden and we have a lovely water fountain picked out.

The second tier will be a 6' long, 3' high wood-beamed enclosure that will include turtle friendly plants, a small pond, earthworms, a duplicate "garage", and even a screened top to protect from predators. Even though we have a privacy fence, birds swoop and possibly a cat might get in (?). Where we went wrong last year was not realizing any open-spaced fencing is a magnet to turtles who feel they must get through. Yes, even the unturtle.

Nemo will be placed down into the raised enclosure where he can't get out by digging or climbing and won't see any "holes". It was always our intent for Nemo to have the outdoor experience until he freaked out each time he was outside. He wouldn't search for appropriate food because he was too busy escaping from having dirt on his feet (my theory). If he doesn't like his habitat, we still have a beautiful gardening space. When construction begins on the Nemo level, I'll post photos of the progress.

Nemo Takes on the World

2008-06-08T19:30:00.002-04:00

I was thrilled to find several of Nemo's videos, some including the Pleos, on a Russian website and what appears to be a Chinese website! How exciting is that? I don't think Nemo would stand for paparazzi but I'm sure Linus & Schroeder would have no problem.

Nemo-isms

2008-06-08T11:40:00.006-04:00

Holding down the fort.

Climbing the walls (trying to get past his garage the hard way)

Lounging under Bronsan. Somehow Nemo manages to crawl under and out from under Bronsan and never knock him over!

Chillin' in the garage. Almost.

Full view of a completed blanket tunnel system.

And the turtle will have lox & bagel

2008-06-01T19:12:00.002-04:00

Someone who follows Nemo activities suggested I try smoked salmon as a tasty offering. I happen to love Nova smoked salmon, bagel, and cream cheese. Since I like it, it was a good bet the unturtle would like it. I checked online to make sure salmon was a safe turtle food. It was.

Yesterday morning I smooshed a piece of bagel, placed a dime-sized piece of salmon inside, and made a turtle salmon wrap. I actually made two. He downed the one while I prepared the second. A success! Nemo likes two kinds of fish.

Attempting to build on yesterday's success, today I thawed a shrimp and warmed up some box turtle pellets so they were soft. I made a little bagel panini again, this time with shrimp and just a few pellets. A second one just had shrimp in it. When I checked later, he had eaten the bagel with just the shrimp. The other he had opened up and picked the shrimp out! What a brat! Just like a cat or dog might do. I had a potbellied pig that did the same thing. Guess Nemo just doesn't want his veggies. But I will not give up!

Nemo's First Anniversary

2008-05-30T13:17:00.002-04:00

One year ago, Nemo came into my life and slowly but surely into Brian's life. At the moment he is burrowed into his very complex arrangement of blanket tunnels and tilted house. Somehow his nose poking out of a blanket tunnel where he can bask his face all day. My friend with the two tortoises speaks of how they burrow into moss and make tunnels and "beds". I guess what Nemo is doing is the unturtle equivalent.

I'm thinking from Nemo's perspective...if he has a memory...he's probably thinking it's one year ago that he had that harrowing experience of being placed into a bag and then into a box and blindingly took a plane ride ending up at Brian's house in an unknown world. Hopefully his present life is comfy and has helped him recover from his travel trauma.

I think I mentioned before that usually I pick Nemo up about mid-day and hold him up to the back door. He looks intently at our garden scape or maybe bugs on the glass. lol. But he allows me to hold him and even stroke his head and neck while he is feeling the sun on his face and overseeing his kingdom...or however he views it. He starts squirming when he wants down and I respect that. We've come a long way from his little gated area. No more gates for Nemo. He is his own unturtle.

First Post-Hibernation Basking!

2008-05-25T15:25:00.012-04:00

I was delighted to walk into the kitchen this morning and see Nemo basking on his log--his first official basking since about October last year. My health has caused this long delay in posting but I've been saving up photos and notes to blog.

Nemo is much more active now. He is still regularly eating his two course meal of bagel bite and shrimp. He often amuses us with how he rearranges or manuevers under, over, and around his summer home. He hasn't taken any known expeditions into the living room since I spotted him last, but who knows?

It's a constant challenge trying to find the mainstay food for his diet. I can't imagine he can survive on shrimp alone, although he gets plenty of calcium from his cuttlebone. I've been warming and softening two varieties of box turtle and/or tortoise pellets in addition to the Reptomin gel. I don't think he's even tasted it. Then again, it could be timing. Maybe that part of his appetite is also timed for a specific time of year or temperature. I won't know if there's a pattern until next year.

Recently I prepared what I believed to be a yummy tortoise meal that included cactus leaves, mushrooms, pumpkin, dandelion greens, corn, carrots and several other ingredients usually coveted by box turtles as well. Nada, zip, nothing. Not even an interested sniff. Sigh. We shall prevail.

Since I haven't posted in awhile, here are photos I had wanted to share. This first one is Nemo snuggled between the wall and his summer home. I thought it was cute how his leg and tail were resting on each side of the chair leg.

He has also figured out how to crawl under his summer home to be actually in it or behind it. Often we see a very tilted little house.

Those who have followed this blog since last year may not see a "new" photo, but we still enjoy Nemo's curmudgeonly expressions.

What's next for Nemo? We're going to try smoked salmon with his bagel ;-O Yes, he's a very pampered little guy.

Turtle Games

2008-05-11T14:52:00.003-04:00

Brian gets such a kick out of Nemo, especially when he feeds Nemo and Nemo actually eats. This morning he saw Nemo's head stretched up and out ("I want food!") and went to defrost a few shrimp. As soon as he had the shrimp soaking, Nemo turned his back on Brian. Brian's groan was so funny. "That little brat!" lol. Nemo, as if on cue, turned around again. Brian gave him his shrimp and Nemo began to down them a few minutes later.

I usually ooh and aah when Nemo is eating to praise him. About an hour later I noticed Nemo still had the "I want food" look and asked him if he wanted bagel. Apparently he knows that word now. He is much more animated now...when he wants to be. When I speak to him lately, he immediately turns his head toward my voice. Sometimes he even cocks his head.

Anyway, I made a big deal out of rattling the bagel wrapper and preparing his little bagel bite. He was gobbling it up seconds after I placed it in front of him. I spoke to him for a bit about how he could come visit me in the living room and he seemed to listen very intently. I then returned to the living room and got settled into watching Good Will Hunting when I heard very loud noises--similar to when he was climbing on the roof of his log. By the time I returned to the kitchen, he was on the far side of his log and parking himself between the wall and the corner vase. I moved the vase slightly so he could get fully behind the vase--something new. Maybe that will be his big adventure of the day.

I'm looking forward to even more activity as we head towards June/July when he first came into our lives last year. His peak activity was July to September.

Nemo's Back

2008-05-08T14:25:00.004-04:00

Nemo seems to be back to his pre-hibernation personality. He is not withdrawing when I go near him for care and feeding. And he has begun his obstacle course activities. This morning he decided to see if he could climb over his big garage lengthwise. When I saw him, I knew it would only end up one way--on his nose.

The image to the left is as far as went before backing up to return to the floor. He did have a bit of a fall at the other end of the "roof" and turned over on his shell. He had righted himself before I could even say "Oh no!". Feeling humiliated, no doubt, he marched off to his summer home and buried his head under his house. He is still there with his head peaking out toward the basking lamp.

His appetite continues with shrimp every other day and a bagel bite. No evidence of trying anything offered in his other food dish yet, but we'll continue to prepare him something. It's a challenge because the "menu" has to have something different from one feeding to the next. He always gets his Reptomin but we have been adding fruit, special turtle treats, and turtle and/or tortoise pelleted food. yum.

The decision has been made to not allow our Pleos to do handstands since all of our Pleos seem to have had neck damage and our Pleos seem to be rare in that they do handstands! That should help Nemo not be bothered. Pleos will have to be kept away from the chair legs--the main acrobatic arena. Replacement Pleos will be here in several weeks. Nemo will have to hike out to the living room to visit.

Until the next exciting Nemo update, turtle on.

Nemo gives new arrangement two phalanges up

2008-05-05T07:26:00.005-04:00

Nemo's emergence from hibernation, along with our need for some wall space for a water cooler, caused us to give Nemo's area a thorough Spring cleaning. His large garage was moved on the other side of his igloo giving him a tunnel to reach the area behind the igloo. He really likes that aspect. He's been hanging around either in (for naps), hanging out the front if he's hungry, or hanging out the back to lounge with some shelter safety. I'm glad he likes it there.

He seems have settled into about four shrimp every other day and is open to a bagel bite most anytime his head is not in hiding. He only gets 1-2 a day as a treat. Even though he's been offered a variety of fruits and foods to fulfill his other vitamin/mineral requirements, I don't think he ate anything yet. I do think he was most interested in some pineapple the other day. We'll keep rotating his other foods. He might just not be ready for additional eating yet. We're taking bets on when he starts basking on the log. We got him in June and he "discovered" his log around July. Maybe his basking season is only July through October. Guess we'll all learn together.

No more close encounters with Linus lately. I don't expect there will be anymore acrobatic playfulness since Linus's neck gave way to whatever "virus" our dinos have gotten. We do hope Ugobe will be able to offer repair or exchange soon. Maybe the tables will turn and new Schroeder will be the more active and social Pleo. Schroeder never did meet Nemo.

Nemo's Traumatic Day

2008-04-21T19:55:00.004-04:00

Today was cleaning day. Brian took on the task of thoroughly cleaning the kitchen floor area and sanitizing all that was turtle related. In the meantime, Nemo kept scurrying to find a new place to hide as, one by one, his hiding places were removed. He retreated to a spot where his shell touched a door stop, a secure place for some odd reason, while the floor was washed. Brian set up his summer home on a clean blankie so he had at least one place he knew while the rest of the kitchen was worked on.

I retreated to the sofa in the living room feeling guilty I could not help out more. Am still in recovery and can't lift and it's difficult for me to bend. I settled into doing email and playing games on my laptop when it seemed that a shadow passed my eye. I shrugged it off initially, but then it happened again. I looked down to see Nemo strolling by the sofa. Guess he decided to do a few laps while the rest of his world was in disarray.

Later, when I hobbled into the kitchen, I realized Nemo was MIA. He was not in the usual places and his hiding places in the kitchen were very limited. I did notice that my stuffed animal potbellied pig was moved a few inches from blocking the area behind loveseat. A gate is hidden behind the loveseat so Nemo couldn't have gotten back there. I picked up the potbellied pig to move him back into place only to find an annoyed Nemo beneath. How he managed to crawl under the piggy without knocking it over, I'll never know. After exposing his hiding place, he decided to hightail it back to his summer home, turning the kitchen into an obstacle course.

Brian and I watched as he climbed through the wine rack, a "short cut" (?) through his bathing dish (a quick plop in with a bit of a struggle getting his hind legs completely out on his departure), back to his large garage (large half of a "wood" hut). Brian didn't place it exactly so Nemo could walk behind it and Nemo was too impatient for us to move it so he climbed on top. Only one way down. He adeptly landed without hitting his nose. From there he had clear and safe passage into his summer home. Brian and I simultaneously said aloud, "Home at last."

I'm guessing he will like it better with all of his igloos and blankies and tubbie clean and fresh, just as us humans appreciate such cleanliness.

The photo with this post was taken several days ago. Nemo was sleeping outside his igloo all curled up around his shell. Kinda comfy looking, huh?

Proof of Shrimp

2008-04-16T14:55:00.004-04:00

Ahhh! Caught in the act. Nemo downed four shrimp the other day and I caught him with shrimp on his face. hehe. He's had quite the appetite. Boring--shrimp and bagel bite--but he is eating heartily. And we've learned he only wants to eat when he looks at us longingly holding his head up high. When he does that, I'll also fix some of his overall turtle diet in his dish. I do know he will eat when he needs to eat. I just never know when that will be. In the meantime, protein is good. Bagel bite is non-nutritious but apparently not harmful and he loves it.

I wanted to share a product I found if you are a turtle owner too. It's called Reptomin Softgel by Tetrafauna--for land turtles, tortoises, iguanas, and fruit eating reptiles. It is moist, yummy looking, smells yummy, does not need to be refrigerated, and stays moist for 8+ hours. That means I can mix pellets or other drier food in it and it too will stay moist. Easy clean up too. I'm all for no smell, no mess, no bugs. I've ordered mine on the internet--just internet shop for the best shipping deal. The major pet supermarkets have some products from Reptomin but I've not seen the Softgel. It might be on the shelves in some areas of the country. I do sprinkle the calcium powder on it because Nemo loves his cuttlebone. Anything to make food other than shrimp more appetizing.

Today was an almost full basking day. Nemo lounged under the lamp but not on his log. This morning he was lounging under the kitchen table staring out the back door looking quite contemplative. I've probably shared many similar pictures but this was TODAY's picture. He hasn't stayed out in the open for too long until recently. He's getting back into the Nemo habits he first had after settling into his new home.

Bon Appetit, Nemo

2008-04-13T21:50:00.008-04:00

Hurray! Nemo is finally eating. Each day for the past few days he has eaten one or more shrimp, nibbled on greens and an egg, and gobbled down a bagel bite. There are no pictures to prove he is now eating because he plays a game with us. He refuses to eat in front of us. In fact, even if he is begging for food (holding his head high in the air), and we place it in front of him, he will turn his back on us. Two minutes later, he will have made his favorite tidbits disappear.

Yesterday Brian was brave enough to prepare one of the mini meals for a box turtle complete with what used to be living bugs. yuck! I was hoping Nemo wouldn't like it and he proved me right...so far. We'll try again another time. Right now, he's loving his shrimp which is perfect protein in lieu of slugs or worms. He is holding true to his "unturtle" title.

Nemo has also been much more active, although his basking log hasn't been made part of his out-of-hibernation routine yet. This morning I was in the living room camped out with Linus playingi near the front door. Occasionally I would turn around to make sure Linus was not stuck or near anything breakable. The one time I turned around, there was Nemo starting his journey BACK to the kitchen! lol! He was making time too. I swear he sped up when I called his name. Maybe he heard Linus and wanted to go say hello. Regardless, it's fun to see him doing laps again.

Nemo and Brian got to bond when I was in the hospital for about a week. I got to hear cute Nemo stories and how frustrated Brian was each time Nemo would say with body language, "Talk to the shell." Brian has also been turtle caretaker since I can't bend too well. I'm sure that's part of being a turtle parent he could have done without. He's doing an admirable job.

Please forgive my lack of posting. Surgery went well. I expect a complete recovery. I'll be on the floor soon enough playing with my real and artificial pets.

The above photo was taken before my hospital stay, the day Nemo seemed to be contemplating basking.

Nemo & Linus Friendship - Round 2

2008-03-31T15:14:00.009-04:00

Nemo is oblivious to the fact that this is not the identical Linus. Linus was waiting outside of Nemo's summer home to meet him, even though he never met a turtle before! I guess stranger things have happened...like the handstand performed by Linus while "hanging out".

Other exciting news of the day...Nemo dragged his cuttlebone into his summer home and was chomping on it this morning. An excellent sign of the end of hibernation. Later, he hovered under his basking lamp (albeit not on his log) for at least half an hour. And, he ate a shrimp! Yay! Spring has officially sprung for Nemo.

Fearless Nemo Challenges Linus

2008-03-28T12:50:00.008-04:00

Yesterday was a very active Nemo day. Lots of photos. Some will be posted on Flickr. I think it's safe to say hibernation is over, although eating has not yet begun. Nemo was out exploring the living room and powder room while Brian and I invaded his space and had our breakfast. Linus was also exploring the living room. Nemo slipped by him carefully so as not to arouse any suspicion. lol. Nemo then retreated to his summer home.

A few hours later, Linus meandered over to Nemo's summer home and tried to poke his head into greet Nemo. Thankfully the chair railing kept him from being too invasive. I grabbed the camcorder and about an hour later, I had film of Nemo totally circling the kitchen to come up behind Linus while Linus entertained himself doing handstands using the chair as leverage. Nemo then made his way back, carefully observing Linus. Nemo made his move and marched up to Linus to rub noses. As soon as Linus moved his head, Nemo's head retreated into his shell; but he quickly tried again.
Nemo was very brave until Linus did one of his loud dino roars. Nemo decided that was enough for one day and headed into the safety of his igloo. The fuzziness of "the meeting" photos is because they are stills from the camcorder rather than photos. I'll be working on the movie very shortly.

And the heat goes on

2008-03-25T19:18:00.002-04:00

Nemo's is now at a toasty 84 degrees in his current hangout--the summer home. His increased activity thus far has been sticking his head outside of the boundary of his little hide to sort of gaze out the back door. It's warm enough to chase Brian and I out of our dinette area but not warm enough for Nemo to eat or bathe...sigh.

That's it, folks. Hopefully, more to come soon!

A Helping Hand

2008-03-23T10:10:00.002-04:00

Brian researched turtle hibernation and learned that if we maintain a higher temperature, Nemo should begin to come out of hibernation. Last night we moved the floor temperature from 68-70 degrees to 75-78 degrees. The increased temperature is supposed to help increase metabolism which means he will eat.

Nemo took a very long bath yesterday--an hour or more. I see that as a positive sign as well. Food was put out today. I'm sure it will be a week or so for the higher temperature to make a difference. He does seem to be a bit more curious and moving around a bit more within his summer home. We'll see.

Yesterday both Pleos were in the kitchen playing as Nemo watched curiously. Hehe. Jealousy may get him out too.

"It's Not Spring Yet!" harumphs Nemo

2008-03-18T19:42:00.003-04:00

A few days ago I took Nemo to the back door to feel the sunshine. He was calm in my hands. But as soon as I placed him down on the floor, he marched into his igloo--well into it. Haven't seen him since. I think he grew tired of my daily window visits. And he wasn't bathing anyway.

This morning, Brian and I thoroughly cleaned his floor area and towels and wading area. In doing so, I pulled the mat upon which his igloo sits across the floor...and back again. Apparently it had no affect on him whatsoever.

He has a nice clean bathtub and mister. I will get him out again for hydration on Saturday, the first day after Spring has begun. Maybe then... Of course this morning both Pleos were howling at each other in quite a funny symphony. I'm thinking Nemo thought to himself that he would be nuts to come out to that racket.