the whimsy turtle

My birthday means not just shellebratory noms and a party, but also time for my semiannual weigh-in and an update to my now annual growth chart! ⚖️

I lost weight again this summer!? At the beginning of April, I weighed 432 grams and more than 15 ounces! Now I have lost most of the weight I gained over the winter! 📉🤔

Mom isn't too worried, however. I have still gained weight since this time last year, and my shell is slightly bigger, too. My growth year over year is still trending consistently, with a gradual slowdown as my growth is starting to top out. Most importantly, I am still my usual bright-eyed, GRUMP-faced self with a healthy appetite! 😤🐢

Mom suspects what really happened is I gained too much weight over the winter and now I am at a more normal weight. This winter, I did move much less than usual (staring at Mom and Grandmom was more entertaining!), I ate more than usual, and I gained much more weight than usual. So Mom says I will be getting fewer treats this coming winter. No fair! 😫

Semiannual weigh-in time! Mom thought I was pretty much done growing after my growth slowed the last couple years . . . but she was wrong!

Half a year ago (actually, seven months ago because Mom forgot to weigh me last month), I weighed 386 grams. Now, I weigh 432 grams!! A full 1.5 ounces (and almost 50 grams) more than my last weigh in!! I am now less than 1 ounce and less than 25 grams away from a full pound!!

Mom was so shocked she re-weighed me several times and on two scales to double and triple check. She says maybe this growth spurt explains why she caught me repeatedly CHOMPing my (10+ year-old) plastic plants over the weekend. I say this clearly means I need MOAR NOMS!

Time for my semiannual weigh-in and my now annual growth chart update! ⚖️

Six months ago, I weighed 380 grams, so I gained weight this summer, unlike last summer when I lost weight! Does this mean I am still growing bigger after all? 🐢🤔

Time for my semiannual weigh-in!  Much to Mom’s relief, I gained back all the weight I lost last summer, plus another 8 grams!  ⚖️

Usually my weigh-in also means adding another shell trace to my growth chart.  But this time, my shell doesn’t look noticeably bigger than my last shell trace.  Mom also suspects my growth is topping out, since I weigh about the same as I did a year ago.  So from now on, we will add to my growth chart only once a year.  🖊🤔  I say this all means MOAR NOMS so I can grow more, Mom!  🍽😤🐢

Time to find out how much I’ve grown this summer!  Grandmom’s shiny black scale (which I still don’t like) says . . . I lost weight!?  I weigh 16 grams less than what I weighed in February!?  😱

I am still my usual bright-eyed, GRUMP-faced self, so Mom thinks my weight loss may be because I have been very active this summer.  Mom also thought I was starting to get chubby back in February, so Mom told Grandmom to stop giving me as many extra treats.  See, Mom?  I should have gotten more treats!  😤

As you can see from my growth chart*, my shell is a tiny bit bigger than my shell in February but not very much, so another possibility is my growth is simply topping out.  I am already at the lower end of the size range for full-grown adult male tortoises of my species, and Mom has always suspected I will be on the small side as an adult since I got super sick as a baby.  💗

In any case, Mom will be keeping a closer eye on me to make sure there’s nothing bad going on.  The good news?  I am definitely getting more treats for the foreseeable future!  😋

*  I filled up the original poster for my growth chart, so Mom found a new poster twice as big and glued my original growth chart to the top!  Now we have enough space for another 10 years of shell traces!  😎

Time for my semiannual weigh-in!  I gained more than an entire ounce since my birthday in August:  I now weigh over 13 ounces (and I blew right past 350 grams)!  Plus, my shell now measures a full 5 inches long!  ⚖️🐢📏😮

Since I barely fit on our scale anymore, Grandmom let me borrow her new, bigger scale.  Grandmom’s new scale has more room for me, but I don’t like the shiny black glass AT ALL!!  😱

Eight!, Part 5 (Parts 1, 2, 3, and 4)

My birthday means it’s time for my semiannual weigh-in!  I finally weigh more than 12 ounces, but I still haven’t cracked 350 grams.  MOAR NOMS, MOM!

It’s time for my semiannual weigh-in!  I have gained an entire ounce since my birthday in August!  Our scale couldn’t make up its mind on my exact weight as 333, 334, or 335 grams, so we took the middle number.  More importantly, I am now so big that keeping all four of my leggies on the scale is now a challenge.  Mom says next time I will have to sit on something!?

Seven!, Part 7 (Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6)

My birthday means it’s time for my semiannual weigh-in!  I finally made it over 300 grams!!  I am so big now that Mom has to remind me to keep all four leggies on the scale!

As Mom suspected, I am noticeably bigger than my last growth chart entry in March, but I haven’t gained as much weight as Mom was expecting.  That is probably because I have been running around a lot more, what with my new big Tortoise House and generally more exploring time outside since Mom has been home all day for the last five months.  Mom says all this exercise is good for my lazy bum.  I say Mom owes me a lot more noms!

Ringing in the new month with my semiannual weigh-in!  I now weigh more than 10 ounces!  And I am so close to 300 g!!  MOAR NOMS, MOM!

It’s weigh-in day!  I clocked in at 263 grams, my second biggest semiannual(ish) weight gain yet!  Mom is relieved that last summer was just a fluke.  I say more noms are in order so I can break my summer growth record!

Mom gave me my seminannual(ish) weigh-in over the weekend!  My winter regime of nomming and napping as much as possible worked:  I grew even more this winter than I did last summer!  See, Mom, I told you all those extra treats for my winter GRUMPs were a good idea!

Time for my semiannual(ish) weigh-in!  As expected, I am finally over 200 grams!!  Mom is a bit worried that I have gained only 6 grams all summer, but my shell is definitely longer and bigger.  I have been eating well most of the summer, so Mom isn’t too worried.  My appetite has been going down recently, but that is normal for me in late August/early September.

The good news?  More noms for me to make sure I am well-prepared for my winter slowdown!  Bring on the radicchio!

Did you prank anyone for April Fool’s Day yesterday?  After I enjoyed my Easter reward for finding all of Mr. Rooster’s baby chicks yesterday, I pranked Mom when she tried to weigh me:  The longer I sat on the scale, the heavier I got!  I got even heavier when I started stomping on the scale!  (7.10 oz is 201.3 g!)

Mom was amused, but she still went with what the scale said when she first put me on it.  So close to the big 200!!

As if Mom didn’t ruin this weekend enough already, today was my annual checkup with Dr. B.!  I like Dr. B. a lot, but I do not like her table!  The examining tables at Dr. B.’s vet center continue to be the most horrifying tables I have ever seen!  I was once again so upset by the table that Mom let me hang out on her shoulder while we waited.  When the nurse came in, she found a gloriously soft and snuggly pink towel for me to sit on instead.  Much better!

Dr. B. looked me all over and weighed me on the scale.  I am now almost 170 grams!  Dr. B. is a little worried about a video Mom showed her of me rubbing my face and fussing as I fall asleep.  I look great when I am wide awake, but my eyes look puffy when I am sleepy.  So Dr. B. gave me a vitamin A, D, and E shot to make sure I am okay.  Then, Dr. B. also took some of my blood to run tests so she can know my baseline levels.  I hate needles!!

The blue Table of Horrors and two different needles---I was so upset that I grumped all the way home!

Fourth of July Party 2017, Part 2 (Part 1 here)

When Mom and I showed up to friend gckaf’s July 4th BBQ, gckaf was impressed by how big I am, so gckaf put me on a scale:  I now weigh over 150 grams!!  And here Mom was hoping that I would hit 150 grams by the end of the summer!  Who thinks I will hit 200 grams by New Year’s?