finally a sunny day

After a spate of rainy days, the sun finally decided to report to work. It was a pleasant change for us terrapins, (and I’m sure many humans) as the warm sun rays helped us to regulate our body temperature. For some strange reason, my female owner was at home even though it was a Friday. I later found out that she was on leave.

It was fun having her at home. Because she was free, she took away the wooden plank that separates the balcony where we stay and the rest of the house. This means that we can, at our own time and pleasure, climb over a short ledge into the living room, where it’s a gateway for us to explore new things.

See the photo below. That’s me on the ledge. Nanook is the bigger one showing her bum while Dodo is the smaller one.

Anyway, Nanook and Dodo had a field day exploring new grounds. This exposure to a simulating environment is very important, to keep us alert and happy. Our balcony is getting too small and boring. I mean, we have lived there all our lives! This is especially so for Nanook who is getting bigger and fatter by the day. She is certainly running out of shady spots which can accommodate her big shell and would jump at any opportunity to look for fresh places.

As for me, I took the chance to stone in my favourite spot in the balcony - under the trolley. I mean, how often will you get the chance to rest alone in your favourite hide-out without having to share space??

Alas, my bliss was short-lived. My female owner took it upon herself to teleport me to the living room. As what all terrapins with high EQ would do, I did a few courtesy rounds in the living room and when she was distracted, planted myself in a cozy corner to snooze my afternoon away…

it's Christmas!

Today is Christmas! Yeah. No presents from my owners (I mean, what can you get for four terrapins who do bascially nothing but eat and sleep right?) but it's the feeling to being loved and cared for which makes all of us happy. My male owner came over again and we always look forward to seeing him because he is more generous with the food. Ha. Anyway, my female owner played her part too and gave the balcony a good scrub. As usual, dodo was so happy to see our beloved owners that he followed them around the balcony like a happy dog. Sometimes he would even climb onto their feet while they are mopping the floor. I'm not sure what he is trying to say through this action but my owners sure love it, especially the female one. Female Owner (FO): "You see you see, Dodo is walking out to greet us again." Male Owner (MO): "Yah, I see him". FO: "See, MY turtle is so grateful to us. What happened to yours? Where are they?" MO looks around and sees me and Nanook snoozing away in the shade. MO (in a not-so-sure voice): "Err...they are resting?" MO looks at us desperately, hoping that we will move to show our appreciation but nah...rest is more important.

the rainy season

The rainy season finally reached hot and humid Singapore. The largest downpour to hit Singapore in 75 years arrived on Tuesday, 19 Dec. The heavens opened in the early morning and rain only stopped early next morning. That is more than 24 hours of cool, wet weather. My siblings and I love water, and get very excited whenever it rains. We become livelier then and like it most if the rain comes into the balcony and soaks us wet. You see, Singapore is so hot and it makes us feel so lethargic. Plus, hot weather means the sun is shining brightly, which means that we have less shade for our essential afternoon snooze. Because of the torrendous rain, many parts of Singapore were flooded. My female owner commented in jest that if she released us to swim in the flood, we would all drown, because of our inability to swim. Why does she think that we cannot swim? Well... all because of a swimming lesson she put us through in January this year. If she had to grade us, I probably fail with flying colours. I was the only turtle who sank right to the bottom of the tank. At least my other siblings did some form of swimming.. before struggling for help. See the photo below? Yah, that's me sinking right to the bottom of the tank. My female owner attributed this sinking act to my body weight. What more can I say?

all that was needed was a poke

my female owner was livid yesterday. You see, Dona followed my fine example and he had a prolapse too. The difference was, his male organ (erm.. i don't have to explain too much right?) was also hanging out. So, coming out of his tail on the right side was his anus and the left side was his male organ. My female owner was very upset when she saw it. She started whining to my male owner about how come every one of us was taking turns to fall sick, that it was so expensive to bring us to the vet (remember my grand bill?) and so troublesome to take leave to bring us there. (Believe me, if I had a choice, I wouldnt want to be ill too!). Anyway, my dear male owner (yes, the one I cheated by pretending to be super active) tried to calm her down and finally, they prayed over Dona. Again, they adopted a "wait-and-see" approach. Fast forward to today. Dona's condition remained the same. My owners wanted to bring Dona to the vet as early as possible coz they figured that early treatment would cost less. They obviously remembered how they waited for one week before bringing me to the vet and ended up with a huge medical bill. As they were tiptoeing out of the house with Dona, my female owner's mother questioned them about their movements and started to become as hysterical as my female owner yesterday. You see, she never believed in spending money on vet visits and would always scold my owners for "wasting money". She claimed that all Dona needed was a poke to stuff his internal organs back up his tail. You know what? She was right! It took a grand total of FIVE seconds to reverse the prolapse. Later on, she even gave Dona a manicure by clipping off his extremely long nails. My lucky brother, was healed almost instantly, whereas I had to endure a week of prolapse, no appetite, surgery and stitches, awful medication and weird tasting food, and multiple visits to the vet and endless scolding from my female owner and the list goes on. All because, the in-house vet a.k.a. my female owner's mother was on holiday when I was ill. Life's unfair.

chill-out spot

The first photo shows one of my favourite chill-out places. The second is a close-up shot. I can stone here for hours or even days, if my owners would allow me, that is. What do I like about this dark corner (it is about the size of a opened magazine - it looks bright in the photos because my female owner used flash)? The ability to survey the surroundings without being seen myself.
I've spent many hours watching my siblings at play. They each have their own idiosyncracies and antics which never fails to amuse me. Dodo for instance, loves to "climb the wall", as my owners would call it. He can spend hours trying to scale this pink wall, moving to and fro its entire length. I wonder why he does it day after day, night after night, despite not succeeding. There's a saying that goes something like "a fool does the same thing over and over again, expecting different results". I wonder what is Dodo expecting from this.
As for me, i'm contented to remain here, out of sight of my owners... and hopefully out of mind... Alas, my male owner has sealed up the place ever since my illness. He thinks that I got infected there (tell you a secret, the only way to get me out of the dark corner is to stick your arm in and grope in the dark to locate me. He's afraid of doing it because he thinks that I will bite him in the process!)