Kiki (Pumpkin is his proper name)
Mantissa3

Kiki (Pumpkin is his proper name)

He has magnificent arms and light brown-gray eyes! Lovely little rescue baby.
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Reactions: Oxalis and Merrick
@Oxalis Gibby, Bump and Pumpkin were all rescued, one year apart, from the same horrific conditions at a Feed & Seed that has no business trying to keep and sell exotic animals. They were being housed in 101 degree F heat on rabbit pellets with no food, water or ventilation, in a glass 5 gal cube, with 2 full grown male box turtles who were also dying in the dry, airless heat. They had no shade and were only fed about 1 or 2 times per week, and we know that the dominant male box turtle was aggressive towards them and probably hogged all the food when they did get fed. Pumpkin was so sick we almost lost him. Bump has a deformed shell and still has some emotional issues with eating, and both have been to the vet for respiratory infections, vitamin deficiencies, and Pumpkin suffers from dwarfism and is missing two back toes.

They are both showing much progress this summer, especially given that Kiki (Pumpkin) comes and sits by our feet and actually seeks us out when he wants to be picked up, hand fed, or at the end of the "yard time" when he's tired and wants to go inside and get a drink and go into his hide for the night.

When we got them, Bump couldn't even stand up- he would drag himself along because he didn't have the strength to push himself up off the floor with his front legs. The kicker was they had these guys "priced" so high that nobody was likely to buy them, so they were doomed in that airless cube, when there are so many reputable breeders who provide really top-notch, healthy babies for lower costs.

Please keep a good thought that we can provide them with what they need to live long, healthy lives? Any sign of hope we get, I tend to blast it out here and take lots of pictures- Kiki now weighs one pound and we are starting to believe he is going to make it into young adulthood. Thanks for looking at his pictures, he's a handsome, happy little guy.
Karen
 
@Mantissa3 Awww, such a sad story that it brought tears to my eyes! That is so heart-breaking that they would provide such squalid conditions for an obviously exotic pet and not even research its basic needs?! I hope you gave those shop owners a serious talking-to! At least now they have a loving home!!! :<3::<3::<3: He even looks like he's smiling in the photo!
 
@Oxalis Thank you for your heart for our little rescued babies! It means so much to Cliff and me to know we can get helpful information and emotional support on this site from people who actually do care about the animals and about sharing proper information on care and the details of keeping them well.

As you say here- I can't stand it that nobody at the Feed Store even cared enough to research that they are shade-lovers.

People on TFO have many opinions about whether torties can "feel emotion" or are just biological blobs that respond to physical stimuli... smells, vibrations, food, heat, water, shade, and sun, etc.

I'm glad you said it looks like he's smiling! Thank you so much for that.

I often ask Bump and Kiki, "Are you SMILING at me???" when it is obvious they are really lingering in their baths, or when they dive into a plate of organic strawberries with gusto, after running around the yard for a couple of hours in the bright sun.

I guess we will never know whether they feel our types of emotions- happy, sad, grief over a sib that dies, etc, but I swear I can tell when they are smiling at me. That's my story and I'm sticking to it! LOL
 

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Bommpah and his sibling Kiki - July 2015
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