Frankie Tortoise Tails: Let the Games Begin!

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A friend e-mailed me yesterday. "You don't write any more. What is going on?"

I dunno. It's summer. A lot of things going on at home, with Greg and I, injured box turtles, geckos, new house, and Frankie. Things!

I mean, it's summer. Yeah, Frankie is busier than ever.

Yesterday I was working in the yard and I spy Greg just standing in the middle of the yard watching Frankie walk the fence line.

"What are you doing, Greg?"

"Watching Frankie get in trouble."

I look back at Frankie who is just walking along the fence line.

"He is just walking, Greg."

"If Frankie is walking Frankie is getting into trouble."

I look back at Frankie at the end of the fence line. As if he was plainly blind Frankie bumps nose first into the corner fence. He shakes off hauling right into the fence, shimmies the corner and proceeds walking along the fence line.

I see Frankie do this walk-into-corner-bump-into-wall a lot. He just doesn't get corners all that well. He just doesn't get a lot of things that well.

Greg and I emptied our rented storage space. Twenty boxes, two vivariums, two bicycles, a dining room table and chairs, holiday decorations, turn table, lawn spreader, mirror, and a few miscellaneous bits were stuffed into two vehicles and driven home as the last bit of evidence that we moved six months ago.

We decided it would be easiest to take everything through the back gate since it's a quick 12 foot walk to the backdoor. Straight into the house.

Not taken into account is the path from car to house passes right through a territory belonging to a beast who can make a twelve foot path fraught with all kinds of dangers. Boxes in arm, we walk into the yard and head directly to the backdoor.

Frankie is quick to observe two potential food givers and made a beeline to the back door. When we came out of the house we are forced to hop over the big shelled obstacle. We dashed to the back gate with Frankie in hot pursuit.

And so began games of tag, leap frog, hopscotch, and tag with Greg and I passing back and forth from gate to door and Frankie looking a lot like Jackie Robinson playing rundown back and forth between first base and second base.

Except he isn't as quick as Jackie Robinson.

You see, Frankie's turn's are awkward. He is like a big car attempting to turn around in a very narrow street: pull back, shift forward, one step, push back on back foot, slide front foot over, push back foot forward, step forward once, pull back, shift forward.....and so on.

Our trips to and fro cars and house continue. Stuck mid route is Frankie looking to tag the first human to pass in front of him. Just as he is turned to get the one walking into the house the other is just walking in the gate. It's like a game of Keep Away and Frankie can't win.

He is persistent.

Back to Frankie's apparent blindness.

We dug a trench in the yard from the house to the solar panels. The trench wasn't that deep or wide but it' obvious to any one or animal with eyes. Except Frankie.

Frankie walked right into that trench, dozens of times. Every time one of his feet fell in he looked annoyed or surprised.


Just how long is this canyon going to be here?



This is annoying.

It's hard not to be amused with Frankie, at the expensive of his dignity. It's just Frankie's profound lack of spacial awareness creates potential for chaos during his everyday walking around.

Good morning, Frankie. Hope you had a good sleep.

Let the chaos commence!
 

AZtortMom

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Oh how I love thee Frankie :D
 

tortoise_luvergirl

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my one yr old Sulcata is very determined and also a klutz.. I have moved her to what is now her THIRD enclosure and after a week the walls are becoming shredded.. I guess I will have to upgrade to hardwood for the sidewalls, she has shredded the plywood I used :( during her excercise in my room ( it's too chilly for her outside now) she bit my ethernet cable nearly in half so I had to buy another and seems bent on destroying anything she can when ignored ( and also "stomping" untill I go upstairs and she hears me, then it stops. I have some vids of willow on here, one when I caught her trying to pull down a temp sensor wire in her cage as a very young tort. She is a funny girl.
 

wellington

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Have been missing the Frankie tales. I can just picture him trying to turn and keep up.
What is the blue on his shell? I don't remember seeing that before.
 

[email protected]

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The blue tape, painter's tape, has a request to return Frankie if found and my phone number. I found that painter's tape does the least shell damage, leaves no gummy residue and lasts a long time.

The tape isn't so attractive but in love over style, love trumps style every time. I want Frankie returned to me if he gets out.

Frankie Tortoise Tails is always published here but if you want to check up on Frankie or see if you missed something, check out his blog: www.frankietortoisetails.com
 

tortoise_luvergirl

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The blue tape, painter's tape, has a request to return Frankie if found and my phone number. I found that painter's tape does the least shell damage, leaves no gummy residue and lasts a long time.

The tape isn't so attractive but in love over style, love trumps style every time. I want Frankie returned to me if he gets out.

Frankie Tortoise Tails is always published here but if you want to check up on Frankie or see if you missed something, check out his blog: www.frankietortoisetails.com
uugggh.. wish i'd seen this sooner! I just put green duct tape on willow for a temporary bandage for a mild shell ( plastron where the hinges meet) scrape. it bled a little when I cleaned her and put some reptihealer on it. her vet later told me I should use HOOF REPAIR on something like that. needless to say I will be building her a new and tortoise freindly enclosure real soon.
 
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