Tom's first visit to the vet

Our pet tortoise of more than 5 years (who ran stumbled into my parent's garden then and subsequently designated to live with us because of Victoria - the only grandchild then) was aptly named Tom - yes, Tom the Tortoise, just like how I'd name any of the following - Herbert the Hamster, Frederick the Frog or Slimy the Snake.  But of course, we have no Herbert, nor Frederick or Slimy.

Just Tom.

Tom is a weird creature.  Always wanting to explore the world (read, escape / jau lou / lari rumah) but yet gets excited when he sees us return home either by popping his head out or waddling fast in his cage container.

But yesterday, when hubby left for work, he noticed that Tom was sleeping - eyes closed, not moving.  That's not usual as Tom would normally be active during that time.  He's not one to snooze in the mornings.

Then we noticed that his front two paws have a small area of redness near his nails, maybe looks like lesion. He slept the whole morning and we were beginning to worry.  Afterall, tortoises are supposedly hardy creatures, right.  If he can fall sick, does that mean it is something serious that warrants immediate attention?

So hubby came home during lunch, squeeze through traffic jam just to bring Tom to see a vet that a friend recommended.  I met him later after dropping William off at kindy.

Tom was given immediate attention because there was no crowd.  Dr Liong is a very kind, gentle and patient lady who took time to understand Tom's routine and diet.  As there was no change in either diet or routine, the vet could not diagnose the cause of the problem, but can only treat the affected areas. 

She took his weight - a grand total of 300g - and then prescribed Tom some medication.  He was given oral antibiotics (this is the tricky part as we have to get the drops into his mouth either by hiding in a shrimp or soaking him in medicated water), cream to apply on dry skin daily and some vitamins for bi-weekly intake.

The vet cleaning up Tom's affected areas

After 5 years, you only weigh 300g???!!  Where did all the food go?

Are you laughing or smiling to yourself in disbelief by now?  Or do I sound too serious here?  Honestly, hubby and I were controlling our laughter when we were with the doctor.  I mean, we are talking about a TORTOISE, alright?  Not a child nor a dog.

Not bad... got manicure somemore.  Getting her nails clipped

But I guess Tom is more than a tortoise.  Like any other pets (besides the fishes), they are apart of the family.  It was good that our maid followed us during this trip as she is the main caretaker of Tom. 

Finally, guess what?  A secret revealed!  That Tom our tortoise, whom we thought to be a male all these years, is actually a FEMALE TORTOISE!  So imagine that!  A mistaken identity.  But after a quick discussion with hubby, we decided to keep her name as Tom, and now we make a conscious effort to call him... a her.

To check a tortoise's gender, just turn the tortoise over and feel the bottom.  If it is flat, it is a female.  If it is sunken or indented, then it is a male. 

Tom oh Tom... do get well.  So far he has had two cream applications and a soak in vitamin water.  I have a prawn defrosting now so later we can insert antibiotic for him, slice it into bite size and hopefully, he'd just gobble that down without suspicion. 

However, both his eyes cannot open today.  I hope he'll recover very soon although the vet estimated 2 weeks for full recovery.