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We seem to have a little “disappearing snack” problem around here 😂🍽🐢 .... With the sudden surprise cold snap last week, Malti went into a period of metabolic slowdown that caused a temporary - wait for it - loss of appetite. Or perhaps the more accurate description would be “lessening.” She just didn’t seem as hungry. 🤔 .... With a tortoise like Malti, you wouldn’t think that would make me worry. It’s not like she’s in any danger of being underweight, like, ever. ⚖️🐢 .... But honestly, the only other time I’ve ever seen her lose her appetite was right before she got really sick and was eventually diagnosed with that disease all tort mamas fear and dread - MBD (metabolic bone disease). So....I worried. 😳 .... I worried and worried and worried.....all the way up until last night when snack time rolled around again. Clearly, my girl’s back on her game. 🙌❤️🐢 .... #malti #redfoot #tortoise #turtle #reptile #hungrygirl #tortoisesofinstagram #squash #turtlesofinstagram #mbd #snacktime #cuteturtle #iliketurtles #coldblooded

Captured! The rarest of box turtle love gifts - a precious and perfect pink YAWN. 🥱🧡🐢 .... Bruce is in hibernation. And I won’t lie - this vid isn’t the best. The quality sucks. The large shell-less camera person had terrible aim. And the subject was way speedier than anticipated. 😜🎥🐢 .... BUT....we captured the faintest tones of adorable box turtle smacking and snorking as he chomped on his mealworm lunch. And - wait for it - that YAWN. Swoooooon. 🥰🔥🧡 .... #bruce #boxturtle #turtlerescue #yawn #turtle #turtlesofinstagram #hibernation #brumate #cuteturtle #perfectpets #yawning #reptile

I think it’s pretty clear who wears the pants in this flock. 😂 .... Being a grandbird parent is pretty much the best gig in the world. All of the “cuteness” and none of the discipline. Must be nice. 🙌💕🦜 .... #pearl #parrot #parrotsofinstagram #birds #cutebird #cockatiels #grandma #cockatielsofinstagram #kitchenlife #animalfriends #birdstagram

What happens when your (very clear) signal gets scrambled with “cuteness.” 😂💦🦜 .... This boy. At nearly 22 years old, he isn’t always so keen on “parrot shower” anymore. Mostly he will only agree if he gets to sit on my hand near the shower spray - and even then he often changes his mind mid-shower. But ohhhhh....the cuteness. “Wet chicken” is a look that will never fall out of fashion. 🥰💕🦜 .... #pearl #parrot #cockatiel #cutebird #birdsofinstagram #parrotsofinstagram #cockatielsofinstagram #wetchicken #mixedsignals #showertime #wetbird #birdbath

How we do box turtle hibernation in our little casa 🧡🐢 .... There are LOTS of right ways to more safely hibernate a box turtle who lives in a captive setting - this is just what works best for us given our current setup. 🙏 .... Disclaimers aside - and I hope this short and sweet video answers questions I’ve received about Bruce’s setup - box turtle hibernation/brumation itself is not a safe activity. It is soooo important to take it super seriously!! 🛑🐢 .... By that I mean, wild box turtles brumate because it represents their best chance to make it through a season where self-regulating body temperature and finding food becomes almost impossible at times. But dialing down their metabolism and entering torpor (metabolic slowdown) brings with it a whole new set of equally serious risks - predation, freezing, disease, dehydration are just a few. 🥺 .... The goal (and benefit) of captive-state brumation is to even out those odds with optimal setup, safety checks and prompt veterinary attention if anything seems amiss. Our shells give up so much to be with us - this is one of the key ways we give back. 🥰🧡🐢 .... #bruce #boxturtle #turtle #turtlerescue #brumate #hibernation #howto #coldblooded #turtlesofinstagram #reptiles

World’s cutest filing assistant. (subtitled: when efficiency is optional but cuteness isn’t.) 🗂🦜 .... As I wrote in our very feathery memoir, “Love & Feathers,” whenever possible, I prefer to do all routine - and non-routine - to-do list tasks “with parrot.” It will go slower. And certainly not as expected. But you will definitely make new neural connections. And have fun. A smile a TON. And possibly pass out from “cuteness overload” (speaking of which, consider yourself warned). 💞😊🦜 .... #pearl #parrot #parrotsofinstagram #cockatiel #cockatielsofinstagram #birds #parrotlife #filing #decluttering #cutebird #smartbird #getorganized #instabird

Meet the great disappearing South American redfooted tortoise. 🙌🤔🐢 .... Malti is a deep forest and grassland tortoise species. Native to northern South America, in a wild setting she would spend her days moving about under the shelter of thick ground cover - emerging only occasionally out into the open to quickly absorb some rays through her (conveniently dark-colored and fast-absorbing) shell. Then she would disappear again...the better to keep eating and not be eaten. 🌴🍃☀️🐢 .... In a captive setting, with yards and yards of her Grandma’s wonderful foliage to rummage around in, how this plays out is that she spends all day finding new creative hiding spots and I spend all day crashing around looking for her. Super fun....if you happen to be a slow and low to the ground super-stealth hider like Malti. 😂👀🐢 .... #malti #redfoot #tortoise #turtle #turtlesofinstagram #turtlesofinstagram #turtlelover #tortoiselife #tortoiselove #hidenseek #reptiles #exoticpets #stealthmode

Grandma delivers yet another 5-feather review from the celebrity food critic. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🍽🦜 .... It would appear that Grandma’s new pumpkin pancakes are an interspecies flock favorite. Not that this parront ever doubted it for a second. Did you know Pearl & his personal Small Chef wrote a recipe book together? It’s called “Waffles & More” and is filled with 5-feather delicacies people and parrots can enjoy together. 😊🍽🦜 .... In moderation, of course. And with appropriate ingredients substitutions as needed. If you’ve been a member of our extended flock for more than about 5 minutes you already know these vids represent treats not dietary staples. But lots of you are new (welcome! yay!) so a timely disclaimer can’t do any harm. Avian safety always comes first (even when the avian in question absolutely thinks it is outdated and deeply unfashionable😂). 💞 .... #pearl #cockatiel #cockatielsofinstagram #parrot #parrotsofinstagram #pumpkin #parrotlife #pumpkinseason #pancakes #grandmashouse #grandbird

The face of a snoozy girl with snacks on her mind. ❤️🍽🐢 .... If you joined us for our flock livestream yesterday, you know it got *very cold* all of a sudden (by which I mean all the way down to 58F). Which is very cold indeed if you happen to be an ectotherm who doesn’t hibernate like my tropical South American girl here. ☃️🔥🐢 .... So we did what we always do when Texas surprises us with a hint of “seasons.” We broke out the little tortoise indoor she-shed, complete with tort-sized heating pad, humidifier, UV light and piles of cozy blankets. This vid was taken while Malti snoozed and snored beside me on the couch last night. She finally decided to wake up and start nosing around, which for any of you who have shelled flock members, you know that means “where’s the snacks?” But it was way too late to feed her so off to bed she went. ❤️😴🐢 .... #malti #tortoise #redfoottortoise #turtle #cuteturtle #tortoisesofinstagram #turtlesofinstagram #coldblooded #reptilesofinstagram #reptiles #cutepets #imhungry #midnightsnack #hungrygirl

Me-sized. ✅ Completely unattended. ✅ Crispy and crunchy. ✅ .... How I lose so many tea crackers on a daily basis. 😂 👀🦜 .... Seriously, it’s gluten-free, dry as toast and I only let him have a little - 52 seconds worth, to be exact. ⏱ .... Plus he was really only there for the plastic bag - this boy simply cannot resist a compact, clear and crinkly plastic bag. Makes me feel slightly less awful about the state of our planet to see my 21-year-old soul bird’s sheer delight when he spies one and walks right IN. 🙏🦜🌎 .... #pearl #parrotsofinstagram #parrots #savetheplanet #cutebirds #birds #cockatielsofinstagram #cockatiels #whatsmineisyours #glutenfree #soulbird

There won’t be any wasted cuteness around here, I can promise you that! 🧡🐢 ... Lots of people think cold-blooded beings can’t be cuddly and snuggly. But those folks aren’t our people. No sirreee. 🙌😎 .... Yet not all shelled beings want to cuddle and snuggle and that’s very important to recognize and respect, too. Bruce sure didn’t when he first joined our little flock five years ago. Whooo boy - the farther away he could get from his rescue mama, the better. Feeding him was a challenge. Changing the water in his swimming pool was a challenge. Replanting his habitat? Challenge. Prepping for hibernation? Challenge. Vet visits? Way big challenge. 😬 .... But look what a little time, patience and love can do. If this works with a hungry, shy, scared, rescued box turtle from Texas, think what it could do for our planet, its people, all the species we share it with and the world. 🙏💕🌎 .... #bruce #boxturtle #turtlerescue #chooselove #changetheworld #savetheturtles #savetheplanet #bebrave #turtles #turtlesofinstagram #instaturtle #rescuedismyfavoritebreed #rescuemom