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Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Blastoise, My Pet Tortoise

I have a pet tortoise. My son named it
"Blastoise" - a character from his favourite pokemon game.









I used to think blastoise was 'blast toy'. What a big difference on that. Blast toy sounds like violence but blastoise sounds good to me.
My father-in-law found this tortoise at the middle of a busy traffic junction near Kampung Jawa, Klang. Fearing for its safety, he took it home.

Blastoise likes to romp in my garden. When you bring him out for a walk or 'exercise', he can find his back back to his abode. He can walk quite fast. I used to think that tortoise walk very very slowly.

Blastoise likes to come out from its resting place in the mornings and have a romp around my back yard. I think he is omnivorous because he liked to catch the tiny flying insects that stick to the wallf for breakfast. I didn't know that he has such a long neck! He makes a good companion while I hang out the clothes to dry.

Speaking about his eating habits, I have tried giving him what I think tortoises like, for example the kangkong and lettuce. But he doesn't even touch these vegetables. Neither does he want tomatoes, carrots, royale lettuce, or other salad greens. But he love the plant in the picture below.


Actually, I don't know the name of this plant. It looks like 'lemon basil'. A neighbour has given it to me and told me that this 'lemon leaf plant' is very easy to grow. She said that people used it as a health drink for diabetes and hypertension. According to her, just pluck the leaves and make tea with it. This plant actually grows very quickly. To propagate, you need to cut a portion of the stems from the top and plant it onto the soil.
My tortoise found this plant and has made it his home. As for the trimming part, I don't have to do it. Tortoise does it for me. I think he loves to eat the leaves of this plant. He also loves the shade that it provides.

8 comments:

  1. What a cute creature! I used to have a small turtle long ago, but we gave it away, since we lived in an apartment and he needed a green space! Do you have a fenced yard? I mean, are you sure he won't run away?

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  2. Thanks for sharing your story about your tortoise! It rang a chord when you mentioned it being found on a road. Too many are killed as they try to cross. I have saved four turtles or terrapins so far this spring. One (a diamond back terrapin) was saved from the jaws of a seagull, just as it was about to take it airborne. One hint for readers...always move the turtle across the road in the direction it's traveling in...

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  3. Hi! Tatyana, Islandgardener.
    I have a wall with gate surrounding my house that prevents dogs from coming in and tortoise from venturing out. Blastoise lives under the lemon basil plant which is quite shady. He selected this place himself, I guess because he gets to eat what he likes and the place is moist and cool. I look out for him everyday, just in case he gets too adventurous and fell or overturned. If there are any adverse changes to his environment in the future, I guess I'll need to give him away too. At the moment, Blastoise is my dear friend, so I'll enjoy the good moments while it lasts. I'm glad you all like him too and I really appreciate your feedbacks. How I wish my photography skill is as good as Tatyana so that I can take a great picture of Blastoise.

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  4. We called that plant as "pokok sambung nyawa". We used to eat it raw as "ulam". I learnt that the plant is good for those who have high blood pressure.

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  5. such an adorable tortoise! do you know what kind of tortoise is Blastoise?

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  6. I think Blastoise is a Malaysian box turtle.

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  7. Aww... Blastoise is lucky to have found a home with you. I too had a pet desert tortoise a few years ago. It suddenly appeared one day in my upper garden. I suspect it was drop by a hawk that had caught it. It was my gardening companion for about half a year. It lived in a hole it made, under the latana bushes. It disappeared as suddenly as it appeared - again, I suspect the hawk :(

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    Replies
    1. Mom on Blog, oh dear, I hope your tortoise went back to live in the wild instead of being eaten alive by a hawk!

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