6/16/12 CC-ALR-12-06-06-01
Upon my arrival Fitzy was sleeping on the bottom of the tank with minimal water. The water is lowered at night so she can rest on the bottom of the tank and breath without lifting her head. If she could dive, she would probably rest at night on the bottom and only come up to breath every couple of hours. Since she is unable to inhale the normal amount of air, she breathes much more frequently. While the water level was being increased to 8 inches, she delighted in her world by playing under the salt water hose.
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What a joy Fitzy is! She eats one item at a time, then rests for 5-10 minutes or, suddenly, takes a 5 minute floating nap. She appears relaxed and we try not to disturb that. Due to her noisy, very frequent breaths, she needs to rest and fill her lungs prior to eating again. It’s unusual for a rehab turtle to initially eat off the bottom as Fitzy has. She ate 260+ grams. Two squid stuffed with capelin were left in her tank. By 3p.m. she had consumed that, making the day’s total 308 grams…her max. The water in her tank was lowered to just below her nostrils for the night and the upper part of her carapace was lubricated (that area is always out of the water and dry due to her floating).