Monday, July 17, 2006
"A little penis came outta' her tail!"
I never thought I'd see the day that I had to utter those words, but today was that day. This morning I took Fredericka to the vet for her annual check up and beak grinding. These appointments are often very stressful for Fred, especially the beak grinding. She will usually pee/poo all over the place and it takes two people to do the grinding on a 5 1/2 inch tortoise. The vet's assistant holds her, pushing her hind legs into her shell, which should push her front legs forward and her head out. Fred definitely resisted and Dr. Martin commented on Fred's strength. As the grinding continued, I watched her tail to warn them if I saw an accident about to happen. As I was doing so, I noticed something that was not poo or pee coming out of her tail. I asked the vet, "Is that a penis?" The vet replied, "It sure looks like one, doesn't it?" So now, 10 years after Fredericka joined our family, we have discovered that she is in fact a he. We probably should have figured it out when we saw Fred making it happen with the rock/"girlfriend" in the aquarium. I don't know if I can ever refer to Fred as a boy and Ben was even a little sad knowing that his little girl had grown up to be a man. But we just love her/him no matter what. She is otherwise very healthy. No parasites and she, I mean he, has gained 10 grams for a grand total of 555 grams! What a big boy!
# posted by RZV @ 11:58 AM 
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I don't think I'll ever be able to think of Fred as a boy either. At least you gave her a boy's name, though, so that you wouldn't be calling him/her anything fruity like Jessica or something. Love, Gabby
I can't believe that you've had her 10 years. That's amazing. What is their life expectancy anyway? And, how old is she. I will still think of him as her. A little penis doesn't have to change her true nature, which is clearly mommy and daddy's little girl. Did the little thing freak you out at all? The beak grinding sounds hideous by the way. Is that absolutely necessary? She's so darn cute!
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