The Coolest Pet Ever

So ... I know many of my teammates write their blogs about basketball and that’s really cool and all because I mean basketball is basically our life, but I would like to focus my blog on something else that is very special in my life ... Yes, if you guessed my desert tortoise Rocky you are 100% correct.

Some of you may be thinking, “Why in the world is she writing about her pet desert tortoise?” Well, I think first off he is really cool, and second, there are many things about desert tortoises that people don’t know, which I found out when Coach Kate was asking me a million questions about desert tortoises one day. In fact, she was the one that gave me this brilliant idea to write about Rocky because she was so intrigued.

So to continue with my blog ... one thing many people don’t know about desert tortoises is that they go into hibernation and sleep for almost 6 months. That is a very long time; I would love to be able to sleep that long!

At the end of the winter, Rocky usually wakes up and starts to move around again. Before hibernation though, my mom tries to feed him as much as possible so he stays healthy all winter. Around late October we put him in a box in the garage with newspaper so he’s nice and comfortable and my mom even puts a stuffed animal with him in there too. Haha! She also checks on him every now and then to make sure he is OK. So basically we only have a desert tortoise as a pet for half a year. It’s really weird.

Another thing people don’t really know is what desert tortoises eat. Rocky loves lots of different types of lettuce, carrots, fruit, squashes, and the occasional hibiscus flower, which desert tortoises love. My mom really gets into it and buys him a wide variety of food. It’s like a buffet! He eats better than I do.

Something really funny about Rocky is that he actually knows when people are around and if you call his name he will come to you, slowly but surely. He’s quicker than you think though, don’t let the rumors about turtles and tortoises fool you.

During the day when he’s not in hibernation, he stays on our front porch, which is a pretty big area for him and he can roam around. We are thinking about putting a camera out there to see what he actually does when we are not around. I think he throws parties with his tortoise friends but that’s just me.

He’s probably the coolest pet ever and sometimes he and my cat interact which is pretty funny. I like to think of Rocky as my little dinosaur.



On a basketball note, I just want to say how exciting this season has been so far and how truly blessed I am to be in such a great program with such amazing people.

GO CARD!!!

Jeanette Pohlen #23