Clinics help tortoises get ready for winter

Pre-hibernation checks

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Pre-hibernation MOTs will be given at clinics held at the Hospital for Small Animals, which is part of the University of Edinburgh’s Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies.

The check-ups, which include weigh-ins and looking for problems such as mouth ulcers and pneumonia, are important to ensure tortoises are not suffering from any illnesses that could prove fatal during a winter’s sleep.

Advice will also be provided on how to care for different species of pet tortoise and terrapins during winter. The two clinics will be held on Thursday, 30 October, at 3pm and at 5pm.

Gertrude gets a check up

Visiting the Hospital for Small Animals for a health check will be Getrude, a Spur Thigh Tortoise. Getrude will not be hibernating for the first time in more than 30 years following an attack by the family dog, which confused her with a rabbit.

After the encounter, some of Gertrude’s shell was missing and her tail and underbelly was badly bitten so she is not quite strong enough for her seasonal slumbers.

While [Getrude] is now recovering at home, she is not fit enough to hibernate during winter, so this will in fact be the first year that she sees Christmas.”

Joan Stroud

Gertrude's owner, Joan Stroud, 63, of Dumfries: "We bought Gertrude 30 years ago and don’t know how old she was then, so she is probably getting on a bit. She was in a walled garden and enjoying the dandelions when one of our Labradors, Hamish, got in and grabbed her, thinking she was a rabbit.

"We took her to the Hospital for Small Animals where she was given anaesthetic, put on feeding tubes and given stitches. While she is now recovering at home, she is not fit enough to hibernate during winter, so this will in fact be the first year that she sees Christmas."

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