WESTERN MORNING NEWS (Plymouth, UK) 02 December 06 Organic Baby Food Saves Tiny Tortoise's Life
Organic baby food has helped save the life of this tiny tortoise, which almost died of malnutrition.
Little Terry, just two inches long, was half-starved and suffering from dehydration when he was taken to vet Peter Luscombe.
The tortoise's eyelids were painfully swollen and closed, he had almost frozen to death and had stopped eating because his young owner did not know how to care for him properly.
But Mr Luscombe and staff at the Delaware Veterinary Group in Yeovil saved the tiny one-year-old with organic baby food.
He was fed the food and extra vitamins through a stomach tube, and had regular doses of rehydration solution by mouth.
After three weeks, the tender loving care has brought Terry out of his shell.
Mr Luscombe said: "Baby food is quite useful.
"We have used it before for young rabbits and make sure that it is organic.
"After I examined Terry I decided it was dehydrated, probably had not been fed properly for a while, and had been kept at too low a temperature with too little light.
Mr Luscombe put the baby in a suitable tank at a temperature of 25-30C (78-86F) and provided a light to stimulate daylight.
After a week, Terry became more active and started to drink when bathed.
He is too small to hibernate so Mr Luscombe will look after him until spring when a tortoise expert in Kent will take over.
The vet said: "Unfortunately this little tortoise found itself in the wrong home. Reptiles are not easy to keep and specialist knowledge of the correct environment and diet is needed."
All tortoises offered for sale should have an official certificate to ensure they were not illegally imported, he added.
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