YEOVIL EXPRESS (UK) 04 September 03 Special awareness 'tortoise week' at Martock
The Martock Veterinary Centre is urging tortoise owners to get in the fast lane and be fully prepared for when they have to put their pets into hibernation.
Head nurse and pet health counsellor, Sue Avery, said that many tortoises die each year because their owners, unwittingly, do not know all the do's and don'ts of hibernation.
To try and limit the numbers of fatalities this year, the Martock Veterinary Centre in Stapleton Road is now planning to hold a special `tortoise week' from September 8-12 to allow tortoise owners to come and find out all the facts.
Sue said: "Most tortoises die near the beginning and end of hibernation. People should limit hibernation to no longer than 20 weeks.
"This, it should be stressed, is for a perfectly fit specimen that is fully up to weight. Less fit and under weight tortoises should be hibernated for shorter periods under carefully controlled conditions and some may need to be kept awake and feeding for the entire winter.
"People should never ever attempt to hibernate a tortoise which they suspect is ill as it would condemn it to a certain death."
Sue said that if a tortoise is not fit to hibernate by the end of August, then do not allow them to hibernate that winter.
"Adequate reserves of body fat are vital to tortoises in hibernation as they live off these reserves," she said. "If these run out the animal's body will begin to use up the fat contained in the muscles and vital organs.
"Eventually these too will become exhausted and at this point the tortoise will simply die during hibernation."
Sue added: "Many tortoises die each year because they hibernate while still containing undigested food.
"It is natural for tortoises to gradually reduce their food intake as autumn approaches. A tortoise's digestive system is governed to a great extent by temperature, so as the animal's biological processes slow down it can take up to six weeks for food to pass through the gastrointestinal tract.
"People should not attempt to hibernate a tortoise that has eaten within the last month - delay hibernation rather than allow the tortoise to hibernate while having food matter within the tract.
"But a tortoise should be encouraged to drink before hibernation."
Sue said there was a lot more to keeping tortoises than some people might think and hibernation was the most important time of the year for the animal.
"We've discovered that many of our clients have tortoises, but we very rarely see them," she said. "That is why we are holding this special `tortoise week' to allow owners to bring their pets in so we can make sure they are suitable for hibernation and to give them the right information."
You do not have to be registered with the Martock Veterinary Centre to take advantage of the tortoise week.
Just phone 01935-825199 and make an appointment and take your tortoise along to be checked out before its big sleep.
Special awareness 'tortoise week' at Martock