POORLY tortoise Joey – a female – had been off colour for more than a year before she was diagnosed as having ovary problems requiring a hysterectomy.

And if you are wondering how difficult that might be with an animal with armour-plating you are right – but crafty work with a bit of car filler has done the trick and now she's on the mend.

"Because of the long winter hibernation tortoises from the Mediterranean area face in Britain it can be a problem – they have to sleep when they should be going into egg-laying mode and the ovaries become enlarged," explained vet Craig Hunt at the Sundean clinic in Lydney.

"This left no room inside the shell and Joey had stopped eating. Basically the cure was removing the ovaries – a hysterectomy – and we had to cut a flap in the shell to perform the operation, just like spaying a cat or dog.

"Then when all was well we mended the shell with car-filler. It has been a long haul – a couple of months – but now she has started feeding on her own again and should make a full recovery."

Craig said the vets had taken on Joey's case after learning her Sussex owners – an elderly couple – could not afford treatment and could no longer look after her.

"Somebody from the practice has agreed to look after and she will now have a Forest home," said Craig.