0:00:02 > 0:00:05Hello, I'm Rory. I'm in Berkshire to meet Isabelle
0:00:05 > 0:00:09and her tortoise, Toni, who's off to the vet's. And we can go along too.
0:00:09 > 0:00:10And I'm Ferne.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14I'll be finding out how the vets here at a wildlife park in Kent
0:00:14 > 0:00:18are keeping their water-loving residents happy and healthy.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24# Ferne and Rory, telling you the story
0:00:24 > 0:00:26# Of some poorly pets
0:00:26 > 0:00:29# We will take them, show you how to make them
0:00:29 > 0:00:31# Better at the vet's
0:00:31 > 0:00:33# Vet Tales
0:00:33 > 0:00:36# These are our Vet Tales
0:00:36 > 0:00:38# Vet Tales
0:00:38 > 0:00:41# Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales. #
0:00:44 > 0:00:47Hiya, I'm Isabelle.
0:00:47 > 0:00:51This is my sister, Megan.
0:00:51 > 0:00:56We have a pet tortoise called Toni.
0:00:57 > 0:01:00This is where Toni lives.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07She likes going in the garden, too.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10She likes her bath.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14We love Toni the tortoise.
0:01:22 > 0:01:26- Hello, Rory!- Hello, Isabelle! And you must be Laura.- Hi, Rory.
0:01:26 > 0:01:29Do you want to see our tortoise?
0:01:29 > 0:01:33- I'd love to. Shall we go? - Yeah.- Come on, then.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Wow, look at Toni!
0:01:41 > 0:01:45- How old is she? - She's three or four years old.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Wow! So, actually, she's quite young for a tortoise
0:01:48 > 0:01:52because some can be over 100 years old!
0:01:52 > 0:01:55- Now, she's a very special tortoise, isn't she?- Yeah.
0:01:55 > 0:02:00- Why is that? - Because she's a rescue tortoise.
0:02:00 > 0:02:05- Yes, that right. Because she was hurt by a fox, wasn't she?- Yeah.
0:02:05 > 0:02:08Oh, poor tortoise. But you have rescued her,
0:02:08 > 0:02:12taken her in and now she looks like she's doing fantastically well.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15I hear she's off to the vet's today - why's that?
0:02:15 > 0:02:20Because she's got to have a hibernation check.
0:02:20 > 0:02:23Do you know what hibernation means?
0:02:23 > 0:02:27It means they go to sleep.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32Yes! Some animals, including certain kinds of tortoise, hibernate
0:02:32 > 0:02:36and that means that they go into a long, deep sleep for the winter.
0:02:36 > 0:02:40If you're going to the vet's, I'd love to come along, too.
0:02:40 > 0:02:42- Is that OK?- Yeah.- Come on, then!
0:02:48 > 0:02:50This is vet Sam.
0:02:50 > 0:02:53She's been a vet for six years.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55As a student, Sam operated on a tiger!
0:02:55 > 0:02:57GRRR!
0:02:57 > 0:03:01And once, she had to X-ray a Newfoundland dog who had
0:03:01 > 0:03:02eaten a mobile phone!
0:03:07 > 0:03:09Toni!
0:03:09 > 0:03:10Hi!
0:03:12 > 0:03:14Hello, Sam.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19- Right, shall we get Toni out? - Hi, Toni.
0:03:19 > 0:03:22Sam, it's been six months since Toni was injured by the fox -
0:03:22 > 0:03:24how is she getting on?
0:03:24 > 0:03:27She's done very well. She got bitten on her shell,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30- and you can see here... - Oh, yeah, look at that.
0:03:30 > 0:03:33..but we gave her medicine, and she's bounced back!
0:03:33 > 0:03:36Certainly happy to have a wander around!
0:03:36 > 0:03:38How do you check over a tortoise?
0:03:38 > 0:03:42First, we need to find out, has she been eating
0:03:42 > 0:03:44- and drinking well, Isabelle? - Yep.- Perfect.
0:03:44 > 0:03:48Then we make sure she doesn't have a runny nose or runny eyes.
0:03:48 > 0:03:50Can you see any bogeys?
0:03:50 > 0:03:54That looks good, doesn't it? Next, we check inside her mouth.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56- There we go.- Look at that!
0:03:56 > 0:03:59We're looking to make sure her tongue's nice and pink and
0:03:59 > 0:04:02there's no discharge, no sign of infection
0:04:02 > 0:04:04and it all looks nice and clear.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06- You're happy with that?- Very happy.
0:04:06 > 0:04:10Next, we will watch her move and make sure she's walking nicely.
0:04:10 > 0:04:12She's fast, isn't she?
0:04:12 > 0:04:14She's really fast! She's off!
0:04:14 > 0:04:17- She's got strong legs. - What are you checking?
0:04:17 > 0:04:20You're looking for the strength of the muscles?
0:04:20 > 0:04:24Yes, and that she has muscle condition and she's not too skinny.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27Then we want to make sure her injuries are healing.
0:04:27 > 0:04:31- OK. There's more injuries here, as well?- Yes, at the back here.
0:04:31 > 0:04:34- It can take tens of years for these to grow out.- Really?
0:04:34 > 0:04:39- So she'll have scars for a long time.- Wow.- But she's healed nicely.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42Next thing, we're going to weigh her.
0:04:42 > 0:04:44There we go.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48- She's 600g.- Is that good?- Yeah, it's a good weight for her size.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51Then the last thing we will do is check her shell
0:04:51 > 0:04:55so we're going to have a good feel, make sure there's no squidgy bits.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56Does it hurt her?
0:04:56 > 0:05:00No, it doesn't hurt at all - we're not squeezing her too hard.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Can Toni hibernate?
0:05:02 > 0:05:05She looks like she's ready to hibernate,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08but we've got a few more checks to do first.
0:05:10 > 0:05:14Some animals have a long, deep sleep through wintertime
0:05:14 > 0:05:17to survive the cold temperatures.
0:05:17 > 0:05:19This is called hibernating.
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Hibernation is a time of inactivity
0:05:21 > 0:05:24where the animal's body temperature lowers
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and their breathing and other organs slow down.
0:05:27 > 0:05:32Once they've finished hibernating, their bodies will return to normal
0:05:32 > 0:05:35and they will waken and start to eat and drink again.
0:05:35 > 0:05:38Sam, what else do we need to do to check that Toni's
0:05:38 > 0:05:41- ready for hibernation? - From her checks so far,
0:05:41 > 0:05:43she's looking really healthy.
0:05:43 > 0:05:47But I'd like to take an X-ray to check she's healthy on the inside.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50Right, an X-ray is like a picture of the inside of your body
0:05:50 > 0:05:54so you can see if there's anything to do before she hibernates.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59- Exactly.- Great.- I'll take her off now, then.- See you soon, Toni!
0:05:59 > 0:06:03- We'll see you in a bit. - See you in a bit!
0:06:03 > 0:06:05Toni is carefully secured to a lead plate
0:06:05 > 0:06:09so she doesn't walk away during the X-ray.
0:06:09 > 0:06:14Once Toni's ready, vet Sam leaves the room to take the X-ray.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16And now she can check the results.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19That's her X-ray done, let's have a look.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Excellent, let's see how she's looking.
0:06:22 > 0:06:25- Wow!- So there you go, that's inside Toni.
0:06:25 > 0:06:28- We can see her bone density is all nice and strong.- OK.
0:06:28 > 0:06:32She doesn't have any eggs inside her, so she's not pregnant,
0:06:32 > 0:06:34so she's fine to hibernate.
0:06:34 > 0:06:37- The last thing we're going to do is measure her.- Cool.
0:06:37 > 0:06:40So you're just drawing a line at the top and the bottom.
0:06:40 > 0:06:43The top and bottom of her shell.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47- So she is 13 centimetres.- OK.
0:06:48 > 0:06:51And then we plot that onto our graph.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53And her weight was 600...
0:06:54 > 0:06:58..so we can see that she's absolutely perfect for hibernation.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01How long has she got to hibernate for?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05We recommend that she has a nice, long sleep through winter
0:07:05 > 0:07:07until early spring.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10- Wow. That is a long sleep, isn't it?- Yeah.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Where do we need to put her to hibernate?
0:07:13 > 0:07:16We recommend that you pop her in a box with some
0:07:16 > 0:07:18air holes with newspaper in the bottom.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21- Where do you put her? - Somewhere cool and dry where
0:07:21 > 0:07:25you can check the temperature and make sure there's enough oxygen
0:07:25 > 0:07:28- so you can open the door for her. - Thank you.
0:07:28 > 0:07:30While we get Toni ready to head home,
0:07:30 > 0:07:34let's see what else has been happening at the vet's today.
0:07:41 > 0:07:45There are lots of animals waiting to see the vet today.
0:07:45 > 0:07:47Sit there, sit down!
0:07:47 > 0:07:50This is Whisper - she's my mum's hearing dog,
0:07:50 > 0:07:52she helps her in daily tasks.
0:07:52 > 0:07:55She's at the vet's today because, unfortunately,
0:07:55 > 0:07:58she has a grass seed stuck in her paw.
0:07:58 > 0:08:00Vet Sam removes the seed in theatre
0:08:00 > 0:08:03so Whisper will soon be back on her feet.
0:08:03 > 0:08:06Archie has come in for his booster injections,
0:08:06 > 0:08:09but he's not too keen on the idea.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12So the vet needs to get down to his level.
0:08:12 > 0:08:14Jobie the Beagle is a rescue dog
0:08:14 > 0:08:17so he's never been to the vet before,
0:08:17 > 0:08:20and there are a lot of new sights and smells.
0:08:23 > 0:08:25Oargh!
0:08:25 > 0:08:27So how do you think Toni did today?
0:08:27 > 0:08:29- She's been great. - Yeah, I think so, too,
0:08:29 > 0:08:33and it's been so interesting seeing how the vets care
0:08:33 > 0:08:36for tortoises like Toni and awesome meeting you, as well.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39I'd like to come back and say a big "night-night"
0:08:39 > 0:08:44- to Toni before she goes for her big, long sleep. Is that OK?- Yes, please!
0:08:44 > 0:08:47Awesome. Let's see what Ferne's been up to.
0:08:51 > 0:08:52BEEP, BEEP!
0:08:52 > 0:08:57There are lots of different animals at this conservation park.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58BAAA!
0:08:58 > 0:09:01Vets like Rachel make sure they stay fit and healthy,
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and I'm off to meet some of her patients.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08- Hiya, Rachel!- Hiya!- So who have we got here - are these beavers?
0:09:08 > 0:09:12- These are our beavers, yes. - Fantastic, they're beautiful!
0:09:12 > 0:09:16Beavers love the water and their fur is even waterproof.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19They have this lovely, big, flat tail that helps them steer
0:09:19 > 0:09:21themselves while swimming.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24They can close their nostrils and ears underwater
0:09:24 > 0:09:28so the water doesn't get in. What are we checking the beavers for?
0:09:28 > 0:09:31We need to see if one of them is a boy or a girl
0:09:31 > 0:09:35and we'll do an examination to check that they're all healthy.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38- Fantastic.- Let's go.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42This beaver has been given a special medicine called anaesthetic
0:09:42 > 0:09:44to help it stay asleep
0:09:44 > 0:09:47so Rachel and nurse Laura can give it a health check.
0:09:47 > 0:09:50Look at those teeth! They are huge!
0:09:50 > 0:09:55- It's all right that they're orange, isn't it?- Yeah, that's normal.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58Those webbed feet are fantastic, aren't they?
0:09:58 > 0:10:01They are, that's what helps them to swim.
0:10:01 > 0:10:03- Are they fast swimmers?- Very. - Hee-hee-hee.
0:10:03 > 0:10:06What are you looking for in her tail?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09We're looking to make sure it's nice and healthy
0:10:09 > 0:10:10and it's got no wounds.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13We want to make sure it's firm and muscly
0:10:13 > 0:10:15and there's no damage to it.
0:10:15 > 0:10:19Our beaver is in great condition. So now for the next check.
0:10:19 > 0:10:21We need to see if it's a boy or girl
0:10:21 > 0:10:23to see if they can breed and have babies.
0:10:23 > 0:10:27- Can you not look at them and tell? - Unfortunately not, it's difficult.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31One of the ways we can tell is by taking an X-ray
0:10:31 > 0:10:34and see if the boys have an extra piece of bone in their body.
0:10:34 > 0:10:38- We're going to have to turn the lights off now.- OK.
0:10:38 > 0:10:42And I'll leave the room while they set things up.
0:10:42 > 0:10:45An X-ray takes a special picture which shows
0:10:45 > 0:10:47the inside of the beaver.
0:10:47 > 0:10:50Rachel and Laura leave the room to take the X-ray.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53Moments later, we can see the results.
0:10:53 > 0:10:56We're looking for a little piece of bone
0:10:56 > 0:10:59which normally lies just about here.
0:10:59 > 0:11:02So I can't see any bone in here which leads me
0:11:02 > 0:11:04to believe that this beaver is a female.
0:11:04 > 0:11:06- Brilliant.- OK.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10Now we know our beaver is a girl, we've got one last check to do.
0:11:10 > 0:11:13They can get a nasty worm that can sometimes cause
0:11:13 > 0:11:17damage to the liver, so we're going to do a quick scan
0:11:17 > 0:11:19to make sure we see no sign of that.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22The liver is a very special organ inside the body
0:11:22 > 0:11:26and this ultrasound machine will help Rachel to look at it.
0:11:26 > 0:11:30- These scans are also used on people, aren't they?- They are, yes.
0:11:30 > 0:11:35It's exactly the same as animals cos we're all the same underneath.
0:11:35 > 0:11:37There's nothing I'm concerned about here.
0:11:37 > 0:11:42- So she is looking like one healthy beaver?- She's looking very good.
0:11:42 > 0:11:43Fantastic, well done.
0:11:43 > 0:11:48And once she wakes up again, she goes back to join her friends.
0:11:50 > 0:11:52Recently, I met Isabelle
0:11:52 > 0:11:55and her pet tortoise, Toni, who had to go to the vet's.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58I'm back today to see how they're doing
0:11:58 > 0:12:01and find out if Toni is ready for her big, long sleep.
0:12:03 > 0:12:07- Hey, how are you doing, Isabelle? - Hello, Rory.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11- And you must be Megan, little sister.- Hello, Rory!
0:12:11 > 0:12:13So what are you guys up to?
0:12:13 > 0:12:18We're decorating Toni's hibernation box.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22- Oh, perfect, so this is where Toni's going to hibernate?- Yeah.
0:12:22 > 0:12:24Here we go...
0:12:24 > 0:12:25Ooh!
0:12:25 > 0:12:27Ahh.
0:12:27 > 0:12:28Looks good!
0:12:28 > 0:12:30OK, well, Isabelle,
0:12:30 > 0:12:33I think this is looking absolutely perfect, don't you?
0:12:33 > 0:12:36It looks awesome.
0:12:36 > 0:12:38And now, put some newspaper in.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41The newspaper, along with the holes in the lid,
0:12:41 > 0:12:44make sure Toni has a comfy bed for the winter.
0:12:44 > 0:12:49Now, this is all looking good for Toni to go in, so where is Toni?
0:12:49 > 0:12:51She's round there.
0:12:51 > 0:12:53Ah, let's go, then. Come on.
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Hey, Toni! You're looking gorgeous.
0:12:57 > 0:13:01- I think she's going to love this nice cosy bed here.- Yeah.
0:13:01 > 0:13:05It's been great meeting you and Toni the tremendous tortoise.
0:13:05 > 0:13:06Thanks for having me.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Thank you, Rory.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11You're welcome. Night-night, Toni!
0:13:11 > 0:13:15And I hope you've had fun finding out about Toni the tortoise
0:13:15 > 0:13:16and hibernation, too.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20See you next time for more Ferne And Rory's Vet Tales.
0:13:20 > 0:13:21- Bye!- Bye!
0:13:26 > 0:13:29# Ferne and Rory, telling you the story
0:13:29 > 0:13:31# Of some poorly pets
0:13:31 > 0:13:34# We will take them, show you how to make them
0:13:34 > 0:13:36# Better at the vet's
0:13:36 > 0:13:38# Vet Tales
0:13:38 > 0:13:41# These are our Vet Tales
0:13:41 > 0:13:43# Vet Tales
0:13:43 > 0:13:45# Ferne and Rory's Vet Tales. #