Save Toby the Tortoise - Covering Vet Bills

Hi, I am Sophie and I am hoping to raise funds for the treatment of our family Mediterranean Spur Thigh Tortoise - Toby (female) which regrettably I can't afford and the kindest alternative for her at this moment in time is euthanasia. I am reaching out via Gofundme as a last chance to give me the funds to enable her to have lifesaving surgery.

She is a fighter and has lived to be over 80 years old, she has been in our family for over 20 years! The outcome of treatment is likely to be successful so I am hopeful that fundraising the cost of treatment will give her the best chance to live many more healthy years! I just don't have it in my heart to say goodbye to her just yet.

Her story:

Toby is an 80+ Mediterranean Spur Thigh Tortoise, she is female although we thought she was male for about 15 years! She was rehomed by us when she was found wandering the streets near our home. She has been a very loved member of our extended family for over 20 years and has been with me for the last 7 years - my two young boys adore her and love feeding her, especially her favourite food - strawberries!

She has a condition called follicular stasis and is egg-bound. This is something that can happen to older female tortoises when their bodies produce egg yolks that remain in their ovaries and form clusters that become enlarged and ultimately if not removed, lead to liver and organ failure. This is a helpful links for an explanation Her treatment will involve surgery to remove the existing yolk clusters and then she will be spayed to ensure that there are no future ovarian problems.

Toby has not gone into hibernation this year due to her condition which was noticed when I brought her in for pre-hibernation checks. After two trips to the specialist vet she has shown improvement with antibiotics and is now eating and passing well. She also still has a brightness and alertness in her eyes although she spends her days snoozing under her heat lamp. The surgery is a straightforward procedure and survival rates are very high. However, I just can't afford the vets bill quoted at £1059.39. She will be treated by the exotics specialist Mark Rowland so I know that she will be in capable hands, and I am set up for her recovery at home over this winter.

Once she's had the surgery, her quality of life will be just as before with no risk of future ovarian problems. I have contacted a couple of local tortoise and animal charities but they have been unable to help. At this stage I feel the kindest option for her would be euthanasia - I can't bear the thought of doing nothing and knowing that she would suffer a slow death. I don't have it in my heart to say good bye to her just yet, especially as I feel the decision is financial rather than moral.

I also believe that at her age she is one of very few of the original Mediterranean tortoises imported into the pet trade in the early years, of which there are few elderly tortoises remaining, due to the lack of correct husbandry in tortoise keeping over the years. Her species is also listed as vulnerable on the IUCN red list .

I am hoping that this last chance Gofundme page helps me to get her the treatment that she deserves. I would be enormously grateful for any support - be it to share this link or to contribute any amount - THANK YOU so much in advance and for your time in reading this.