26 JUNE 2004, Page 27

Tortoise tales

From Susan Turner

Sir: My brother was given a tortoise to cheer him up while recovering from whooping cough, aged seven (Letters, 5 June). He named it Jimmy. Previous tortoises had all died during winter months, but Jimmy survived thanks to his hibernation box. In due course my brother took over the family house including Jimmy Tortoise. Just a few years before my brother died, aged nearly 70, Jimmy Tortoise stopped eating. My brother took him to the vet, who explained that examination of a tortoise was difficult because of its skeleton being on the outside. He could offer no remedy and Jimmy died. We don't know his age when purchased but he was certainly mature. He survived in our family for about 60 years.

Susan Turner

Cheadle, Cheshire