Tortoise swallowed turtle pendant

Veterinarians see a little bit of everything in their day-to-day work, but Dr. Don Harris got a bit of a surprise when he X-rayed a tortoise on Monday.



Harris was examining Lola the tortoise after his owner brought the male tortoise into Avian & Exotic Animal Medical Center in Miami, Florida, because he was poorly over the weekend and wasn’t as hungry as usual. It turns out, Lola had been having stomach problems for about a month, so Harris sent the tortoise for an X-ray.



“When I saw the X-ray, I thought the staff was playing a joke on me,” Harris said. “What I saw in the tortoise’s intestines was a little metallic sea turtle. I thought they had slipped a pendant under the tortoise. But somewhere along the way, this guy ate a little metallic sea turtle.”



Harris said tortoises graze like cattle and eat the grass, plants, and other things; so it’s not uncommon for them to eat rocks and other objects. But, the vet said this was the first time he’s ever seen a tortoise eating a turtle pendant. The vet said Lola is in good health and that the small turtle pendant should be digested soon.

There's a news video here.