【翻译】－3

    TO SUMMARIZE: （概述）
    • Do not attempt to hibernate ANY tortoise if you suspect it may be a tropical variety. Consult us for help with identification. The         Tortoise Trust can assist with identifying any tortoise, so if you do have a tortoise you are not certain about, and you send us a reasonable quality photograph, we can often help.
    不要尝试让你怀疑是热带龟种的龟冬眠。与我们联系来确定他的品种。Tortoise Trust可以帮助你鉴别任何种类的陆龟，也就是说如果你需要鉴别你的龟龟的种类，发一张相对清楚的照片给我们，我们通常会帮助你的。

    • When purchasing a tortoise from a pet supplier, it is certain to be a species requiring very special care. Obtain an accurate statement from the supplier as to what it actually is, and be sure that you are going to be able to provide the environment it needs. Unfortunately, in our experience, the vast majority of ordinary pet traders are not very knowledgeable about the real needs of reptiles, so cross-check any information you are given with a reliable, independent source.
    当你从宠物商那里买到龟龟时（评：最好不买缅陆和凹甲，这些国内的陆龟正面临很大的生存威胁。）你需要特别注意，确定你买的龟龟的种类。从宠物商那里获得准确的信息，从而确定你是否能提供这种龟所必须的饲养环境。不幸的是，相当多数的宠物商并不十分了解爬虫的需要，所以需要你对听到的所有关于爬虫信息有自己的判断。

    • Remember that in general the smaller the tortoise the more likely it is to end up as a hibernation casualty. Very small tortoises must be given a shorter, carefully controlled hibernation.
    不要忘了，通常越小的龟龟越容易在冬眠中夭亡。非常小的龟龟需要短期的，非常小心控制下的冬眠。

    • Never ever attempt to hibernate a tortoise which you suspect is ill. To put a sick or underweight tortoise into hibernation is to condemn it to certain death.
    永远不要尝试让生病或者失重的龟冬眠，这无疑是在向他们判死刑。

    Dietary management （饮食管理）
    Tortoises which are provided with the incorrect diet for their species can suffer serious problems, particularly in respect of the liver and kidneys. If these are damaged, the risks associated with hibernation are very greatly increased. While some tropical tortoises and box turtles do require animal protein, desert species do not, and nor do 'common' or Mediterranean tortoises. So, despite what you may have read elsewhere, never provide meat products to 'common' tortoises. In the long term, it can and does kill. Tortoises require a diet which is HIGH in minerals and vitamins, LOW in fats and proteins and HIGH in dietary fiber. Meat products are totally the opposite, and lead to enhanced urea levels, which damage the kidneys and cause a massive build-up of fats in the liver. The high phosphorous content of most meat products also seriously affects the Calcium-Phosphorous (Ca:P) ratio of the diet, which in turn leads to acute nutritional osteo-dystrophy or "lumpy shell syndrome". Our own tortoises not only survive, but thrive without any meat products whatsoever, they breed successfully, and the hatchlings have beautiful, perfectly formed shells without lumps, bumps or pyramids. Living proof that claims of the "necessity" of meat for tortoises are entirely inaccurate.

    向龟龟提供不适合他们品种的食物，会带来严重问题，主要是对肝脏和肾脏带来伤害。如果这些器官收到伤害，会使冬眠的风险大大增加。虽然一些热带陆龟和箱龟需要一定的动物性蛋白质，但“普通”的陆龟（沙漠类陆龟和地中海类陆龟）都不需要。所以，不管你曾在别处听到过什么，永远不要提供肉类食物给“普通”的陆龟。喂一段时间肉类食物，他们必然会被杀死。陆龟需要含有大量矿物质和维生素的食物，同事需要食物低蛋白，低脂肪，高纤维。肉类食物和这些正好完全相反，会增加尿素水平。这会伤害肾脏，并引起肝脏堆积大量脂肪。肉中的高磷含量，也会大大降低食物的钙磷比例（Ca:P）。这回带来严重的营养失调，或者“隆背综合症”。不需要肉类食物，在正确的喂养下，我们的龟龟能可以成活的非常好，孵化出来的小龟会有非常漂亮，有完美成型的壳。不会出现肿块，凹陷，隆背。实践证明，陆龟需要肉类食物是完全错误的。

    Suitable dietary items for Mediterranean and Desert tortoises can include:
    适合地中海陆龟和沙漠陆龟的食物包括：

    Romaine or red leaf lettuce, in very limited quantities. Never use head lettuces such as iceberg, head lettuces contain very little in the way of adequate vitamins or minerals. Opuntia (spineless) prickly pear cactus, pads and fruit. Sometimes referred to as "Nopales", the fruit are often referred to as "tunas", watercress, dandelion, naturally occurring non-toxic weeds, hibiscus flowers and leaves, white (Dutch) clover, both leaves and flowers, rose leaves and petals, and sowthistle.
    莴苣和和红叶生菜必须严格限量供应。千万不要给你的龟龟饲喂类似iceberg（根据我英国同事的说法，就是生菜的一种，程球状不是很实心。） 的球状生菜。球状生菜的维生素和矿物质营养成分极低，无法满足龟龟的需要。无刺的叶片仙人掌（spineless Prickly Pear Cactus）的叶片和果实、西洋菜（豆瓣菜watercress）、蒲公英、自然生长的无毒无害的野草；芙蓉属植物的花和叶子、白三叶草（white clover）的叶子和花，玫瑰的叶子和花瓣、苦苣菜(sowthistle)。

    Most land tortoises can and do fare quite well when allowed to graze, offering the other listed items as supplements. Twice weekly, a commercial food, such as Pretty Pets Tortoise Food, can be offered as a dietary supplement. Never offer cabbage, spinach, chard, bok choy, or any vegetable related to these, as they inhibit calcium absorption and can cause tremendous health problems. Add a mineral-vitamin supplement + extra calcium. The use of cuttlebone left in the enclosures allows tortoises to regulate the amount of calcium in the diet. Some tortoises like this very much, while others will not eat it. For those that won't, the use of a phosphorous free calcium supplement is recommended.

    绝大多数的陆龟都非常适合于放牧，可以补充许多以上没有列出的植物作为食物。每周可以两次饲喂龟龟人工合成饲料，比如Pretty Pets Tortoise Food，作为饲料营养成分的补充。绝对不要饲喂卷心菜、菠菜、甜菜、bok choy（驱虫苋）等任何与这些植物类似的蔬菜。因为这些植物能够抑制钙的吸收，并带来严重的健康问题。在饲料中应该加入矿物质、维生素添加剂，尤其是提供更多的钙质。在龟龟周围放置一些墨鱼骨，可以为龟龟补充足够的钙：有些龟龟非常适合这种方式，他们可以自主选择钙质的补充量，不过也有些龟龟根本不吃。对于那些不吃墨鱼骨的龟龟，我们还是推荐不含磷的钙质添加剂。

    (评：这里推荐使用墨鱼骨，我想是够权威的了。我本人在使用墨鱼骨的过程中也感觉受益非潜。推荐大家放心用吧。）

    Grass is actually quite a useful food for tortoises (especially Desert, Leopard and African Spurred tortoises) , but is not adequate by itself. It is particularly useful as a source of dietary fibre. Certainly many giant tortoises enjoy it as part of their natural diet, and young grass shoots are equally favored by many other species. Dandelions and parsley are excellent, having a positive Ca:P ratio and being particularly rich in vitamin A (14,000 i.u/100g for dandelion, 11,000 i.u/100g in the case of parsley). When feeding weeds or wild flowers, be sure that they are free of weed killer or other lethal contaminants. On the same subject, never use slug pellets or other garden chemicals anywhere near tortoises.

    事实上对许多龟龟（尤其是沙漠陆龟、豹龟和非洲多棘龟）来说，草是重要的食物，但仅仅有草是不够的。草特别适合于作为食物中纤维的来源。很多大型的龟都把草作为日常的饲料，对于草的鲜嫩的芽则几乎受到所有龟龟的衷爱。蒲公英和欧芹是绝佳的食物，不仅含有正确的钙、磷比例还富含维生素A（蒲公英 14，000国际单位/100克；欧芹11，000国际单位/100克）。当饲喂野草或野花时，千万注意不含除草剂或其他有害物质。在放牧的龟龟的范围内或附近千万不能应用颗粒状化肥或任何化学制剂。

【翻译】－4

    IS YOUR TORTOISE FIT TO HIBERNATE?
    你的龟适合冬眠吗？

    Many people are surprised when we ask this question, not as the first frosts are beginning to make their presence felt, but as early as mid-August, when the days may still be bright and hot! We ask in mid-August because, as far as your tortoise is concerned, this is when it reaches a classic 'go-no-go' situation as far as its biological clock is concerned. Leaving the decision on hibernation until September, October or November is simply too late. If a tortoise is not fit to hibernate by the end of August, then it is not going to be fit in October. In order to survive hibernation in good condition, tortoises need to have built up sufficient reserves of body fat; this in turn stores vitamins and water. Without fat, vitamins and water tortoises die of starvation or dehydration. Adequate reserves of body fat are vital to tortoises in hibernation; they live off these reserves, and if the reserves run out too soon then the animal's body will begin to use up the fat contained within the muscles and internal organs, eventually these too will become exhausted. At this point the tortoise will simply die in hibernation.

    当我们在每年的八月中旬，而不是第一次的霜降之际问及这个问题的时候，很多人都会感到奇怪，因为天气还很晴热呢！我们之所以在8月中旬问这个问题，是因为你所照顾的龟往往在这个时候会到达“冬眠或不冬眠”的生物钟开始发挥作用的时刻。到底是否冬眠的决心在最晚九月份之前就应该有个结果，因为等到了10月或11月就显然太晚了。如果龟龟在8月底之前还没有做好冬眠的准备，那么即使到了十月份，同样也不会做好相应的准备。为了能够顺利的度过漫长的休眠期，并保持身体处于健康的状况，龟龟必须在体内储存足够的脂肪，然后是维生素和水分。如果体内没有储存足够的脂肪、维生素和水分他们就会饿死或脱水而死。足够的脂肪的储备是龟龟能否顺利冬眠的关键；在冬眠期间，龟龟会消耗这些脂肪储备，当这些储备消耗殆尽时，为了维持生命，会进一步消耗肌肉甚至内脏器官中的脂肪，如果后面这两类脂肪被消耗完结，龟龟必定会在休眠过程中死去。

    （评：这点，往往被我们忽视了，需要特别注意。）

    Check:
    清仔细检查：

    • BOTH EYES: for signs of swelling, inflammation or discharge. If there is a problem, consult a veterinary surgeon with extensive experience of treating reptile patients.
    双眼：如果出现肿胀、发炎、过多的分泌物溢出等任何症状，请立即与有经验的爬行动物兽医取得联系，并尽快解决问题。

    • THE NOSE: For signs of discharge; a persistently runny nose requires urgent veterinary investigation. Tortoises with this symptom must also be isolated from contact with others, as some varieties of RNS ('Runny Nose Syndrome') are highly infectious. The presence of excess mucus also encourages bacterial growth, and hence places the tortoise in additional danger from diseases such as necrotic stomatitis.
    鼻子：鼻流清涕的龟龟必须立即进行兽医治疗。鼻孔分泌物过多的个体也需要马上与其他龟龟隔离，比如RNS（流鼻综合症）具有很强的传染性。过多的分泌物也同时助长了其他有害细菌的滋长，甚至是龟龟面对“坏死性口炎”的威胁。

    • THE TAIL: For inflammation or internal infection; tortoises with cloacitis 'leak' from the tail and smell strongly. Any signs of abnormality should be investigated by a veterinary surgeon. It will help if you take a fresh sample of cloacal excretion for a veterinarian to examine under the microscope.
    尾巴：重点检查是否有炎症或体内寄生虫感染，这种状况往往伴随强烈的异味。任何炎症的出现都需要兽医立即进行医学方面的检查，常规的手段是组织取样或粪便取样，必要的时候需要进行粪样镜检。

    • LEGS: Look for any unusual lumps or swellings; abscesses are common in reptiles and if left untreated can result in loss of limb or even death. Report any unusual findings to a competent veterinary surgeon who may want to X-ray the affected part.
    四肢：仔细检查是否有肿块或炎症的迹象，尽管在爬行动物中四肢的肿块很常见，但如果不进行及时治疗往往会导致截肢甚至性命不保。及时向有经验的兽医报告你所发现的异常情况，根据需要，收益可能会进行X光检查。

    • EARS: The membranes covering the inner ear should be either flat or slightly concave; ear abscesses are very common and can have fatal consequences if treatment is not obtained. The ear scales, the tympanic membranes, are the two large 'scales' just behind the jaw-bone.
    耳鼓：内耳孔上覆盖的耳鼓膜往往是平的或者微微凹陷；耳鼓鼓胀很常见，同时如果不经过及时治疗往往也很致命。龟龟的耳鼓膜通常在下颚骨的后边。

    • INSIDE THE MOUTH: Look for any sign of abnormality; necrotic stomatitis or 'mouth-rot' is a highly contagious disease of captive reptiles. It is characterized by the appearance of a yellow 'cheesy' substance in the mouth, or by a deep red-purple tinge, or by the appearance of small blood-spots. Sometimes all three symptoms are present. Expert veterinary treatment is called for as a matter of urgency if the animal is to be saved.
    口腔内部：寻找任何的异常。坏死性口炎在爬行动物中是具有极强的传染性的。这种传染病的典型症状是在口腔内出现“奶酪样”物质，或者呈现深红至紫色的口腔颜色；或者是出现出血点，又是这三种症状会同时出现。在这种情况下，只有马上请有经验的兽医进行紧急处理才有可能保住龟龟小命。

    （评：以上检查其实还是很容易的，所以想让龟龟冬眠的龟友，请按照上面说的，检查自己的龟龟。）

    These basic checks form your essential pre-hibernation examination. Provided your tortoise is up to weight and no other abnormalities can be detected, then you may begin preparation for hibernation. The golden rule, however, at all times is IF IN DOUBT SEEK EXPERT ADVICE. Our experience is that owners who fail to act promptly when problems occur usually end up, sooner or later, with a dead tortoise. One final, and critically important point before we actually deal with how to hibernate your tortoise. Very many tortoises die each year because owners attempt to hibernate them while they still contain undigested food matter within their gastro-intestinal system. It is natural for tortoises to gradually reduce their food intake as fall approaches (this is one reason why, if they are underweight in August, they will certainly not have put on any extra weight by October). A tortoise's digestive system is governed to a great extent by temperature, but generally speaking, when the animal's biological processes are slowing down it takes between 4-6 weeks for the food last consumed to pass completely through the gastro-intestinal tract. In other words, do not attempt to hibernate any tortoise if it has eaten within the last month to six weeks. Delay hibernation rather than allow a tortoise to hibernate while the possibility of undigested food matter within the intestine remains.

    上述这些基本检查必须要在冬眠之前进行。如果你的龟的体重也达到标准，而且没有任何的异常情况，你就可以为冬眠做准备了。在这里有一条金科玉律：任何疑问都要请教行家！根据我们以往的经验，任何不能及时解决疑惑的龟龟的持有者，等待他们的结果无论快还是慢，但都会是龟龟的死亡。另外还有一点尤为重要：在我们正式开展冬眠准备之前必须注意。每年大批的龟龟的致死原因都一样：主人们在龟龟的消化道没有完全排空之前就令它们冬眠了。在秋天来临之际，龟龟会很自然的减少进食量（这也是一支体重不能达标的龟从8月中旬之后直到10月份龟龟的体重基本不会增加的原因之一），龟龟的消化系统的功效受温度的影响极大，一般地说，当龟龟的消化机能减退的时候，往往食物从摄入到完全排出需要4-6周的时间。也就是说，千万不要试图冬眠一只在过去的一个月至6周之内有过进食的龟龟！宁可推迟冬眠的时间也不能使龟龟进入冬眠时消化道内还有未排出的食物。

    （评：食物短缺，或者禁食，可以有效刺激龟龟身体选择冬眠。）

    Tortoises which are hibernated with food still remaining inside are unlikely to survive in good health. The food decays, produces large quantities of gas and causing tympanic colic which brings about asphyxiation due to internal pressure on the lungs. This error of husbandry is also responsible for a number of serious, and usually fatal, bacterial infections inside the tortoise.

    消化道中还有未排空的食物的龟龟几乎没有从冬眠中健康的醒来的可能。这些未排出的食物会在消化道内产生大量的有害气体引起疝气。由于龟壳的固定容积，产生的气体不能排除使肺受到极大的压迫。这种严重的错误，也是使龟龟受到其他很多致命病菌感染的原因。

    （评：好可怕！）

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