The tale of the tortoise and his nose. (.. or the story of what happens to the food we eat) By: Keith Ross Illustrations by Megan Ross Not all tortoises need to hibernate, but Chloe’s did. He was a Hermann’s and was around 10kg. He was a birthday present 4 years ago and since then both she and the tortoise had grown. This year she helped her mum make Esio ready for his winter sleep. It was important to weigh him every week, her mother explained, but when Chloe saw that he was losing around 100g every week she was alarmed. “ He not poo-ing or wee-ing, so what’s happening?” “ You remember we fed him well up till the time we started his hibernation routine? Well he has to use that food to keep him alive whilst he sleeps.” “ But I thought our food went down the toilet when we’ve used it, and he’s not made any mess at all?” “ Well a little bit of our food does get flushed away, that’s true, but most stays in our bodies where it is useful.” “...