Like a reptilian version of a Matryoshka doll, a sulcata tortoise in Florida in the US has landed up at a local animal hospital after swallowing a miniature, metallic version of itself: a turtle-shaped charm pendant.

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Image: Avian & Exotic Animal Medical Center/Don J. Harris, DVM.

The tortoise, which goes by the name of Lola, was admitted to the Avian & Exotic Animal Medical Center with a unexplained bout of constipation ... and after a series of X-rays, the resident veterinarian quickly got to the bottom of the mystery.

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Image: Avian & Exotic Animal Medical Center/Don J. Harris, DVM.
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Image: Avian & Exotic Animal Medical Center/Don J. Harris, DVM.

“I thought the techs were playing a joke on me,” the centre's Dr Don J. Harris told CBS News. “Somewhere along the way, this tortoise swallowed a charm shaped like a sea turtle!”

Luckily for Lola, it looks like this predicament is nothing that a good dose of enemas and laxatives can't sort out. 

Stay away from the sparkly snacks next time, Lola!