PET owners were not slow to come forward to a special health check for tortoises in Bury.
The "weigh-in" attracted 27 tortoises to the Wilkinsons store, The Rock, where experts gave a free examination.
Mr John Thorpe, northern regional chairman of the British Chelonia Group, which organised the event, said: "One of the main aims is to check them over and get people to take them seriously."
He is pictured (left), with 50-year-old tortoise Timmy, who weighed in at a healthy 6lbs, watched by owner Lynn Appleton and Shauna Morgan (8).
Mr Thorpe added: "Some people think looking after a tortoise is a simple job, but there is actually so much to it, especially if they fall ill."
The British Chelonia Group was formed in the late 1970s. Another weigh-in is planned for the spring.
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