Halfpenny-Farm Animal Sanctuary

04/09/2026

Yesterday was a tiring day for us and 2 of our turtles.
Turtellini was booked into Fife exotic vets after a lump was found on the side of his neck, while getting him ready for the journey, we noticed Aristurtle had a swollen fore foot, so he came along too.
I’m glad we went though, because we learned a lot and also need to change a few things about their husbandry.
Aristurtle has a very sore food and bruising on his belly, it may be that the basking area is too hard and causing injury to the belly and foot. X-rays were clear with good bone density although they are both a bit lean so we will up their feeds to try and get more weight on them. We are awaiting the blood tests results to check general health and that there is no infection elsewhere.
Aristurtle needs a salt bath, then iodine on the sore bits, an antibiotic injection and pain relief for 2 weeks.
Turtellini had x-rays too and all looks good, a sample was taken from the lump, again to be sent to a lab to try and determine if the lump is an abscess, haematoma or tumour ( they are apparently fairly common in sliders).
He also had a sore pinkie and bruised belly, so need a salt bath and iodine on his pinkie!
We are now looking at how to improve the basking area so that it’s softer on the terrapins as they climb onto them. Our thinking caps are on and we are grateful we to have been given this advice on improving their care and lives.
The visit was expensive, and added to having 4 guinea pig visits and Piper’s treatment at our own vet, our bill for this week is over £1000!
If anybody would consider helping towards our vet bills, we would be very thankful.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/halfpenny-need-your-help?attribution_id=sl:85ddd2e9-d7ee-4a53-8950-115163c60e7c&lang=en_GB&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_content=amp13_c-amp14_c&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=messenger&fbclid=IwVERDUAUHrnRwZG9mAWZkaWQWUNz0b7kZVKO6cTgVq2rdxnuqgEiD6mV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR6wq8xA61_lJ9d2xW8spYIq3ApY1QJW5kd-nhvnFGDecq7icyInM5UczxOkhQ_aem_dWX-SlllQokYhDwxCPsbIA

02/09/2026

Our vet has just called and Piper has sadly passed away. The vets were monitoring her carefully and tried to revive her but it was not to be.
Goodbye Sweetie pie, although you and Mouse were both very nervous timid wee things on arrival, you grew to enjoy a stroke and sitting outside in the sun.
You will be sadly missed.

We also have Piper in the vet overnight very unwell, with heart failure.
We noticed she was breathing very heavily this morning, so took her to the vet. She was admitted for tests and her lungs were full of fluid. They kept her in and removed 200mls of fluid and then put her onto diuretics to try and help her heart. She deteriorated during the afternoon even on the medication, so they have had to up the dosage. This means she does not have a great prognosis, but is being kept in overnight to give the meds IV. We only lost her brother, Mouse, 2 months ago to suspected heart failure, so it has come as a shock to us because she seemed to be doing well for a 13 year old lady.
Please keep your fingers crossed for her.

02/09/2026

We sadly lost wee Wilfred, the guinea pig tonight. He was born here 4 years ago during Covid, when we took his mum in, unbeknownst to us, pregnant.
She had 5 babies, 3 boys and 2 girls, all the boys have now passed, after developing the same symptoms of becoming quiet and losing weight but we could never get a firm diagnosis of what was going on, although some kind of congenital heart condition was suspected.
Wilfred survived the longest and was actually booked into Fife Exotic Vets tomorrow to try and find out what was going on with him. He had already had many tests and a dental at Donview vets, but they could not find anything obvious, our hope was the Exotic vet might be able to find something.
Sadly we found him collapsed at 4.30pm and by the time we got him to Donview, he was practically gone. We are so upset but it must have been something catastrophic and we may well not have been able to do much anyway.
He was a lovely wee lad and was happily living with his sisters who are fat and healthy.
Sleep well wee man.

31/08/2026

It’s a year today since we lost Bournville, the place just isn’t the same without him.

29/08/2026

All set up and ready to go at the Kintore Street Party!

28/08/2026

Leanne and Janice will have a stall at the street party tomorrow, so if you want to know what we do, are looking to volunteer or want to support in some other way, pay them a visit and have a chat!

A post on behalf of Kintore Street Party - Saturday 29th August 2026.

All day fun in central Kintore from 10:50am to 5pm!

Locations
- Town House and Square
- Bennachie Parish Church at Kintore; Kirk & Hall
- Kintore Community Church
- Kintore Scout Hut
- The Bothie
- Kintore Fire Station

Bring lots of cash please as most stalls will be cash only!

- Purchase tickets at the Information Booth in the Square.

For more information, please have a look at the dedicated page:

https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61590928708528

28/08/2026

China the guinea pig had a vet visit on Wednesday due to an ulcer in her eye, we suspect she’s poked it with a bit of hay. It was very sore, but after 3 different eye drops, 2 being given 4 x a day, 15 minutes apart, one being given 3 times a day and pain relief once a day, she’s looking much better and is more comfortable.
She’s back on Monday for a re-exam to find out how long we keep going with the drops.

28/08/2026

Another day, another vet visit to organise!
Turtellini has a lump at the side of his neck, we suspect an aural abscess, but need a vet visit to confirm and treat it, which may involve an op. Terrapins are pretty specialist so he is off down to Fife Exotic Vets on Thursday to be assessed. Our vet bills are mounting up as our animals are usually elderly when they come and usually need some for of treatment so please consider donating to help with the bills, if you can spare a few pennies.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/halfpenny-need-your-help?attribution_id=sl:85ddd2e9-d7ee-4a53-8950-115163c60e7c&lang=en_GB&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_content=amp13_c-amp14_c&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=messenger&fbclid=IwVERDUAT-RvZwZG9mAWZkaWQWUNXmCs2sSGPTcM3fBBppa8CBifkXbmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkCjY2Mjg1NjgzNzkAAR5-rkMY7K-j0h6p0goZslLKa1SExevhWBMH0Q3KbxSTZyG4LcEIC0s0aBS-Ug_aem_5eGMGzQucDQVu3aNqfQV3g

27/08/2026

Please consider donating to these lovely lads who are doing the beast race in September.
Support like this helps keep us going and allows us to continue supporting animals in our care and allowing us to help others in need.

Steven and Mason have signed up for The Beast Race which is taking place on Saturday 12 Septemb… Steven Mathieson needs your support for The Beast Race 2026

27/08/2026

Our lambs are now over a month old and will soon be bigger than mum.
Louis has been castrated and they have both had their first heptavac vaccine to protect them against clostridial diseases. They need another one in 3 weeks.
Branwen is being a fantastic mum, especially when we think these are her first babies at the age of 6 and she had to go through a Caesarian.
Branwen, unknown to us, arrived pregnant but it wasn’t until 3 weeks before she gave birth that we suspected. We had no idea when she was due, so we had a week of pregnancy watch before she went into labour. It was lucky we realised she was expecting and she may well need a Caesarian being such a small sheep. We had no idea what size the father was and if we hadn’t been watchful we might have lost her and the babies.
Certainly looking at the size of the lambs, dad was most likely a big commercial ram, and the babes are going to be big and chunky.