Timmy the tortoise knows you cant hurry love but after 48 years of the single life he is finally entering the dating game.
After nearly half a century alone, Timmy has suddenly started getting randy with household objects leading his owner to post an online lonely hearts advert.
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Andrew Gipson, who has had the Hermanns tortoise since he was a young boy, is playing Cupid after getting a response form a tortoise society in Norfolk.
Andy, 52, said: Its only recently Ive noticed him being so keen. Hell try and mount the dustpan brush, my shoes and hes had a long session with the umbrella base.
Hes never been this eager before.
Andy was just four years old when he was introduced to Timmy by his Nan, who worked at Whipsnade Zoo.
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He said: They had a couple of spares so she brought him home as a pet for me and my brother. He was the size of a 50-pence piece.
The pair grew up together, but as Andrew came of age and had his first teenage romances, Timmy remained uninterested in women.
But the former IT support worker noticed a change come over his shelled friend after recently moving from Milton Keynes back to Diss, Norfolk, to help care for his parents.
He said: I dont know how old tortoises are when they mature but obviously for Timmy its at 48.
Hermanns tortoises, found naturally in the Mediterranean, have been known to live for more than 110 years.
After posting the lonely hearts ad to Facebook, Andy was contacted by a tortoise society based in Norfolk.
He said: They told me that if I go along, theyre going to introduce him to some suitable tortoises. Theyve said he might be a bit desperate and be too enthusiastic.
I hope he can sow his oats. It will be interesting to see his reaction.
But Andy does have some concerns, as he was told that home-bred tortoises could pass diseases to each other.
I would rather have a desperate virgin than no tortoise at all, he said.
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