A veterinarian receives an unexpected discovery whilst X-raying a large African tortoise in the upcoming episode of The Yorkshire Vet.

Bernie, a tortoise from a local zoo, is brought to see Matt Exotic during Tuesday's (10 March) instalment of the Channel 5 programme after staff observed that she had "not been herself".

In a preview from the episode, Matt can be heard exclaiming "wow" as he X-rays her and discovers 10 eggs.

He clarifies that since Bernie hasn't laid them, the "worst case scenario" would involve surgically extracting them by cutting into her shell.

The preview was posted on Instagram with the caption: "Bernie the big African tortoise has come in from the local zoo, where they're concerned because she's not been herself recently. Matt has his suspicions, and is shocked by what he sees on the X-ray results.", reports the Mirror.

The footage shows the vet welcoming Bernie into the surgery, as he notes that this species of tortoise "hails from the land of the Sahara", where it's "a bit different to Huddersfield".

Bernie is positioned for the X-ray, whilst Matt and his assistant wait for the findings.

"Right, moment of truth," he states as he examines his computer monitor. The vet promptly identifies all of the eggs, exclaiming: "Wow! It's a lot of eggs.

"No wonder she's shuffling around like she needs to lay. We've got one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten eggs knocking around in there. So Bernie is pregnant with 10 eggs."

He added: "Those eggs have clearly got a shell and they're ready to be laid.

"And because she's not getting on with the job, if they were to stay in there, they can cause problems, infections.

"Worst case scenario is they would have to surgically remove those eggs, which would mean sawing into that shell, which is by no means a simple undertaking."

The Yorkshire Vet first broadcast on Channel 5 back in 2015.

Following veterinarians including Julian and Peter Wright as they treat various animals with a range of ailments across Yorkshire, it has proved popular amongst audiences and 22 series of the programme have been broadcast so far.

The Yorkshire Vet airs on Channel 5

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