|
|
 |
Turtle diseases
We describe the diseases we have already seen on our turtles. If in doubt it is
always recommended to see a veterinarian who is familiar with treating turtles, and
there are not many. At
schildkroeten.com you can find a list of qualified vets in Germany.
|
|
Shell rot
In august 2000 we "rescued" our female from a pet shop. Actually we shouldn't
have bought her since she wasn't healthy at first sight. Two claws of the fore limbs
were missing, the nail beds were infected with a fungus, and there were signs of shell
rot at the plastron.
Shell rot or necrosis is a damage to the tissue that results from dying cells. It is caused
by bacteria gaining access to the layer beneath the horny scutes. The symptoms are white
patches on the shell or even holes. If shell rot is suspected it is best to see a
veterinarian who removes the scutes above the affected area and the necrotic tissue. Afterwards the
wound is disinfected.
The healing takes some time. The turtle has to be kept as dry as possible for a few weeks.
It is allowed into the water only for feeding. After being
in the water the turtle has to be put into a pottasium permanganate dilution for 20 minutes.
Then it is wiped dry and Panalog cream which is a topical antibiotic can be applied to the wound.
The same cream was used for the nail beds. Panalog does not come off in the water and is
quite greasy. It has to be wiped off after a few hours, otherwise the air that is needed
for the healing process will be kept away, and the next bath in pottasium permanganate would
be without effect.
6 month after we started the treatment the wound was completely closed and the
spot was hardly recognizable. It took about the same time for the nail beds to recover. Meanwhile
even the claws on the fore limbs are grown again.
|
|
Cold
Turtles can catch a cold, which can be the beginning of a serious respiratory infection
or pneumonia if it is not treated. Pneumonia is a common cause of death for turtles.
The symptomes for a simple cold are a running nose and apathy. Our sick animal did not leave
the basking place all day and was yawning frequently. It has to be said that turtles
yawn from time to time, but if they do it frequently it is probably a sign of a respiratory
infection.
If the symptoms indicate a cold it is important to keep the animal warm. The water- and airtemperature
have to be raised by a few degrees to activate the immune system of the turtle. To be sure
a veterinarian should be seen. That has to be done immediately if the turtle gets worse,
if there are problems with the breathing (like whistling or rasping noises), if the
eyes are swollen or if the turtle won't feed. The vet can take a smear from the throat for
an analysis. It is possible that antibiotics are necessary, they can be given orally
or by injection, that's the veterinarian's decision.
|
|
Drowning
Turtles have lungs, and they have to come to the water surface for breathing. If they
can't do that because they are exhausted or they get caught in a root or something they drown.
They can be without oxygen for quite a long time, so it is often possible to reanimate a
turtle that look like its dead. To get the water out of the lungs the following First Aid Measures are necessary:
- The neck has to be expanded, i.e. the head should not be withdrawn.
- The turtle is held upside down (not on the back, but tail up, head down), and the mouth is opened for the water to drip out.
- The turtle is laid belly-down on a flat surface and you try to pump the water out of the lungs. You straighten the fore limbs and
pull them towards you. Then the limbs are pushed in as far as possible. The limbs should not be bend while doing this.
You have to repeat this until no more water comes out.
After this it is best to see a vet who can provide the turtle with oxygen and can give a respiratory stimulant
until the animal shows signs of life.
We have already experienced a drowned turtle that looked like it was dead, but luckily recovered in the end.
When we came home one night the female lay on the ground of the tank, eyes wide open
and all limbs limp. We got her out of the water immediately, but she did not move
any more. We didn't know the First-Aid-Measures at that time and also didn't really know
what had happened. An experienced turtle keeper we contacted suspected water in the lungs
and gave us hints we followed. We put the turtle on a ramp in a way that the head was lower
than the rest. A heating lamp was not allowed because that would have caused the liquid in
the lung to expland.
The turtle didn't move all night. Two or three times she opened the mouth like she was yawning,
but that did look more like the last convulsion and not like a sign of life.
We put her in a carton box for the night, because we didn't want to leave her lying around
uncovered.
On the next morning we wanted to take a last look at the dead turtle, but she wasn't dead at all.
She could hardly move or hold her head, but she looked at us. We kept the turtle dry for a few days, until she was able to hold her head over water. Five days
later she was completely ok and could be put back into her tank. Until today we don't know
how this could happend, actually it should not have been a problem for the turtle to
reach the surface.
The First-Aid-Measures can also be found at Valerie Haecky's Site.
|
|
|
