Causes and Treatment Methods of Shell Rot in Turtles Explained
The turtle is also known as the golden turtle, grass turtle, mud turtle and mountain turtle, etc. In animal taxonomy, it belongs to the class Reptilia, order Testudines, family Emydidae, and is one of the common Testudines animals. It is an ancient extant reptile. It is characterized by a very hard shell on its body, and when attacked, the turtle can retract its head, tail and limbs into the shell (except sea turtles and snapping turtles). Most turtles are carnivorous, feeding on worms, snails, shrimp and small fish, and also eating plant stems and leaves. Turtles are distributed almost everywhere in China, but the yield is higher in the provinces along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. Guangxi and Shandong also produce them, with greater numbers especially in southeastern Guangxi and southern Guangxi. Abroad, they are mainly distributed in Japan, Brazil and Korea.
Because turtles have relatively high requirements for water quality, if the water quality is not paid attention to during breeding, it is very easy to make turtles sick, such as shell rot. Shell rot is a common disease of turtles.
I. Causes of the disease
The reason is that turtles have high requirements for water quality, so when keeping Chinese pond turtles in daily life, attention should be paid to water quality, and direct use of tap water should be avoided. There are two situations of shell rot: one is rotting from the outside inward, and the other is rotting from the inside outward. The second kind cannot be found with the naked eye in the early stage, and there is no foul smell.
II. Treatment of the disease
When encountering shell rot, the first thing is to confirm the scope, dig out the rotten parts, then disinfect, apply Yunnan Baiyao, and then keep it dry. It is also fine to disinfect with hydrogen peroxide. First wash the areas carrying bacteria, and after they dry, some iodophor can be applied, then a little externally applied antibiotic granules, and let it get more sunlight.
In addition, soaking in water for 30 minutes a day is enough, to replenish water + feed, and the rest of the time it should be kept dry. With sufficient sunlight, it generally takes more than half a month to heal.