Detailed Guide to Prevention and Treatment Techniques for Common Turtle Diseases

After turtles eat, a sudden drop in environmental temperature, or the feeding of stale or unclean bait, or deteriorating water quality can all cause illness in turtles. Below, the editor of Qiannong Net will take a look with everyone at the symptoms and prevention and treatment measures for common diseases during turtle breeding!

Gastroenteritis

[Cause] After turtles eat, a sudden drop in environmental temperature, or the feeding of stale or unclean bait, or deteriorating water quality can all cause turtles to suffer from this disease.

[Symptoms] In mildly affected turtles, there is a small amount of mucus in the feces or the feces are soft and loose, appearing yellow, green, or dark green, and the turtle eats little. In severely affected turtles, the feces are watery or mucus-like, appearing sauce-colored or blood-red. The turtle stops eating!

[Prevention and Treatment] To treat gastroenteritis, a small amount of berberine, chloramphenicol, or other human medications for treating gastroenteritis can be added to the feed. If the turtle is not eating, intramuscular injection is needed, though few individuals have this ability. The solution of the above medications can also be used for soaking, but the therapeutic effect is not obvious. In other words, if a turtle gets gastroenteritis, it must be treated promptly. Once it stops eating, it becomes very difficult to cure and can lead to the turtle's death!

Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicemia

[Cause] Pseudomonas aeruginosa widely exists in soil and sewage. It mainly infects through the digestive tract and wounds. This bacterium is also present in bait and water sources!

[Symptoms] Sick turtles have no appetite, eat little, vomit, and pass yellow or brown purulent feces!

[Prevention and Treatment] Prevention is better than cure, so paying attention to the turtle's environmental hygiene and the cleanliness of feed and drinking water will prevent bacterial infection. Once illness occurs, streptomycin can be mixed into the feed, or a streptomycin solution can be used for soaking!

Scab disease

[Cause] It mostly occurs in aquatic turtles and semi-aquatic turtles. The pathogen is Aeromonas hydrophila subsp. punctata. It often exists in water, and on turtle skin and in the intestinal tract. When the water environment is good, turtles are carriers. Once the environment becomes polluted or the body surface is injured, the bacteria multiply massively and cause illness in turtles!

[Symptoms] Several soybean-sized white scabs appear on the neck and limbs. When squeezed by hand, yellow or white bean-dregs-like contents come out from around them. In the early stage, sick turtles can still eat, but food intake gradually decreases. In severe cases, they stop eating and respond slowly. Generally, it can cause the death of sick turtles in 2-3 weeks.

[Prevention and Treatment] First, isolate and raise the sick turtle, squeeze out all the contents inside the scabs, apply iodine tincture to the affected area, and apply oxytetracycline powder, then insert a cotton ball coated with oxytetracycline or chlortetracycline eye ointment into the affected area. Then place the sick turtle in shallow water. For turtles that have stopped eating, tube-feed them and mix antibiotic drugs into the feed!

Skin rot disease (skin rot ulcer disease)

[Cause] Caused by Bacillus monosporus infection. When the skin is injured for other reasons, this pathogen takes the opportunity to invade and causes necrosis of the skin tissue at the injured site.

[Symptoms] With the naked eye, ulceration can be seen at the affected area of the sick turtle, and the epidermis turns white.

[Prevention and Treatment] First remove the rotten epidermis and dead skin at the affected area, apply chlortetracycline eye ointment, once a day. If the turtle eats on its own, oxytetracycline powder can be added to the bait; if the turtle has stopped eating, use oxytetracycline at a dosage of 1 gram per kilogram of turtle for force-feeding, then isolate and raise the sick turtle. Absolutely avoid keeping it in water, so as not to worsen the condition. After the turtle recovers, return it to the pond for rearing.

① Mild skin rot disease: most likely to occur in areas with many skin folds such as the armpits, groin, and neck.

② Severe skin rot disease: the sick turtle's head can no longer extend and retract normally.

White eye disease (conjunctivitis)

[Cause] Caused by increased stocking density and excessive water alkalinity. This disease mostly occurs in young turtles.

[Symptoms] The sick turtle's eyes become congested and inflamed, the eyes swell, the cornea and nasal mucosa fester due to eye inflammation, the outside of the eyeball is covered by white secretions, and the eyes cannot open. Sick turtles often wipe their eyes with their forelimbs, move slowly, and in severe cases stop eating, eventually dying due to weakness complicated by other diseases. This disease often occurs in spring and autumn.

[Prevention and Treatment] For turtles with mild symptoms (able to open their eyes), soak once a day in nitrofurazone or nitrofurantoin solution, 40 minutes each time. Generally, it can be cured in a week. For turtles with severe symptoms that cannot open their eyes, first clean out the white matter and white dead skin inside the eyes. If bleeding occurs, continue as well. Then soak the turtle in nitrofurazone or nitrofurantoin solution, extending the daily soaking time to 1 hour!

Proteus morganii

[Cause] Proteus morganii is a saprophytic parasitic bacterium that widely exists in soil, sewers, sewage, and various decayed substances. It infects through the turtle's digestive tract, respiratory tract, wounds, and urethra.

[Symptoms] In the early stage of illness, there is a large amount of white transparent foamy mucus in the nostrils and oral cavity, and in the later stage a yellow viscous liquid flows out. The turtle's head is often extended outside the body, the turtle often restlessly crawls around, does not eat, and drinks little water!

[Pathology] The liver is enlarged and appears cooked, with pinhead-sized hemorrhagic spots around it. The kidneys have diffuse pinhead-sized hemorrhagic spots. The apex of the heart is congested and hemorrhagic. The spleen is dark black. The intestines are empty, with not much content.

[Prevention and Treatment] After onset, immediately isolate and treat. Intramuscular injection of drugs such as chloramphenicol and streptomycin is required. Oral or soaking treatment has no effect. However, at present, individuals cannot perform injection treatment, so turtles with these symptoms are very difficult to survive!

Parotitis

[Cause] The pathogen is Aeromonas punctata subsp. It is mainly caused by water pollution!

[Symptoms] Sick turtles move slowly, often raise their heads and necks high in water and on land, the neck is abnormally swollen, the hind limb fossae bulge, there is subcutaneous gas, the limbs are edematous, and in severe cases there is bleeding from the mouth and nose!

[Prevention] Inject streptomycin sulfate, 100,000-120,000 units per kilogram of turtle body weight. Inject once a year. In daily care, soak in 30 mg/L furazolidone solution for 40-50 minutes every 2-3 months.

[Treatment] Intramuscular injection of streptomycin sulfate. Inject 200,000 units per kilogram of turtle body weight. Inject continuously for 3 days. For mild cases, soak in oxytetracycline solution (place 3 tablets of oxytetracycline in every 10 kg of water) for 30 minutes.

Shell rot disease

[Cause] After the shell is worn, bacteria invade and cause the shell to rot.

[Symptoms] The surface of the shell rots. In severe cases, holes form and even muscle can be seen. Sick turtles do not eat, move little, and retract their heads.

[Prevention and Treatment]

① Isolate the sick turtle, wipe the affected area with 3% hydrogen peroxide, remove the rotten parts, then directly apply potassium permanganate crystal powder.

② For turtles kept in water, soak in 4% saline for 30 minutes, then apply antibiotic ointment, such as Bactroban, to the affected area.

Shell decay disease

[Cause] Due to shell damage or compression, pathogens invade the turtle shell and cause the shell to rot.

[Symptoms] White spots first appear on the turtle's carapace or plastron, then slowly form red spots. When squeezed hard, blood seeps out, and there is a rotten odor. In severe cases, the shell surface rots into holes, and the armpits and groin bulge. Sick turtles stop eating, move little, and show head retraction. Four-eyed spotted turtles, side-necked turtles, and snake-necked turtles are extremely prone to this disease. Sick turtles do not like to eat and move very little.

[Prevention and Treatment] Pry open the scutes at the affected area, squeeze out all the blood, remove the lesion, and directly apply salt or potassium permanganate crystal powder to the affected area, once a day. It can be cured in about a week, but permanent scars will remain on the shell. Soak the sick turtle in 40 ppm potassium permanganate solution for 15 minutes, then gently apply a trace amount of potassium permanganate crystal powder to the lesion area of the sick turtle.

① In the early stage of illness, the symptom is gray spots appearing on the shell, which then slowly turn into flesh-colored or red patches. If not treated in time, the affected area will become infected, slowly rot, and have an abnormal odor, finally endangering life. If the wound is not infected or worsened, repeatedly wipe it with iodine tincture or 1%-2% hydrogen peroxide, then apply chlortetracycline ointment (anti-inflammatory) or Yunnan Baiyao (hemostatic). Bactroban ointment can also be used. Do this once every two days for one to two weeks. If the wound is infected or worsened, the outer skin at the affected area must be pried open with a disinfected knife, and after squeezing out blood or pus, treat according to the above method, and bandage with gauze depending on the wound condition. Do this once every three to four days for one to two months. During treatment, it is not suitable to bathe or soak in water; keep the wound dry.

② In the middle stage of illness, the symptoms are separation or lifting of the epidermis at the affected area of the outer shell, along with reduced movement or refusal to eat. First carry out the first step. If there is no effect, wipe a small amount of furazolidone dry powder on the affected area, or force-feed or administer by dropper amoxicillin tablets (20mg/kg) or metronidazole tablets (40mg/kg), while supplementing electrolytes and special vitamins and other nutrients.

[Oral administration] Find a very small container and dissolve the tablet in warm water, then find a dropper used for oral liquids, draw up some (the dosage is controlled by yourself according to the size of the turtle), block one end of the dropper with your tongue, and insert the other end behind the tongue inside the turtle's mouth (hold the turtle upright) to avoid the medicinal liquid flowing into the trachea. Release your tongue and the medicinal liquid will naturally flow in, or gently blow it in. This method, whether for administering medication to turtles or supplementing various nutrients, is more direct and effective than medicinal baths or applying drugs and nutrients to food. But the only drawback is that it is not easy to pry open its mouth. A plastic ear pick or toothpick and other non-metal small sticks can be used to pry the mouth open. In the late stage of illness, the symptoms are that the affected area has rotted and even penetrated the shell, the eyes are closed, it does not crawl, and it stops eating; in severe cases, death occurs. After taking the second step, if there is no effect, inject chlortetracycline at a dosage of 200,000 international units per kilogram of turtle body weight.

[Note] For the treatment of external injuries on the head, neck, and limbs, please refer to the first step. For external injuries and shell rot, use potassium permanganate with caution; improper dilution can easily corrode the outer shell. Detect early and treat early; do not delay and cause the turtle's death.

Nutritional deficiency bone softening disease (osteomalacia, nutritional bone disease, calcium deficiency disease, rickets)

[Cause] Caused by long-term feeding of a single bait, especially feed high in phosphorus and low in calcium. The turtle's body lacks sufficient calcium and vitamin D, and the calcium-to-phosphorus ratio is imbalanced, causing softening of the turtle's bones. This case often appears in growing young turtles.

[Symptoms] Sick turtles have difficulty moving, enlarged limb joints, relatively soft carapace and plastron, shedding of fingers, toes, and claws, and deformed shells.

[Prevention and Treatment] Add an appropriate amount of shrimp shell powder, shell powder, calcium tablets, vitamin D, and multivitamins to the feed. The bait should preferably combine animals and plants. Also let the turtle receive more sunlight.