There's a right way to inject medication into a sick turtle, and the precautions must be kept in mind

Because turtles have a very hard shell, once a turtle gets sick, its treatment is very different from that of other animals. Practice has proven that when medicating a sick turtle, injection is the most effective method. The following technical points should be noted when injecting a turtle.

1. Never use long or thick needles. A turtle has little exposed muscle, generally only slightly more muscle at the base of the front and hind limbs, but the area is not large. Therefore, choose a thinner and shorter needle. The injection depth is generally about 0.5 cm for a small turtle, 0.8 cm for a medium turtle, and 1.2-1.8 cm for a large turtle.

2. The injection angle must be correct. When the turtle's limb is retracted into the shell, it is not easy to insert the needle, so first pull out the turtle's limb, straighten it, and then insert the needle at a 45-degree angle to the limb. The insertion angle must not be too large, otherwise it will be injected into the bone and fascia, causing limb disability.

3. Do not inject in the neck area. The turtle's neck supports the extension and retraction of its head, and the interior is densely packed with fascia, nerves, and blood vessels. Once injured, it is prone to a crooked neck or inability to retract, and sometimes the head cannot be lifted or even becomes paralyzed, affecting its feeding. Sometimes swelling of the neck occurs and causes death by suffocation.

4. Strict disinfection. In order to achieve better and faster results, strict disinfection is required when injecting a turtle. For some turtles suffering from severe diseases such as pneumonia, hepatitis, and enteritis, the medication can be injected into their abdominal cavity when necessary. The local area of the turtle's body should first be disinfected with iodine tincture, and the syringe and needle should also be sterilized at high temperature to avoid introducing pathogens into the turtle's body.

5. Oral medication for turtles must be done skillfully. In winter and spring, turtles do not eat during hibernation, so if oral medication is used, it can be administered by injecting medicine into the turtle's mouth. Solid medicine can be dissolved in warm boiled water, then drawn into a syringe with the needle removed and injected into the turtle's mouth. The motion should be slow, letting it swallow the liquid into its stomach. Never inject forcefully, to prevent the medicine from being shot into the trachea and causing death by suffocation.

6. The amount of medicinal liquid should not be too much. Because a turtle's muscles are small, the total dose injected at one injection point should not be too much. In principle, it should not cause obvious bulging of the muscle at the injection point. If the dose is large, it can be divided among several injection points to avoid local muscle damage.