Causes and Prevention of Penile Prolapse in Turtles

[Cause]

Excessively high male hormone levels in the turtle's body.

[Symptoms]

In a normal turtle, a sexually mature male exposes its penis to mate with the female during the breeding season, and after mating ends, the penis retracts into the cloaca. In some male turtles, the penis is occasionally exposed and can immediately retract again. In abnormal male turtles, after the penis is exposed, it cannot retract in time, and the exposure lasts a long time; it may be bitten by other turtles or scraped by foreign objects, or prolonged exposure may cause tissue necrosis, leading to infection and complications from other diseases that result in death.

[Prevention and Treatment Methods]

Carry out frequent inspections and checks. Handle affected turtles promptly once discovered. After disinfecting the exposed penis with iodine tincture, push it back into the cloaca and place 1-2 sutures at the cloaca to prevent the penis from prolapsing again. For severe cases, surgical removal should be performed: first rinse the surface with physiological saline, use medical suture thread to tie the penis tightly at the opening of the cloaca, then use a scalpel to cut off the portion beyond the ligature, disinfect the wound and continuously suture the mucosa, then loosen the tight ligature, disinfect again with iodine tincture, and the remaining portion will retract into the body. After surgery, the turtle should not be placed in water; it should be kept dry. For turtles that are eating, antibiotics should be added to the feed and fed continuously for 3-4 days. For turtles that have stopped eating, inject penicillin and streptomycin sulfate intramuscularly to prevent infection.