What are the signs of illness in softshell turtles? An introduction to common symptoms

Softshell turtles are timid, afraid of people, afraid of cold, like to burrow into mud, and like to bask in the sun. Once they get sick, their behavior becomes abnormal: they no longer burrow into mud or bask on their backs, and instead prefer to hide in shady, dry places, moving slowly and not fearing people. Based on these characteristics, problems can be discovered as quickly as possible, which is beneficial for the prevention and treatment of softshell turtle diseases.

In ponds where there are no habitats for sick softshell turtles, once a softshell turtle gets sick it is difficult to detect, often delaying treatment; once it surfaces, the disease is already incurable and beyond saving.

Healthy softshell turtles move nimbly. As soon as they detect human activity or something they consider unsafe, they quickly dive and hide; the first and only method is to burrow into mud, so it is very difficult to spot a softshell turtle's whereabouts. If a softshell turtle is sick, especially when seriously ill, it moves sluggishly, wandering along the pond edge in the early morning or evening, and slowly leaves to dive to the bottom when it sees people. At this time the softshell turtle generally does not burrow into mud; some hide in the grass by the pond edge, some beside tree roots, some burrow into the sand of the egg-laying site, and some hide in cracks in walls. Sick softshell turtles are very afraid of basking in the sun and try their best to hide in cool, shady places. However, in some farms where the softshell turtle pond is built with vertical walls, the softshell turtles have no choice but to climb onto the basking platform or beside the feeding platform; once they reach this state, they are already very difficult to save. After dissection, the liver is often seen to be blackened or discolored, some have congested intestines, and some have discolored lungs as well.