My little turtle is sick

* Rot skin disease *

Cause: caused by Monospora infection. Due to the high density of breeding, turtles bite each other. After the invasion of pathogens, the skin tissue of the injured area will be necrotic. Water pollution can also easily cause turtle disease.

Symptoms: The affected part of the turtle is ulcerated and the skin is white to the naked eye.

Prevention and treatment methods:

First remove the lesions in the affected area and apply chlortetracycline eye ointment once a day. If the turtle eats on its own, oxytetracycline powder can be added to the food; if the turtle has stopped eating, chlortetracycline can be applied and the sick turtle can be isolated and fed. Do not keep them in water to avoid aggravating the condition. After the turtle recovers, it can be raised in a pond.

* Pseudomonas aeruginosa septicemia *

Cause: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is widely found in soil and sewage. Mainly infected through the digestive tract and trauma. There are also pathogens in bait and water sources.

Symptoms

Symptoms: loss of appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, brown or yellow pus-like stool. The anatomy showed: enlarged liver and spleen, needle-like bleeding spots on the surface, highly edema and hypertrophy of the gastric wall, ulceration and suppuration of gastric mucosa, ulceration and suppuration of intestinal mucosa, and extensive bleeding of intestinal mucosa. The gastrointestinal tract is filled with mixed brown pus-like viscous contents.

Prevention and treatment methods: intramuscular injection of streptomycin once a day. Dosage varies based on turtle body weight. See "Dosage" of "The Turtle Clan" for details.

* Scabies *

Cause: The pathogen is Aeromonas hydrophila punctate subspecies, which often exists in water, turtle skin, intestines, etc. When the water environment is good, turtles are carriers of bacteria. Once the environment is polluted, the turtle body is traumatized, and the bacteria multiply in large quantities, which can easily cause the turtle to become sick.

Symptoms:

There are one or several soybean-sized white scabies on the neck and limbs. When squeezed with hands, there is yellow and white bean dreg-like content. Turtles with the disease can still eat in the early stages, but gradually eat less. In severe cases, they stop eating and become unresponsive. Usually death occurs within 2 to 3 weeks.

Prevention and treatment methods:

First, keep the turtles in isolation. Squeeze out the contents of the lesion completely, apply it with sulfuric acid wine, apply oxytetracycline powder, and then stuff a cotton ball (with oxytetracycline or chlortetracycline eye ointment on the cotton ball) into the hole. If the turtle is an aquatic turtle, it can be released into shallow water. Turtles that stop eating should be fed with food and antibiotics should be buried in the food.

* Overwintering Mortality Syndrome*

Cause:

Before hibernation, the turtle's body is weak, and the temperature and water temperature during hibernation are low, which makes the turtle unbearable. Prolonged hypothermia. There are also some turtles that fail to replenish nutrients in time after laying eggs in autumn. The nutrients stored in the body cannot meet the needs of the hibernation period, resulting in the death of the turtle.

Symptoms: Before hibernation, the turtle's limbs are thin and the muscles are shriveled. When you hold the turtle with your hands, it feels lighter. Aquatic turtles often float on the surface of the water.

Prevention and treatment methods:

Before hibernation, increase the amount of feeding, and add nutrients and antibiotics, such as multivitamin powder, vitamin E powder, ampicillin powder, etc. Weak turtles should be raised alone and heated to prevent the turtle from hibernating and allow the turtle to eat normally.

* White Eye Disease*

Cause:

Eye injuries or poor water quality may irritate the eyes and cause the sick turtle to rub its eyes with its forelimbs, leading to infection. Caused by bacteria. The disease is more common in red-eared turtles, tortoises, yellow-throated turtles, yellow-margined turtles, eye-spotted turtles, etc., and the incidence rate is higher in young turtles. The onset seasons are spring, autumn and the spring after overwintering, which are the peak epidemic periods.

Symptoms:

The eyes of sick turtles are inflamed, congested, and swollen. The cornea and nasal mucosa are eroded due to eye inflammation, the outside of the eyeball is covered with white secretions, and there is inflammation inside the eye. The sick turtle often rubs its eyes with its forelimbs, moves slowly and no longer eats. In severe cases, the sick turtle becomes blind, and eventually the turtle becomes very thin and dies. Some sick turtles only have one eye affected in the early stages of the disease. If no measures are taken, symptoms will soon appear in the other eye.

Prevention and treatment methods: 1) Strengthen feeding and management. Before and after overwintering, when starting to eat, often feed animal livers (beef liver, sheep liver, rabbit liver, dried chicken, etc.) to enhance nutrition and enhance resistance. disease ability.

2) Disinfect turtle-raising utensils. Soak turtle-raising glass tanks, aquariums, etc. with 10% salt water for 30 minutes. Rinse the turtle with clean water before raising it.

3) Soaking in nitrofurazone (or furazolidone) solution is both a preventive measure and an early treatment. The concentration of 20 mg/L is used for juvenile turtles, and the concentration of 30 mg/L is used for juvenile to adult turtles. The length of soaking time depends on the water temperature. If necessary, soak once a day (40 minutes) for 3-5 consecutive days.

4) Disinfect the earthen pond or cement pond where the turtles are raised, and capture the sick turtles and turtles for separate treatment. For turtles or soft-shell turtles that are not sick in the pond, use bleaching powder at a concentration of 1.5-2.0 g/cubic meter and sprinkle it all over the pond.

5) Intraperitoneal injection of streptomycin (or kanamycin) at 200,000 units per kilogram of turtle body weight. After the injection, the patient was temporarily isolated and observed for 5-6 days. If the condition did not improve significantly, a second injection was given with the same dose. If the sick turtle is during the winter, it has stopped eating. Each sick hatchling was injected with 0.5 ml of glucose solution (medical, containing 50% sugar) together with streptomycin. The effect is very significant.

6) Apply rivanoium 1 aqueous solution. Rivanoium, also known as Revel, is a surgical drug. Apply to the affected eye for 40-60 seconds each time, once a day for 3-8 consecutive days. This method should be used when green turtles are sick, because dipping with nitrofurazone and furazolidone is very toxic to turtles and turtles, but is very toxic to the filamentous green algae of green turtles, and dipping will kill the filamentous green algae.

7) The application method of nitrofurazone (or furazolidone) 1 aqueous solution is the same as that of Rivanol solution. If the green turtle is sick, the permanent magnet method should be used. When applying the medicinal solution, be sure not to let the medicinal solution get on the filamentous green algae. After applying the medicine, put the green turtle into a white basin filled with clean water, let it turn red for half a minute, and immediately change the water once. If there is no yellow medicine solution in the water, it can be raised in a disinfected tank. Nitrofuracillin is not as effective as Rivanol, but it is cheaper. Rivanol should be used in severe cases.

8) The concentration of nitrofuracil (or furazole) solution in the whole pool should be 1.2-1.5 g/m3 for prevention; use 2.0-2.5 g/m3 for treatment. After being sprayed throughout the pond, the efficacy usually lasts about 10 days. If the condition does not improve significantly after application, the same concentration can be sprayed over the entire pool again on the 11th day. In severe cases, drug injection can be used first, and then smear or dipping with liquid medicine. You can also smear or soak with the medicinal liquid first, and then sprinkle the medicine all over the pool to achieve more significant effects.

9) Sprinkle erythromycin 1.5-2.0 g/m3 over the entire pool for treatment.

10) For other antibacterial treatments, Madisin is dissolved in breeding edema. One tablet per glass goldfish tank. This method is suitable for green turtles suffering from disease. Streptomycin can also be dissolved in water so that every 1 mg of water contains 100,000-200,000 international units, which is suitable for treating diseases of green turtles and other turtles and turtles in small water bodies.

* Proteobacteria morganii in turtles *

Cause: Turtles become ill after being infected with Proteus morganii. Proteus morganii is a saprophytic parasitic bacterium that is widely found in mud and water. In sewers, sewage and various decaying materials, it can cause infections in the digestive tract, respiratory tract, trauma and urinary tract of turtles.

Symptoms:

In the early stage of the turtle's disease, there is a large amount of white transparent foamy mucus in the nostrils and mouth, and later a yellow viscous liquid flows out. The turtle's head often sticks out of the body, and it doesn't eat and drinks less water. The turtle often crawls uneasily. Pathological autopsy showed that the liver was enlarged and looked like it was cooked, with pinpoint-sized bleeding spots around it. The kidneys had large diffuse hemorrhages. The apex of the heart is congested and bleeding. The spleen is dark black. The intestines are empty and contain little content.

Prevention and treatment methods: Immediately isolate and raise sick turtles after discovering them. Intramuscular injection of chloramphenicol, kanamycin, and streptomycin. Once a day for 3 consecutive days. The effect of erythromycin is not significant. Intramuscular injection of penicillin is ineffective. Oral furazolidine and sulfa drugs are ineffective.

There are also some information:

1. Shopping: There are several types of pet turtles: Mississippi red-eared turtles, yellow-throated turtles, Burmese tortoises, snapping turtles, etc. The most common species and the only species I have ever raised is the Mississippi red-eared slider. It has a beautiful color, moderate size and is relatively easy to raise, so I recommend everyone to buy this turtle.

4. Daily life: Turtles will encounter some special physiological phenomena during their growth, which will have a great impact if not handled properly. Among them, the one that impressed me the most is molting.

Turtles and snakes are close relatives, so they also shed their skins, but unlike snakes, turtles also shed their scales! ! My tortoise shed its skin when it was about four years old. There were no digital cameras at that time, so I did not record this weird appearance. What I want to warn everyone here is that do not help the tortoise during the molting process, it will do it on its own. It will be taken care of. I just didn’t know and “helped” it, which caused lifelong damage to it. I apologize to the poor turtle. Here is a detailed introduction to what turtle molting looks like. If your turtle is ready to molt, age, then congratulations, this means that the method you raised the tortoise in front of you is correct, otherwise it will not survive this day, haha!

★Purchasing

Purchasing a healthy turtle is an important first step, which will make it much easier to raise in the future. Before buying, it is best to look at some information pictures of the turtle you want to buy or refer to turtles that others have raised, so as not to be deceived when buying; when buying, gently pull the limbs of the turtle with your hands. If it retracts or struggles forcefully, then It indicates that the turtle is healthy; then check the turtle's anus. If there is fecal contamination, it indicates that there may be a problem with the digestive tract. In addition, we must carefully observe whether it is active, whether its pace is normal, and whether its response is sensitive.

★Cooking

If turtles are not exposed to ultraviolet rays regularly, they will not be able to utilize calcium, and the shells of young turtles will easily become soft. Therefore, you can put it outdoors in the morning before going to work, and move it indoors after get off work in the evening, so that it can properly bask in the sun and strengthen your body. However, remember to expose it to the sun in summer. In terms of disease, prevention is still the main focus, preventing bacteria from entering the body through scratches and wounds. During treatment, you can use a medicated bath and apply appropriate antibiotics to the whole body. However, some turtles are allergic to antibiotics, so you should pay special attention when using antibiotics.

In late autumn and early winter, turtles enter the hibernation period, staying quietly without eating or drinking. As the weather gradually gets warmer around the Qingming Festival, the turtles also start to move around and eat. At this time, you can prepare some small fish, shrimps or lean meat sticks to feed it. Watching it gobble it up will make you feel so happy. It likes a watery environment and can be placed on the balcony to bask in the sun during the day. The summer sun will cause damage to it, so put it in a cool place. You can feed it something every day. It also likes a clean environment and needs to change the water every day to keep the water clean. I wish your little turtle will grow up healthily! ! !

In fact, turtles are very tame and can accept any food. Judging from the food, they are very easy pets to keep. But turtles, like lizards, need sunbathing. In addition, the turtle's body shape is nearly round, its weight is much larger than it appears from outside, and it also has a large amount of exercise. Ordinary cages often tend to be too small, which can be said to be more troublesome than other reptiles.

What’s more! Basic ways to raise a turtle

1. When I first bought the turtle home, it would not eat because it was in a strange environment, but the owner must Don’t let it go! You must keep feeding it every day

! In just a few days, these little guys will get used to it! 2.

If you buy a big turtle , then you can give it small fish to eat, it can be live, it can catch it by itself, or it can be dead, but I don’t advocate stale fish. If they are dead fish, I usually eat them when they are alive. Just put it in the refrigerator to ensure freshness; there are also live shrimps, you don’t need to shell them, they can catch them themselves; however, I usually feed them pure meat, so they grow very fast. But remember one thing, every time you feed food, it must be divided into small pieces! For small turtles, do not let them eat too big things, they must be in small pieces!!! 3.

In summer, turtles eat the most. I usually feed them twice a day. They eat a lot. I’m afraid they won’t be full, so I feed them more every time. If they can’t eat it, I just throw it away; I want to emphasize here, never put food in the tank and ignore it. In summer, food can easily deteriorate, and if you put it in for too long, the water will become turbid, which is not good for the turtle’s eyes. Yes, I usually put them in another tank to feed them, and when they don’t want to eat, I put them back in the original tank.fn

4. Remember to change the water frequently in summer. At least twice a day!!! This is very important!!! Generally the reason why turtles die is because the water is too unclean!!!

5. In autumn, turtles will increase their food intake because they are about to die Hibernating, at this time, the owner should feed them more!] 6.

When the turtles are hibernating, it is best not to wake them up, try to keep them in a quiet state, and do not put water in them Too much, just put it around the edge of the turtle shell. The owner can change the water every two weeks. The water must be cold. Don't add a little warm water just because you want to keep them warm!!!A

7. Of course, in the summer, don’t put them in an air-conditioned room, and don’t blow an electric fan on them! In the summer, you can let them bask in the sun for a while, but only for a short time!

8.

When the turtle is not hibernating, you need to add a little more water. If your turtle tank is large, you can put a coral, or it can be used as a " "Land" things, so that you can put a tank of water for the turtle to swim, but I don't like this very much, because corals or some sand are easy to grow bacteria, so it is necessary for the owner to clean these decorations every day It’s too troublesome, and it’s not good for the tortoise’s eyes. It would be bad if it gets infected! (The most taboo thing about raising tortoises is eye infection)

9.

In When the turtle is not hibernating, the owner can also "sterilize" the turtle. You can put a tank of water, and then put a little cefradine or salt in the water, and let the turtle swim in the water, so that the bacteria in their eyes will be eliminated. Being killed... seems a bit scary...

Do you want more?

Put the turtle in deeper water and observe whether there is a fish in front of the turtle's nostrils. If there are small blisters, it means that the nose is blocked

In addition, the bubbling you mentioned, especially when the mouth is open, is indeed a symptom of a cold or even pneumonia

Isolate the sick turtle immediately and increase the water intake Feed the turtle at a certain temperature (you can mix some egg white and use a small dropper or syringe to drop some into the turtle's mouth) one or two drops each time, about ten drops each time, twice a day.

It is also good to use 0.2 grams of "crack" (cold medicine) per kilogram of turtle body

It would be best if it can be injected. Penicillin or streptomycin is injected intramuscularly at 50,000 international per kilogram of turtle body. Unit, 2 times a day, continuous injection for 3 to 5 days. I recommend injecting from the forelimbs. I think the effect is better

Feeding: Get a container where you live, get some sand and gravel, and build a land on one side to fill with water. That’s it. As for the first two days after eating, it’s best not to rush to feed and observe for two days

It also gives the turtles a chance to familiarize themselves with the environment. Generally speaking, turtles eat fresh small fish, shrimps and lean meat. OK, if your turtle is very small, use scissors to cut it into small pieces

If it is larger, small live fish can also be used. Of course, some red threadworms and mealworms can also be used, but they look disgusting. Turtles can eat dog food

Even apples and bananas (mixed with meat to supplement vitamins). The most important thing is to develop a habit since childhood. Only fresh and clean food will not easily cause diarrhea. In fact, it is because the temperature difference is too large

For example, you put it in an air-conditioned room and then take it out to bask in the sun. It is very important to change the water frequently and bask in the sun frequently. The best time to bask in the sun is in the morning and 3 p.m. Remember to show off like this every day after clicking.

Gender: According to experience: Generally speaking, the rounder body is female, and the longer body is male.

The flat one is female, and the concave one is male.

The one with the short tail is female, and the one with the long tail is male.

The patterns on the abdomen of male turtles are sparse, while the patterns on the abdomen of female turtles are dense.

Female turtle: The carapace is shorter and wider, the plastron is flat and has no depression in the center, the tail is thin and short, the tail base is thin, the cloaca is closer to the rear edge of the plastron, and the two anuses of the plastron are The notch formed by the shield is shallow and the notch angle is large.

Male turtle: The carapace is long and narrow, the center of the plastron is slightly indented, the tail is thick and long, the base of the tail is thick, the cloaca is far away from the rear edge of the plastron, and the two pieces of the plastron are The notch formed by the anal shield is deeper and the notch angle is smaller.

Note that male turtles turn black as they mature, while female turtles retain their original tan body color.

Because the reproductive organs of turtles are all wrapped in their bodies and they look the same, it is difficult to tell their gender without certain skills. But as long as you understand the mating posture of turtles, you can tell them apart. Turtles mate with the male on top and the female on the bottom. In order to avoid slipping off the female turtle's shell during mating, the male turtle's plastron is slightly concave, which can just catch the female turtle's protruding back shell; but the female turtle does not need this. This structure makes the plastron flat. Just turn the turtle over and touch the width of the plastron with your fingers, and you can quickly identify the male and female.

1. The living habits of turtles: Turtles are semi-aquatic and semi-terrestrial reptiles. Mainly inhabits rivers, lakes, reservoirs, ponds and other waters. They often stay in the water during the day, and when the summer is hot, they flock to seek shade. They have a gentle temperament and do not bite or fight with each other. When encountering danger or being frightened, it retracts its head, limbs and tail into its shell. Turtles are omnivores and feed on animal insects, worms, small fish, shrimps, snails, clams, plant leaves, duckweed, melon rinds, wheat grains, rice, weed seeds, etc. It has a strong ability to withstand hunger and will not starve to death without eating for several months. Turtles are cold-blooded animals. When the water temperature drops below 10°C, they hibernate in the mud at the bottom of the water or in covered loose soil. The hibernation period generally lasts from January to early April of the following year. When the water temperature rises to 15°C, it will move out of the cave and start feeding when the water temperature is 18°C-20°C. 2. The age and growth of turtles: There is no conclusion yet on how long turtles live. Generally speaking, they can live 10 years. According to relevant research, some turtles can live for more than 300 years, and some even live for more than a thousand years. The growth of turtles is relatively slow. Under normal conditions, the growth rate of female turtles is: the weight of first-instar turtles is about 15 grams, the second-instar turtles are 50 grams, the third-instar turtles are 100 grams, the fourth-instar turtles are 200 grams, and the fifth-instar turtles are 250-250 grams. 250 grams, about 400 grams for a six-year-old turtle. Male turtles grow slowly, and the largest sexually mature individual is generally less than 250 grams.

3. Breeding habits of turtles: (1) Male and female identification:

Characteristics: Individual size, trunk, shell color, carapace pattern, turtle tail, body odor: Male turtles are small, long, thin, black or dark, with a thin tail peduncle and tail Female turtle with a special odor

Short, thick, economical, brown-yellow color, obvious thick tail stalk, short tail, no peculiar smell (2) Sexual maturity age: 5 years or above under natural conditions

The gonads of the turtle begin to mature and mature well at the 7th age. Judging from the weight, the average male turtle weighs 150 grams and the female turtle starts to mature sexually at 250 grams. (3) Mating and fertilization: From April to May every year, when the moon just rises above the treetops, you can see turtles chasing each other beside the pond. Sometimes a female turtle is followed by 1-3 male turtles. At first, the female turtle ignored her, but as time went by, the strong and flexible male turtle jumped on the female turtle's back, grabbed both sides of the female turtle's back with his forelimbs, and mated with his hind limbs standing on the ground. If they are in water, the male and female turtles roll up and down to complete mating. (4) Egg-laying period: Turtles in tropical areas can lay eggs throughout the year. In the Yangtze River Basin of my country, they usually start laying eggs at the end of April and end at the end of August. The peak period of egg-laying is from May to July. Female turtles can lay eggs (nests) 3-4 times a year, with an interval of 10-30 days between each time, and 5-10 eggs each time, with a minimum of 1 and a maximum of 16. The optimal water temperature and air temperature are 27℃-31℃. If it exceeds 35℃, spawning will stop. (5) Egg-laying habits: The turtle's egg-laying process can be divided into four stages: In the first stage, hole pulling is selected. Crawling everywhere to choose the roots of trees or weeds where the loose soil is conducive to preventing predators. The moisture content of the soil is about 5-20. The second stage is digging holes. The diameter of the egg hole is about 3-4 cm, the hole body is slightly inclined, and the depth is about 8-9 cm. The third stage is spawning. The eggs are laid in the hole, and after each egg is laid, it is arranged in the hole with the hind limbs. One egg is laid every 2-5 minutes, and it takes about 30 minutes to lay a batch of eggs. The fourth stage is to cover the acupoints. Use the two hind limbs to work in turn, scraping the soil outside the hole into the hole little by little, and press it with the hind limbs every time you put soil. When the egg hole is covered with soil, use the entire back half of the body to compact it firmly. The entire reproductive process takes about 8 hours, and the time ratio of hole digging, egg laying, and hole covering is about 6:1:3. 6. Embryo development: It takes about 30 hours after the egg is laid. There is a white spot above the shell, which is the fertilized egg. 30 days after birth, the fertilized eggs turn light purple-red, and 70 days later, the egg shell turns black. It takes 80-90 days for the hatchlings to emerge from their shells.