The turtle's abdominal shell is a little soft

Calcium deficiency and insufficient sunlight may also cause this phenomenon. Of course it's best to take it to the doctor. I found some information for you, I hope it will be useful. Common diseases of turtles

1. Saprolegniasis

[Symptoms] Fungi such as Saprolegnia and Succosporum that exist in water bodies parasitize the turtle body and cause disease. It occurs throughout the year, but is more common in autumn, winter and spring. Generally, the injured area of ??the turtle body is the first to develop. It can be seen that the diseased turtle body has gray-white cotton-like mycelium attached to it, which floats in the water and feels slippery to the touch. Sick turtles lose their appetite and become increasingly emaciated. In severe cases, the lesions become congested until ulceration, which can lead to death, especially for small turtles. As long as prevention and treatment are timely, there is basically no mortality.

〔Prevention Methods〕To prevent saprolegnia, it is necessary to disinfect the pool water and keep the water fresh. Exposure to sunlight can naturally inhibit the reproduction of fungi. During the disease season or when individual turtles begin to become ill, use 1 gram of malachite green per cubic meter of water to disinfect the pool water. You can also increase the dosage of medicine for sick turtles to disinfect them in a medicated bath. Add 2 grams of malachite green per cubic meter of water, soak until the water mold on the turtle body turns green, and then put it into the pool. The water mold will fade away in a few days. . You can also put a turtle suffering from saprolegnia in a waterless container and bask in the sun for several hours, and the saprolegnia will shrink and recede.

2． Gastroenteritis

[Symptoms] It is easy to occur when feeding unclean feed during feeding, especially when feeding spoiled animal feed or when the water quality deteriorates seriously, and is caused by infection with Aeromonas. Usually occurs in summer. Sick turtles are in poor spirits, slow to react, eat less or refuse to eat, and their abdomen and intestines are inflamed and congested. Occasionally vomiting, loose stools or indigestion of food. If not treated in time, it can easily lead to death. Pay attention to fresh feed and do not feed spoiled feed.

[Prevention and treatment methods] Chloramphenicol can be intramuscularly injected into the hind limbs of the diseased turtle. 20,000 international units of chloramphenicol per 500 grams of turtle per day can also be used. 0.2 grams of norfloxacin can be mixed into the feed and fed. . For turtles suffering from indigestion at the same time, an appropriate amount of Xiaoshitou or yeast tablets can be added. Generally, it can be cured after 3 to 6 days of medication. If there are many sick turtles in the pond, it is best to feed the turtles with 0.5 grams of oxytetracycline mixed with feed for every 500 grams of turtles every day, twice in the morning and evening, and 7 days is a course of treatment.

3. Shell rot disease

[Symptoms] When the feeding conditions are poor, the acidic substances at the bottom of the pond are concentrated, and anaerobic bacteria in the water can easily invade the damaged parts of the turtle shell, causing the turtle shell to rot and become inflamed, which can be serious. It festered into a notch shape.

[Prevention and treatment methods]; You can apply 3% hydrogen peroxide to the affected area several times, and then apply potassium permanganate crystal powder. You can also soak it in 10% salt water for 30 minutes, and then apply chlortetracycline ointment to the affected area. Turtles should be handled and turned over gently during transportation, transfer, and stocking to avoid heavy falls and damage to the carapace that may cause the disease. The sediment at the bottom of the pool is replaced every 2 years; it can effectively reduce the source of natural pathogenic bacteria.

4. Furuncle disease

[Symptoms] In recent years, a certain proportion of the colorful turtles introduced and promoted and raised in my country from abroad often develop this disease. At the early stage of the disease, a pustule bulges under the skin of the turtle. Later, the pustule slowly hardens and forms a raised tumor, which feels hard but can be moved. The reason is that colorful turtles are very active and have long claws that scratch each other and cause bacterial infection. If the boil occurs in the neck, it can cause the head to be unable to move or even compress the esophagus, affecting food intake and leading to death.

[Prevention and treatment methods] In the early stage of the disease, the diseased turtle can be injected with penicillin, 150,000 international units per 500 grams of turtle per day, or 0.25 grams of tetracycline mixed in the feed for 3 to 6 days. In the middle and late stages of the disease, You can perform surgery to squeeze out the pus mass, then wash the wound with hydrogen peroxide, or apply saturated potassium permanganate solution on it, and it will heal after a few days.

5. Colds and pneumonia

[Symptoms]; Turtle cold is common in early spring and late autumn, often caused by drastic changes in climate. Turtles raised indoors are sometimes caused by poor ventilation. Symptoms are that the sick turtle has dim eyesight, sometimes sheds tears, has an asthmatic sound when breathing, and has a runny nose or blisters. In severe cases, the nostrils are scabbed, the eye circles are white, and breathing is difficult. At this time, most cases develop into pneumonia.

[Prevention and treatment methods] Mainly prevent turtles from catching colds and pneumonia; try to keep as little disturbance as possible in daily management, especially in early spring when the weather is changeable. It is necessary to rarely take them out of the water or transport them over long distances. If necessary; Keep warm during transportation. When changing water in winter and spring, pay attention to the temperature of the old and new water bodies to be as similar as possible, and not to make the temperature difference too large.

If a turtle is found to have a cold, in the early stage, the turtle can be fed with 0.2g of Virulin plus 0.1g of vitamin C per 500g of turtle, or 0.1g of Contac plus 0.1g of vitamin C. At the same time, bathe the turtle in 1/10,000 formalin for 15 minutes. For severe cases, 150,000 international units of penicillin or 0.5 grams of cephalexin can be injected for several days.

6. Red deck disease

[Symptoms] Turtles move a lot in summer or the plastron is damaged during transportation. The roughness of the pond causes the tortoise shell to wear away, resulting in local redness, swelling and inflammation in the horn. Moreover, most of the bleeding plaques are found inside the plastron and spread to the surrounding infiltrates. In severe cases, they can spread to the entire tortoise carapace, causing sepsis and death. The main culprit of this disease is poor water quality in the pool, lack of disinfection, and low oxygen at the bottom, which easily produces a large number of monospores.

〔Prevention and treatment of Fang Hao〕You can use inflating and oxygenating the pool to make the pool water move, and there will be almost no disease. This measure is very effective especially under conditions of high-density stocking or poor water quality in small ponds. Frequent water changes are also an effective prevention and control method, which is more practical.

[Treatment method]; Micromycin can be injected, 15,000 international units per 500 grams of turtle per day, gentamicin can also be used, and the usage is the same. For turtles with severe disease, it is best to prick the affected area with a needle, squeeze out the blood, rub it with salt, then rinse with water, then add purple gold tablets and vinegar to make a paste and apply it to the affected area. It can be cured after several times.

7． Neck ulcer

[Symptoms] This disease is actually a type of traumatic inflammation. It usually occurs in early winter and spring, and is very seasonal, especially at the turn of spring and summer. According to 6-year observation at the Longtouge Animal Breeding Farm in Yuanhua Town, Haining City, Zhejiang Province, more than 95% of female turtles are susceptible to this disease. The reason is that these two seasons of the year are related to the estrus control of turtles. Because in the later stages of the turtle mating chase, the male turtle often climbs on the female turtle's back and must first bite the female turtle's neck. Sometimes a female turtle is mated by multiple male turtles and is bitten with scars. How can turtles not get sick if the water quality is poor? In severe cases, infections such as Saprolegnia or Achromobacter can cause the neck to swell, affect food intake, and even cause erosion and death.

〔Prevention method〕This disease is relatively easy to prevent. In addition to maintaining good water quality, timely disinfection with drugs in late autumn and spring and summer every year at the end of the turtle mating season has a significant preventive effect. Potassium permanganate can be used to disinfect the entire pond. For splashing, use 5 grams per cubic meter of water. Bleaching powder can also be used, 1 gram per cubic meter of water. After a few days, take a sample of the turtles for inspection. If there are still some infected turtles that have not recovered, you can use a high-concentration potassium permanganate solution to take a medicated bath, that is, add 200 grams per cubic meter of water. After it is fully dissolved, put the turtles in and soak them for 15 minutes. minute. You can also use hydrogen peroxide to wipe the diseased parts of the turtle, then apply violet liquid again, and then put it into the pool after drying for half a day.

8. Onychomycosis: The symptom of tortoise shell shedding is the peeling off of the enamel layer of the shell, also known as enamel dehiscence. There are also cases where the armor shell is soft but not hard. Some turtles, such as colorful turtles, sometimes naturally peel off as they grow older, but they can still grow back a new glaze layer normally. The former is irreversible, cannot grow again, and cannot be cured once it develops. The cause of the disease is unknown, but most people think it is caused by nutritional deficiencies plus bacteria or toxins.

The prevention and treatment is to increase the nutritional content of feed and add cod liver oil, calcium and vitamin B. Improve feeding conditions and get more sun. Keeping severely ill turtles in isolation and feeding them with fresh feed such as liver, fish and shrimp can stabilize their condition.

9. White eye disease; White eye disease is a common disease in turtles; it is especially common in young turtles. Because the internal mucosa is delicate, it is especially easy to be infected by pathogenic bacteria when there is no sunlight during the winter or when the water quality is poor when raised indoors. . Once the disease is discovered, it is often ongoing. In the later stage, most of them have suppurated and formed eye droppings-like pus lumps that accumulated inside the eyelids, compressing the eyeballs and optic nerves, causing blindness, affecting food intake, leading to weight loss and death, and some died due to the transfer of inflammation to the brain. Among existing turtles, this disease occurs frequently in colorful turtles.

When white eye disease first occurs, the turtle's eyes are red and swollen; at this time, you can use ciprofloxacin eye drops or rifampicin eye drops; 2 times a day; after using the medicine, put the turtle in a dry place to rest for a few days, or you can After taking the medicine, spending a few hours in the sun every day will help eliminate inflammation. If the disease is serious, you can open the eyes of the sick turtle, wash the eyes with normal saline, wash away the pus and feces, and then take a medicated bath. Put the turtle in a water basin and add the amount of water to cover the turtle's back. Generally, add 800,000 to 5 kilograms of water. International units of streptomycin and 0.2 grams of furazolidine. Change the water and add the above drugs again after the next day. Use 3 to 4 times in a row to heal.

10. Lipodystrophy

[Symptoms] Excessive feeding of dried silkworm pupae or spoiled meat to turtles during breeding causes a large amount of denatured fatty acids to accumulate in the turtle's body, causing liver, kidney, and pancreatic dysfunction and metabolic dysfunction. Lesions gradually appear. Mild symptoms are difficult to identify, but as the disease progresses, the turtle becomes sluggish, often swims in the water, and its appetite decreases. Generally, edema appears under the epidermis in the later stages of the disease, the body becomes thicker, the horns are raised higher, and the muscles at the base of the limbs have no sense of fullness. They feel soft and inelastic when pressed with fingers. Sometimes the belly of a seriously ill turtle smells bad and its appearance changes color. When the internal organs were dissected, the fat tissue changed from white or yellow to yellowish-brown or yellowish-brown, and the liver became enlarged and turned black.

[Prevention and control methods] Do not feed excessive high-fat feed and dried silkworm pupae that have been stored for too long; do not feed spoiled feed; appropriately add vitamin E, vitamin C and B vitamins to the feed. Prevent feed protein and fat from oxidation and deterioration; appropriately mix animal feed and plant feed for feeding.

In addition, when raising turtles, work should also be done to prevent enemy attacks. Common ones include rats, weasels, otters, snakes, cats, dogs and birds, which are especially harmful to young turtles. . When hatching turtle eggs, ants should also be prevented from harming them.