How can I tell if my box turtle is sick?
Gastrointestinal parasites, such as roundworms, are common in pet turtles. In many cases, parasitic infections do not cause any clinical signs; they are detected on a routine fecal examination. With severe infection, parasites may cause diarrhea or weight loss and may require treatment. How can I tell if my turtle is sick?
What kind of disease does a box turtle have?
Symptoms include a lack of appetite, lethargy, swelling of the eyelids (often with a pus-like discharge), swelling of the ear (due to the formation of an ear abscess), kidney failure, and respiratory infections. “In turtles, most respiratory infections are caused by bacteria and are often secondary to vitamin A deficiency.”
How to tell if a box turtle has an abscess?
Turtles with respiratory infections may have excess mucus in their oral cavities (seen as bubbles in the mouth), nasal discharges, lethargy, loss of appetite, open-mouth breathing, and wheezing, and may stretch the neck out with each breath. An abscess is a pus-filled swelling within a tissue of the body.
Why does my box turtle have white spots on its shell?
Bacterial infections cause a wet rot and fungal infections cause a white rot. Most cases of shell rot occur in aquatic species but land species of box turtles and tortoises can also get it. The signs of wet rot include: a spotted discolored shell that is soft which may or not smell rotten.
Gastrointestinal parasites, such as roundworms, are common in pet turtles. In many cases, parasitic infections do not cause any clinical signs; they are detected on a routine fecal examination. With severe infection, parasites may cause diarrhea or weight loss and may require treatment. How can I tell if my turtle is sick?
Symptoms include a lack of appetite, lethargy, swelling of the eyelids (often with a pus-like discharge), swelling of the ear (due to the formation of an ear abscess), kidney failure, and respiratory infections. “In turtles, most respiratory infections are caused by bacteria and are often secondary to vitamin A deficiency.”
Bacterial infections cause a wet rot and fungal infections cause a white rot. Most cases of shell rot occur in aquatic species but land species of box turtles and tortoises can also get it. The signs of wet rot include: a spotted discolored shell that is soft which may or not smell rotten.
What are the signs of illness in turtles?
“More commonly, signs of illness are non-specific, such as a turtle with anorexia (lack of appetite) and lethargy” Signs of disease in turtles may be specific for a certain disease, such as nasal discharge in the case of a respiratory infection.
