Then you need to regularly pay attention to her behavior. In case of a change in the nature of the behavior, you must immediately find out the reason for this behavior, as this can affect the health of your pet.
Suspicious behavior includes the moments when the turtle begins to open its mouth quite often and make characteristic sounds. Such behavior can be regarded as such that indicates that the red-eared turtle has some kind of disease.
Possible reasons
- ARI or. In other words, a respiratory tract disease of both viral and infectious origin.
- Disorders in the gastrointestinal tract.
- Rotting processes in the oral cavity.
It is very important to pay attention to such a factor as the discharge from the oral cavity of various types of secretions with the presence of a large number of air bubbles.
This is necessary in order to indicate the exact characteristics of the abnormal behavior of the animal in the process of consultation with a specialist in order to establish a preliminary diagnosis. In the case of an accurate description of the clinical manifestations, the veterinarian, even by phone, can determine the exact diagnosis and give recommendations on the method of treatment.
In no case should you self-medicate, as this can lead to disastrous results. The best option is to take the animal and take it to a veterinarian who has some knowledge and experience. The doctor will quickly and accurately determine the diagnosis of the existing ailment and prescribe qualified treatment.
Such diseases, especially pneumonia, are quite difficult to cure without the use of antibiotics, which are injected into the turtle's body.
In any case, you should pay attention to the conditions of keeping your pet. As a rule, most diseases, such as pneumonia or acute respiratory infections, develop in conditions when temperature conditions are underestimated and unsanitary conditions are observed within the reptile habitat.
Disorders in the gastrointestinal tract are treated with the normalization of nutrition.
Many owners, faced with such a problem, wonder what to do if they do not eat. There can be several reasons for refusing food, among them both natural and harmless, and those associated with a violation of your pet's health.
Why isn't the red-eared turtle eating anything?
Natural and fairly harmless reasons may include the turtle's desire to hibernate and puberty. The turtle is a cold-blooded animal and with some changes in conditions (lighting, water temperature), it can hibernate. This is a completely normal condition. Another reason for refusing food is puberty. In general, turtles can go without food for up to two months without harming their own health.
More serious reasons for not eating and opening his mouth can be constipation or improper diet. Finally, the most dangerous diseases that deprive turtles of appetite include various infections and an increase in the "beak" that prevents the animal from eating normally.
How to feed a turtle if it doesn't eat?
If you are sure that your turtle is not going to fall asleep, then you should carefully analyze the conditions of detention. The water in the aquarium should be warm enough and a UV lamp is required. The turtle may not have enough light; this may happen in the fall or winter. Then you need to add another llama to illuminate the aquarium. Analyze your pet's diet. Turtles are predators, therefore, in addition to dry food, fish and seafood should be included. Herbal supplements include cucumber, seaweed, or lettuce. If you suspect a turtle has constipation, give it a warm bath. It will also solve your thirst problem. The "beak" is removed only after consultation with a veterinarian, and to prevent its formation in the future, a little chalk is added to the turtles' food. But most importantly, if you suspect that the turtle is ill, urgently show it to the veterinarian and then proceed according to his instructions.
On our website, we paid enough attention to the topic of turtle diseases at one time - look for this publication. However, as experience shows, and as it becomes clear from the comments that you leave, our readers, not always and not everyone has the opportunity to treat a pet in a veterinary clinic. Someone cannot go there for procedures every day, while others cannot afford treatment at the clinic. However, this shouldn't mean that you have to watch your pet suffer and die. Not at all. We suggest you learn how to self-administer medications prescribed by your veterinarian. The latter is a very important point, since After all, a specialist should deal with the appointment of a course of treatment.
So, today in our publication we will talk to you about different ways of introducing drugs into the body of a sick turtle, and consider how to learn how to do it correctly, on your own at home…
Methods for administering medications to turtles
So, your pet is sick, the veterinarian has made an accurate diagnosis and prescribed an appropriate course of treatment for you (very often turtle diseases occur due to non-compliance with recommendations for their maintenance, read more about the conditions in which red-eared turtles should live). As a rule, most often it is taking pills or injections. But, each time taking the turtle for an injection to the veterinary clinic, or visiting a specialist 3 times a day so that he can give the pet medicine is not very convenient. Yes, and disturbing a sick creature that needs peace and quiet is not too correct. Therefore, you and I, as conscious and loving owners of our pets, will have to learn how to independently carry out these simple medical procedures. And now we will tell you how to do it correctly ...
How to give a turtle a pill
Oral administration of medicine to the turtle's body is a fairly common method of treating many diseases. The drug itself and its dosage, as well as the frequency of administration, should be determined by a specialist, based on the diagnosis of your pet, its condition, size and body weight. Perhaps a large turtle will need to be given a whole pill, and a small one of it. In any case, you will have to try very hard to prevent the turtle from spitting out the medicine and biting your finger.
Gently fix the pet's head with your fingers and open its mouth. If the turtle is not large, then you can open its mouth with a strip of thick paper, which you insert into its mouth from the front. In case you have a large turtle, its mouth can be opened with a small-sized spatula, which you will insert into its mouth with a narrow end forward in the direction from bottom to top. Proceed very carefully and gently so as not to inadvertently damage the animal's mouth. Once the spatula is in the turtle's mouth, gently rotate it perpendicularly so that the turtle cannot close its mouth while administering the medicine.
In order for the tablet not to hurt the mucous surfaces of the turtle's oral cavity, if there are no contraindications in the instructions, it will be more convenient to first dissolve it in a small amount of boiled warm water, draw the resulting solution into a syringe without a needle and carefully, trying not to injure the pet, gradually inject the medicine. Make sure that the turtle does not choke by injecting the medicine slowly.
If the tablet cannot be dissolved (this is written in the instructions and this was confirmed by the veterinarian), try to grind it into powder, and using another spatula (the powder can be placed on its tip), insert the medicine into the turtle's mouth, then turn the first spatula and gently squeeze the jaws turtle so that she can swallow the powder and not spit it out.
During all your manipulations, try not to be nervous - your nervousness is transmitted to the sick pet and he also begins to worry, act slowly, but confidently. As practice shows, after several procedures, the turtle, if it doesn’t get used to your manipulations, will treat them more calmly, and it will be easier for you to orally inject the medicine into its body.
How to inject your turtle
In order for the drug to work faster, the veterinarian may prescribe it not by mouth, but by injecting it. In principle, there is nothing wrong with that, and giving a shot to turtles is as simple as giving it to, say, cats (find out). The main thing is to follow certain instructions and follow the rules, which we will tell you about below.
It is preferable to use disposable syringes with a capacity of 2 and 5 milliliters for drug administration, they have a thin needle that easily pierces the skin of the animal. If a larger volume of medication is injected into the turtle, the needle can be moved to a larger syringe.
It is very important to follow the recommendations regarding the storage of the medicine and observe the temperature regime. Since, non-observance leads the medicine to disrepair and it becomes useless. The same can be said about those situations when you do not collect a whole syringe, and the medicine still remains in the ampoule. If it can be stored, you can reuse the ampoule. But, if the medicine is not intended for storage, it is not recommended to use it for introduction into the body of a sick turtle. Instead of benefit and recovery, it can aggravate the sick pet's condition.
Insert the syringe needle into the ampoule and make sure that it does not touch its walls, carefully draw up the medicine. Even if it seems to you that there is only it in the syringe, and there is not a drop of air - lift the needle up and release a little medicine until it flows in a trickle - so you will be sure that you are injecting the turtle with medicine and only medicine. If you have drawn more medication than your veterinarian has prescribed for you, empty the syringe. In case of a shortage of medication, it must be taken, since the success of the treatment depends on compliance with the accuracy of the dosage. If you notice air bubbles that have adhered to the walls of your syringe, you just need to tap the syringe with your finger to remove them.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that some drugs for injections are produced not in liquid form, but in powder form, and they must be dissolved. Carefully read the instructions for the drug, than it is necessary to dissolve such a drug - novocaine, sodium chloride solution. It is strictly forbidden to use ordinary boiled water for these purposes.
If you need to dissolve the medicine, then first shake the ampoule with it and tap it with your finger so that the powder is at the bottom. Then, carefully open the ampoule in the place of its narrowing and break off the tip (it is better to cover it with cotton wool or a cloth so as not to injure your fingers). Collect the indicated amount of solvent into the syringe and release it into the ampoule with the medicine, mix them thoroughly and re-draw the mixture you received into the syringe. Since you have already performed certain manipulations with the needle, and it could become dull, it is recommended to change the needle before the injection (for diluted drugs, it is better to take a needle with a large hole).
At the time of the injection, the turtle should be in a horizontal position, and it will be better if someone from your loved ones picks it up. Unlike dogs and cats, which do not need to wipe their skin with alcohol before injection (in any case, many veterinarians do not do this), the turtle's skin will need to be wiped with iodine or alcohol at the site of the future injection. For the injection site, you need to choose a place where you do not get into the blood vessels, and to make sure that you do not get into them, you can slightly pull the plunger from the syringe towards you after inserting the needle under the skin. If after that blood appears in the syringe, it means that the needle is in a blood vessel. In this case, it is not necessary to remove the needle and insert it again, it will be enough to advance it a little deeper.
The medicine should be injected slowly and gradually, and before removing the needle, a piece of cotton wool, which will also be moistened with alcohol, should be pressed onto the skin near the injection site - this will reduce the pain from the injection and prevent infection from entering the open injection site.
After you take out the needle, edema may occur in the place where you injected the medicine - you should not be afraid, the medicine has collected under the skin and you just need to massage it for a few minutes in order to quickly distribute it over the tissues of the turtle.
It is quite obvious that the turtle can become restless during the injection, but you must be patient and treat the animal with understanding. It is not easy for him now either.
Video on how to inject a turtle
Today we looked at the practical topic of how to treat a turtle, how to give it pills and injections. We hope that you do not have to use these recommendations in practice, however, if such a need arises, you can help your pet.
Have you ever given your turtle medication? Make injections? Share with us your experiences, stories, and, of course, photos of your pets.
To understand how to open a turtle's mouth at home, you need to use several techniques, which we will describe below. There are several ways in which opening the mouth will be possible. It is possible to perform such an action if:
- Press on the desired points, the lower jaw will begin to descend.
- Use a special device - "yawn".
- Insert a match into the corner of the turtle's mouth, and thus force the reptile to open its mouth.
There are many other options, but the above methods are the simplest and most effective.
Stages of opening a turtle's mouth
Before starting the process, you need to take into account the fact that in the process of opening the turtle's mouth, the main thing is not to overdo it. You need to make sure that your pet makes the decision to open its mouth. It should also be taken into account that a turtle can live up to three months without food. Therefore, in case of failure, you should not be upset. Maybe next time you will succeed, and the opening of the mouth will be successful.
Stages of establishing a probe to a turtle:
- Place the reptile upright with the head up.
- Try to open your mouth with a wooden device.
- Insert the probe very carefully. You cannot change the position of the animal.
If your pet turtle is large, then you should seek help from someone.
If you need a simple feeding of the pet, you need to do the following:
- Fix the turtle's head.
- Press gently on the points behind the reptile's ears.
- Lower the lower jaw down.
Devices in the form of a wooden stick or strip of paper
You can also use another, fairly good way. For this you need:
- Fix the reptile's head.
- Insert a wooden stick or strip of paper between the turtle's jaws.
- Apply gentle pressure, after which the turtle's mouth should open.
The device should be chosen based on the age of the pet. If the individual is an adult, you need to take a stick, and if the turtle is young, then a piece of paper will be enough.
You can also open the turtle's mouth with an ordinary match. To do this, you need to insert the tip of a match, which does not contain sulfur, into the corner of the reptile's mouth. Next, you need to try to open the mouth, pressing on the lower jaw. Since it is a movable part of the body, all attempts should be made with the lower part of the mouth. However, you must remember to be extremely careful and careful so as not to harm your beloved pet.
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You will need
- Salad
- Tomatoes
- Table lamp or heater
- UV lamp
- Plate or bowl
- Boiled water
- Manicure nippers
Instructions
If your turtle has stopped eating, try to determine if it's time for it. Turtles are usually active in the summer and go to bed, which is natural. But there are also exceptions. Even the Central Asian or Greek turtles, usually with a normal northern hemisphere life cycle, may well fall asleep in the middle of summer to get you thinking about their menu in winter. This happens if the turtle was eating well at the beginning of summer. The Central Asian tortoise has two periods: winter and drought. In this case turtle just leave it alone. You can put her a box of dry leaves. Place the "bedroom" in a cool place where there are no drafts.
If the turtle doesn’t hibernate but doesn’t eat, it may well be that it wants something completely different from what you are offering it. Try feeding lettuce or dandelion leaves. If the turtle remains indifferent, give something that no land turtle usually cannot refuse - a slice of tomato. If this does not help, try to give your pet the right to choose. Take it out on a warm, sunny day on the grass. Let her see for herself what she likes. Include on the menu whatever she chooses.
It is possible that the turtle will not choose anything. Try giving her a small piece of bread. Remember that, in general, you cannot feed a turtle with bread, it has a detrimental effect on the liver. But a small piece to whet the appetite will not hurt, turtles even love what is harmful for them. After the bread, add salad or dandelions.
The turtle may want to drink rather than eat after hibernation. Pour water into a saucer and place in front of the turtle. Some turtles do not eat after hibernation because their intestines are full. In this case, give the turtle a "bath". Pour warm boiled water into a bowl or plate, depending on the turtle's size. The water temperature should be slightly above room temperature. Place the turtle in the water carefully. This must be done so that the nostrils are above the water. This procedure will help solve two problems. Maybe the turtle is just thirsty, then it will immediately get drunk. A 10 minute bath is usually sufficient. But it can also happen that the turtle will immediately get rid of what is in its intestines. Then it must be washed, taken out and wiped off.
Even a very hungry land turtle will not eat if the ambient temperature is below 18 ° C. Her digestive enzymes just don't work. Therefore, warm up the turtle and the room in which it is located. Put on a regular table lamp or heating device. At lower temperatures, food in the turtle's stomach is not digested and may start to rot.
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