common health problems

* If your animal gets sick and either gets worse fast, or

does not get better after you made the environment perfect,

see a veterinarian who has experience with turtles.

Some are in the yellow pages, or ask your local animal hospital or

Humane Society for a reference to a turtle vet. Your local herp

society may also be able to help.

* If your turtle gets sick, make sure, you are keeping it in clean

water, feed it the right foods, and keep it warm enough. These

are the primary reasons for turtles getting sick. Fix the

environment, or the turtle will not get better, even with

expensive medication.

* The most common symptom is a turtle not eating. See next section.

* Swollen eyes

Most often the beginning of any kind of an infection.

Bacterial infections, caused by a combination of stress and physical damage

(rough substrate, dirty substrate in eyes, scratched by other turtles'claws).

Do not just use eye drops. If the infection is strictly in the eye,

Gentocin drops (from your veterinarian) often help.

They ease the symptoms, and the turtle will be happier, but you

need to treat the cause. Many infections have swollen eyes for a

symptom. You can harm your turtle if you automaticall assume

vitamin A deficiency and then pump it full with the vitamin.

WARNING: Vitamin A injections are not recommended. It is very

difficult to decide on the proper dosage, and an overdose will kill

the turtle; it is easy to overdose. Supplemented diet should be

tried first!

* Wounds in the skin and small rashes. You can treat these by

disinfecting them with Betadine or Nolvosan solution (dilute

with same amount of water) and keeping the turtle warm and dry.

Soak it twice daily for 1/2 hour in warm water, separate from

other turtles, and disinfect after each bath.

If the condition does not improve, see a vet. These things can

take several weeks to clear up. If it does not get worse, be

patient and wait a bit.

* Shell sores, hole in shell, bloody sores on shell.

Immediately remove the turtle from the water and keep it in a dry

environment. Give a 1/2 hour soak twice a day.

Sponge it off with Betadine or Nolvosan several times a day,

especially after the soak. See a veterinarian immediately.

Shell diseases need much tender loving care to heal, and it

takes months or years to clean it up.

Prevent it, by feeding a proper diet and cleaning the water.

You may want to apply a THIN layer of Silvadene cream after

putting the turtle back into its dry box.

Oil based antibiotic creams are good to put on when the turtle

is in the water but should be wiped of afterwards. I primary ingredient

in healing is drying out of the affected area. An oil-based cream will

prevent that from happening.

Keep the turtle plenty warm!

* Sneezing and gaping (occasionally)

Like humans, reptiles occasionally sneeze or yawn. Turtles can get water

in their nose and need to sneeze it out. If the sneezing happens

only every once in a while, and if their is no mucus discharge,

there is nothing to worry about.

* Sneezing (often), coughing, gaping

Almost always a sign of respiratory infection, often pneumonia.

This needs the immediate attention of a turtle veterinarian.

The turtle will need antibiotics, X-rays, and a lot of care. One

cause can be too low a water temperature.

If your turtle is only sniffeling a little, try upping the temperature

and wait a few days. If condition does not improve, see a veterinarian.

* Constipation

Not very common in water turtles. But if you are sure your turtle

is not defecating (remove the filter and see whether anything happens),

he might have an obstructed intestine or some other problem. You may

need and X-Ray to determine the exact cause.

* Skin shedding

A little peeling occasionally is fine. Turtles shed their skin like

other reptiles, but more continuously. Mine usually shed more for a

while, then less or not at all. As long as the shed sking is thin

and tranlucent, and you don't see anything unusual on the skin, and

the shedding is not excessive, don't worry. If the shedding is continuous,

or the skin looks sore or red, or the shedding is very heavy, you may

have to deal with a skin fungus. Have your turtle checked by a veterinarian.

You may also soak the turtle in an idodine solution twice a day for

15 minutes and keep it warm and dry outside the water overnight for a while.

* Shell shedding

Turtles shed occasionally the outermost layer of their scutes. They are

thin, translucent scutes. If the whole scute is shed and the bone becomes

visible, or if shedding is continuous, you may have a fungus problem and

should have your turtle inspected by a veterinarian. As an immediate

measure, remove the turtle from the water except for a 30 minute bath

twice a day; keep it warm and dry; soak twice a day for 15 minutes in

iodine solution or sponge off with Nolvosan.

* Silvery spots under the top layer of shell

The silver spot is most likely air trapped under a scute that might

shed soon. (Not the whole scute to the bone, just one layer, which

turtles shed periodically.) Just keep an eye on it. Sometimes, the

spot turns green from algae that grow on it. You may try, gently,

to see whether to scutej (just a transparent layer) is loose and

comes off.

Swollen eyes

Most often the beginning of any kind of an infection.

Bacterial infections, caused by a combination of stress and physical damage

(rough substrate, dirty substrate in eyes, scratched by other turtles'claws).

Do not just use eye drops. If the infection is strictly in the eye,

Gentocin drops (from your veterinarian) often help.

They ease the symptoms, and the turtle will be happier, but you

need to treat the cause. Stay away from Vitamin A shots until you

have tried a change in diet and soaking and topical antibiotics.

Lack of vitamin A is only one possible cause, and not the most common.

It is difficult to determine the correct dose, and too much will

cause the turtle a slow and painful death.

* Constipation

Can be caused by wrong diet, lack of exercise, or ingestion of sand,

dirt, or gravel. If your turtle does not eliminate, or becomes hard

and impacted at the rear end, see a veterinarian. This is a serious

condition.

* Wounds in the skin and small rashes.

You can treat these by disinfecting them with Betadine or Nolvosan

solution (dilute with same amount of water) and keeping the turtle

warm and dry. If the condition does not improve, see a

veterinarian. Betadine is available at all drug stores. Nolvosan

can be bought at farm supply stores or from a veterinary.

* Sneezing and gaping (occasionally)

Like humans, reptiles occasionally sneeze or yawn. Turtles can get

water in their nose and need to sneeze it out. If the sneezing

happens only every once in a while, and if there is no mucus

discharge, there is nothing to worry about.

* Sneezing (often), coughing, gaping

Almost always a sign of respiratory infection, often pneumonia.

This needs the immediate attention of a skilled herp veterinarian.

The turtle will need antibiotics, X-rays, and a lot of care. Better

prevent by keeping your turtle warm enough and properly fed.