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Tortoise:  Most frequent diseases.   Vet Dr. Tigre gives information and advice.

The animals should be taken care of in such a good way that       they never fall ill. Sick animals don't eat anymore. They are       tired and stay in their hiding place all day long. On the table       hereafter a summary of the most frequently occuring       diseases of tortoises:       There are naturally not very many experienced vets who know       the many species of tortoises and turtles (a huge specialist       field) in the greatest detail. It is, therefore, recommendable to       look around for specialists just in case that some day it would       come to a hopefully never happening emergency. E. g. Dr.       Ursula Eggenschwiler in 8225 Siblingen.

Disease	Causes	Symptoms	Visit veterinarian?
Affection of the airway	Cold, pneumonia furthered by hypothermia, insufficient taking up feed	Heavy mucosal excretion out of the nostrils ((air cells) and the mouth, audible breath sounds Turtle: Lopsided body while swimming, difficulty with diving	Keeping animals appropriate to their species in best possible surrounding (not on a cold floor), best possible feeding and good hygienic conditions, a lot of hay, go to see the vet
Diarrhoea	Wrong feeding system, bacterial, parasitical and fungal infections	Weakness, lack of appetite, diarrhoea, increased drinking	Withdraw feed for 1 to 2 days, camomile tea, if no improvement in sight, go to see the vet
Constipation	Accumulation of dry intestinal contents, fibrinous material, sand, abnormal intestinal contents, insufficient exercise	No defaecation over a longer period of time	Daily bathing, a varied range of alimentation, sufficient exercise, if no improvement in sight, go to see the vet
Feed refusal, anorexia	Keeping animal in a too cold place, waking up from hibernation, psychological restlessness, deficiency symptoms, parasites	Lack of appetite, weakness	Go to see a vet
Eye problems	Especially with regard to turtles by vitamine deficiency	Swelling of the eyelids, they stick together, animal goes blind	Go to see the vet
Fungal disease, mycosis	Insufficient direct sunlight, insufficient hygiene	Whitish coatings, inflammations of the skin, detachment of horn plates, soft and crumbly horn masses	Go to see the vet, best possible hygiene, direct sunlight
Deficiency symptoms	Vitamin and mineral deficiency	Depending on deficiency: Malacia and distortion of the carapace, swelling of the eyelids, skeleton changes, weakness, lack of appetite	Go to see the vet, best possible alimentation
Damages of the carapce	Infections, injuries, deformities caused by metabolic disorder, in case of turtles insufficient moisture	Depending on cause	Go to see the vet, best possible keeping conditions
Egg bound	Keeping of the animal not appropriate to his species, not enough calcium, injuries of the Fallopian tube	Animals show restlessness, digging everywhere, lack of appetite, mucous discharge from cloaca, respiration through the mouth	Go to see the vet
Intestinal parasites	Various pathogens	Depending on pathogen: Diarrhoea, emaciation, weakness, pharyngeal reflex and vomiting of the eaten food	Go to see the vet

Self-Medication

To play the tortoise vet oneself is a dangerous undertaking. In case of constipation one can at best help with daily bathing, a varied range of alimentation and sufficient exercise. Or, in case of diarrhoea, withdraw feed and administer camomile tea. There is nothing more one can do. It is better to go to see the vet if alarming signs are detected.

Emergency situations

As long as the turtoise is peacefully walking around the meadow, there is no need for an emergency car with a siren. There are, however, situations where quick acting is an absolute must. For instance in case of accidents with run away animals that are hit by a motor vehicle in road traffic. Or in case of mating injuries of the female, in case of egg bound, or if young animals get caught in a door and the like.

When to consult the veterinarian?

There are many gaps in people's knowlege about turtoises and turtles because more and more uncostumary animals and tortoises from far away countries and regions are being kept. Thousands of tortoises and turtles suffer from the lack of understanding of the human beings who in most cases mean well but do exactly the wrong. Keeping tortoises and turtles appropriate to their species can be completely different from species to species. Fatty degeneration of the animals is a modern symptom caused by a civilized society.