I. The etiology of soft shell disease of turtles
The most prominent cause of soft shell disease of turtles Symptoms are softening of the turtle’s shell, which is usually caused by a lack of calcium. The causes of turtle soft shell disease can be mainly divided into two aspects: one is the poor physique of the species of turtles or inbreeding between species of turtles, resulting in congenital malnutrition or other problems of the turtle babies; Malnutrition, lack of calcium and trace elements in the body.
In general, the specific causes of soft shell disease in tortoises are as follows:
1. Congenital factors: the poor physique of the species of turtles or the inbreeding of the species of turtles, resulting in The baby turtles born are suffering from soft shell disease;
2. Acquired factors: Turtles suffer from soft shell disease due to lack of calcium and trace elements due to improper feeding or other reasons.
In the process of raising tortoises, pet owners should pay attention to ensure that the tortoise has sufficient calcium intake, and take the tortoise to bask in the sun every day to promote its absorption of calcium.
II. Symptoms of soft shell disease of turtles
Sick turtles with soft shell disease will It becomes unwilling to crawl or actively foraging, and its dorsal shell and plastron become soft and deformed.
Third, the prevention method of turtle soft shell disease
In feeding turtles During the process, the pet should pay attention to letting the turtles bask in the sun on a regular basis; add an appropriate amount of animal offal or drop a small amount of cod liver oil into the turtle feed; shrimps are rich in calcium, and shrimps can be used as one of the commonly used feeds for turtles; Chronic diseases should be treated in a timely manner.
In addition, pet owners should not think that if the tortoise is kept in a well-lit place such as the living room or balcony, the tortoise will not be deficient in calcium. It must be known that the glass of the window and the glass of the rearing container will block UVB, and the tortoise lacks. UVB exposure is often prone to soft shell disease.
Therefore, in order to effectively prevent turtle soft shell disease, pet owners need to take the following measures:
1. Friends who use heated turtle cages to raise turtles need to use UVB lamps Irradiate the turtle. If the turtle is raised, it can be irradiated at a distance of about 30 cm from it, and it is advisable to irradiate it for 4 to 6 hours a day.
2. Pay attention to maintaining the diversity of the turtle’s diet. You can usually feed the turtle with some small fish and shrimp to supplement it with calcium.
3. When the tortoise’s carapace is found to be soft, the water level can be appropriately lowered to breed the tortoise, and the feeding amount of calcium-rich food can be increased.
4. When the turtle’s soft shell disease is more serious, it can be fed with vitamin AD to promote its calcium conversion, or it can be fed with calcium lactate to supplement calcium.
This is the end of our introduction to the causes and prevention methods of turtle soft shell disease. I hope this content sharing can help you. In general, turtle soft shell disease is easy to solve, and ensuring sufficient calcium content in turtles can effectively prevent the disease from occurring.
