Four species of Mediterranean tortoises
- Testudo graeca
- Testudo hermani
- Testudo marginata
- Testudo horsfield
Important anatomy and physiology of tortoises
- ectothermic
- impervious skin but can absorb fluid through cloacal membrane
- herbivores mostly
- dilated proximal colon for microbial digestion
- metabolic rate 20% that of mammals of same size
Microchipping tortoises
Left hind leg in quadriceps
close with glue
Routine healthcare of tortoises
- Weigh regularly
- Photograph young animals regularly
- Monitor for parasites
- Annual (at least) health check
- Quarantine new tortoises and check for disease
Hibernation of tortoises
- Triggered by reducing photoperiod, reduced temperatures and reduced food
- No obligation to hibernate (except maybe Horsefields)
- Anything from 0days to 3 months, depending on many factors
- Not until over 4 years old unless growing too fast
- Enter hibernation:
○ Fully hydrated and empty stomach (and small intestine)
Common diseases in young tortoises (4)
- Developmental
- metabolic bone disease
- dehydration
- urate cystic calculi
Developmental issues in tortoises
up to 80% mortality in wild
poor developers, stop eating, lethargy, maybe swollen
Metabolic bone diseases in tortoises
Nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism
Flexible jaw/thickened areas of shell/soft plastron
Too rapid growth/overfeeding
Inadequate calcium
Incorrect Ca:P
Inadequate exercise
Long term secondary effects
Dehydration in young tortoises
Can be a problem in closed areas with limited sources of hydration
Often heat 24 hours a day
Combined heat/light bulbs without thermostatic control
Compounded by poor husbandry
Urate cystic calculi in young tortoises
Humidity/hydration
Present as ‘constipated’ - seen straining
X-ray, check bloods
Surgical removal
?ultrasonic break up?
Common problems in tortoises
- endoparasites (worms, protozoa)
- ‘post hibernation anorexia’
- respiratory disease
- gout/kidney disease
- generalised oedema
- pica
- heatstroke
- liver disease
- overgrown beak and claws, shell fractures, osteomyelitis
Worms in tortoises
Live worms are often passed following worming
Major problem in colonies on permanent pasture or limited space - especially after mild winter
NEVER use ivermectin
use fenbendazole/oxfenbendazole
Protozoa and amoeboids in tortoises
can cause colicky enteritis
diarrhoea, pain
treat with metronidazole
Post hibernation in tortoises
Do not leave a tortoise to wake up on his own
Once awake, should be eating/drinking within a couple days
Metabolically and physiologically stressful
Highlights underlying conditions
Hibernation temperature in tortoises
5-8 degrees
Respiratory disease in tortoises
URTI often made worse by hypovitaminosis A
○ Squamous metaplasia
○ Swollen conjunctiva
LRTI: often lung abscesses rather than generalised lung infection
Stomatitis/mouth rot in tortoises
- Predisposing factors:
○ Immunosuppression
○ Herpes virus infection
○ Hypovitaminosis A- Treatment:
○ Establish likely cause
○ Clean with care
○ Nutritional support
○ medication
- Treatment:
Chelonian herpes virus (runny nose syndrome)
Rhinitis, stomatitis, glossitis, oesophagitis, plaques
Treat with acyclovir and nasal flush
Gout and kidney disease in tortioses
Cannot produce hypertonic urine
○ No loop of Henle
○ More urine required to get rid of electrolytes
Uric acid is main waste product
Predisposing factors:
○ Dehydration
○ High protein diets
○ Too much or too little supplementation
Tortoises can hold urine they can be sure of taking more water on board
Remember the bladder is not linked to the urinary tract
Diagnosis:
○ P>Ca
○ Hexamita in urine
○ Uric acid
§ Normal: up to 250
§ Post hibernation: 400
§ Severe renal disease: 1000
§ Irretrievable, gout++: 1500-2000
Treatment:
○ Vigorous fluid therapy
○ Treat Hexamita if present
○ Allopurinol (50mg/kg sid)
○ In recovery: B vitamins, phosphate binders
Generalised oedema in tortoises
Hypoproteinaemia
○ Likely causes
§ Malnutrition
§ Parasites+++
§ Liver disease
○ Recovery is possible
Renal disease
○ If the swelling develops during fluid therapy the prognosis is grave
○ Can try diuretics, but unlikely to help
Circulatory failure
○ Heart failure - usually elderly animals
○ Coelomic masses occluding venous return
Liver disease/hepatic lipidosis in tortoises
Causes
○ Inappropriate diet (dog food)
○ Chronic hyperoestrogenism/follicular stasis
○ Chronic malnutrition
○ Excessively long hibernation
Clinical signs
○ Inactivity
○ Not eating
○ Biliverdinuria
○ Jaundice
Diagnosis
○ Neutropaenia
○ General elevation liver enzymes
○ Elevated bile acids (over 80mmol/l)
○ High cholesterol
○ Low albumin
Treatment
○ Nutritional support
○ Liver supplements
Overgrown beak and claws in tortoises
Check diet
Check husbandry
Shell fractures in tortoises
- As RTA in dog/cat
- Analgesia a priority
- Start antibiosis, give NSAID/opioids
- Radiography
- Clean and cover wounds
- If going to refer: do the above first, possibly not Xrays
- Then start to plan fixation, method depends on the degree of damage, position of lesion, age of tortoise
- Oesophageal tube placement?
Osteomyelitis/shell disease in tortoises
- Flushing or petechiae: septicaemia
- Osteomyelitis (shell rot): erosive lesions, smell
- Common causes:
○ Damp substrate
○ Trauma - Treatment:
○ Thorough debridement
○ Wet to dry dressings
○ Bact/sens to determine - appropriate antibiotic (anaerobes?)
○ Bandaging?
○ Analgesia?
○ Oesophageal tube?
-
Introduction29
-
Practical feeding48
-
Housing and welfare31
-
Rabbit medicine and surgery41
-
Anaesthesia in rabbits and small rodents12
-
Guinea pigs24
-
Other rodents42
-
Ferrets24
-
Cage bird management14
-
Bird diseases46
-
Birds of prey22
-
Backyard poultry41
-
Tortoises27
-
Lizards, snakes, and crocodiles12
-
Anaesthesia of birds and reptiles16
-
Fish welfare and housing5
-
Fish diseases3
-
Other small mammals33
-
Housing and welfare in zoos14
-
Reproduction and surgery55
