Prolapse - Pink Belly Sideneck

[Malitz17]

My young Pink Belly Sideneck was shipped from Florida to me, in Illinois, with a prolapse. The turtle is robust and healthy and is eating on a daily basis.

Initially, the prolapse would only occur following a feeding. I've had the turtle for about 3 weeks now, and the prolapse appears to now be ever-present. The turtle shows no signs of illness, but it has been extremely timid. I do wonder if the prolapse is influencing this timid behavior.

I've kept turtles for over 30 years. This is my first experience with a prolapse that is not related to the turtles sexual organs - this appears to be intestine. It's a bubble with red veins running through it.

I feel that this may be due to a congenital defect; the vent of the turtle appears to be open at all times, even when the prolapse is retracted within the body. I think that this may be a chronic issue for this turtle, and based on the turtle's overall health, my guess is that the turtle can live a normal healthy life but will of course require exceptional water quality and husbandry. I will attach a picture.

I've had the turtle for 3 weeks and other than being very timid, it is healthy, thriving and eating. It's too small to take to a veterinarian. The prolapse can be massaged back in, but it doesn't seem to be a solution so I'm no longer entertaining that idea.


Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Mitch

 

[DoubleD1996!]

My young Pink Belly Sideneck was shipped from Florida to me, in Illinois, with a prolapse. The turtle is robust and healthy and is eating on a daily basis.

Initially, the prolapse would only occur following a feeding. I've had the turtle for about 3 weeks now, and the prolapse appears to now be ever-present. The turtle shows no signs of illness, but it has been extremely timid. I do wonder if the prolapse is influencing this timid behavior.

I've kept turtles for over 30 years. This is my first experience with a prolapse that is not related to the turtles sexual organs - this appears to be intestine. It's a bubble with red veins running through it.

I feel that this may be due to a congenital defect; the vent of the turtle appears to be open at all times, even when the prolapse is retracted within the body. I think that this may be a chronic issue for this turtle, and based on the turtle's overall health, my guess is that the turtle can live a normal healthy life but will of course require exceptional water quality and husbandry. I will attach a picture.

I've had the turtle for 3 weeks and other than being very timid, it is healthy, thriving and eating. It's too small to take to a veterinarian. The prolapse can be massaged back in, but it doesn't seem to be a solution so I'm no longer entertaining that idea.


Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Mitch

Smaller turtles are usually timid and hide because they're one bite. This is interesting. I've personally never heard of a turtle doing it when they eat. Honestly could be excitement or something dealing with genetics. I've seen some snake breeders use sugar water to retract a prolapse. Someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

 

[Malitz17]

Smaller turtles are usually timid and hide because they're one bite. This is interesting. I've personally never heard of a turtle doing it when they eat. Honestly could be excitement or something dealing with genetics. I've seen some snake breeders use sugar water to retract a prolapse. Someone more knowledgeable will chime in.

Thanks for the reply! Looking forward to further discussion, thanks to all.

 

[Mrs.Jennifer]

My young Pink Belly Sideneck was shipped from Florida to me, in Illinois, with a prolapse. The turtle is robust and healthy and is eating on a daily basis.

Initially, the prolapse would only occur following a feeding. I've had the turtle for about 3 weeks now, and the prolapse appears to now be ever-present. The turtle shows no signs of illness, but it has been extremely timid. I do wonder if the prolapse is influencing this timid behavior.

I've kept turtles for over 30 years. This is my first experience with a prolapse that is not related to the turtles sexual organs - this appears to be intestine. It's a bubble with red veins running through it.

I feel that this may be due to a congenital defect; the vent of the turtle appears to be open at all times, even when the prolapse is retracted within the body. I think that this may be a chronic issue for this turtle, and based on the turtle's overall health, my guess is that the turtle can live a normal healthy life but will of course require exceptional water quality and husbandry. I will attach a picture.

I've had the turtle for 3 weeks and other than being very timid, it is healthy, thriving and eating. It's too small to take to a veterinarian. The prolapse can be massaged back in, but it doesn't seem to be a solution so I'm no longer entertaining that idea.


Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Mitch

Perhaps @Yvonne G has some wisdom…

 

[Malitz17]

My young Pink Belly Sideneck was shipped from Florida to me, in Illinois, with a prolapse. The turtle is robust and healthy and is eating on a daily basis.

Initially, the prolapse would only occur following a feeding. I've had the turtle for about 3 weeks now, and the prolapse appears to now be ever-present. The turtle shows no signs of illness, but it has been extremely timid. I do wonder if the prolapse is influencing this timid behavior.

I've kept turtles for over 30 years. This is my first experience with a prolapse that is not related to the turtles sexual organs - this appears to be intestine. It's a bubble with red veins running through it.

I feel that this may be due to a congenital defect; the vent of the turtle appears to be open at all times, even when the prolapse is retracted within the body. I think that this may be a chronic issue for this turtle, and based on the turtle's overall health, my guess is that the turtle can live a normal healthy life but will of course require exceptional water quality and husbandry. I will attach a picture.

I've had the turtle for 3 weeks and other than being very timid, it is healthy, thriving and eating. It's too small to take to a veterinarian. The prolapse can be massaged back in, but it doesn't seem to be a solution so I'm no longer entertaining that idea.


Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Mitch

My young Pink Belly Sideneck was shipped from Florida to me, in Illinois, with a prolapse. The turtle is robust and healthy and is eating on a daily basis.

Initially, the prolapse would only occur following a feeding. I've had the turtle for about 3 weeks now, and the prolapse appears to now be ever-present. The turtle shows no signs of illness, but it has been extremely timid. I do wonder if the prolapse is influencing this timid behavior.

I've kept turtles for over 30 years. This is my first experience with a prolapse that is not related to the turtles sexual organs - this appears to be intestine. It's a bubble with red veins running through it.

I feel that this may be due to a congenital defect; the vent of the turtle appears to be open at all times, even when the prolapse is retracted within the body. I think that this may be a chronic issue for this turtle, and based on the turtle's overall health, my guess is that the turtle can live a normal healthy life but will of course require exceptional water quality and husbandry. I will attach a picture.

I've had the turtle for 3 weeks and other than being very timid, it is healthy, thriving and eating. It's too small to take to a veterinarian. The prolapse can be massaged back in, but it doesn't seem to be a solution so I'm no longer entertaining that idea.


Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks!

Mitch

Well, after hours upon hours of research I retract what I said above. The outlook is apparently grim. The prolapse continues to grow. Today I will isolate the turtle in addition to treating the water. I've heard many mention sugar baths.
The turtle continues to eat, and remains robust and healthy for the time being. The prolapse has grown so large that I'm concerned her health may begin to decline very rapidly.

 

[zovick]

Well, after hours upon hours of research I retract what I said above. The outlook is apparently grim. The prolapse continues to grow. Today I will isolate the turtle in addition to treating the water. I've heard many mention sugar baths.
The turtle continues to eat, and remains robust and healthy for the time being. The prolapse has grown so large that I'm concerned her health may begin to decline very rapidly.

A good reptile vet might be able to get the prolapsed section back into place and then secure it in the proper position with a suture or two.

 

[Ink]

Did you contact the seller to let them know about the turtle? I am just curious to what they replied.

 

[Malitz17]

A good reptile vet might be able to get the prolapsed section back into place and then secure it in the proper position with a suture or two.

Did you contact the seller to let them know about the turtle? I am just curious to what they replied.

Thanks for your reply.

The seller, Snakes at Sunset, is very elusive. Many of these online sellers are. They seem to have a physical store, but never answer that phone either.

Here is an update on my turtle; I hope that someone either can provide some insight, or perhaps someone will find this info useful in the future...

The turtle continues to eat, is still robust and healthy, but remains timid. I'm now beginning to think that I was correct in my initial assumption - that this is a congenital defect - and that with painstakingly careful husbandry, this turtle may survive and possibly thrive. I simply don't know what will happen long term, however.

The prolapse seems to have reached a size at which it has "maxed out" - it hasnt grown any larger, it's about the size of a pea (picture can be seen in previous post), and there are still occasions when it is fully retracted back into the body of the turtle (when it's retracted, one would assume this is simply a healthy baby turtle, strong as can be, rigid shell, beautiful coloring, eyes, etc.).

As an aside, I initially observed that the prolapse was more prominent after feeding, and I considered withholding food for a day or two to allow to the prolapse to remain retracted. This was a mistake in judgement. I skipped a single day of feeding, the prolapse remained, and the turtle was clearly quite hungry (great sign! but withholding nourishment was a mistake). The next day, the turtle once again ate - plenty of food - and following this feeding, the prolapse was miraculously retracted! Unfortunately though, it appeared again a couple hours later. As of now, it remains basically ever-present still.

I'm able to discern exactly how much the turtle is eating by utilizing a feeding tub within the tank. This way I can also track stool production - which is lacking. However, the turtle is capable of bowel movements. I will say that the prominent feature of the stool is that it is much darker, almost black, in comparison with the perfectly formed light-brown stools from my other turtles. Seems a bit more compact as well, as though the prolapse may be causing constipation, or maybe the other way around.

The turtle is in a community tank. Its behavior and health continue to improve incrementally, very slowly. I should say though that if it weren't for the prolapse, this would be mostly part and parcel stuff. For me, the bottom line right now is that if the turtle continues to eat and produce waste, I'm not going to bother attempting to treat the prolapse yet. She's too small for a vet visit/sutures and I fear the undue stress of quarantining her in a hospital tank could derail everything. Remember, this is a remarkably timid turtle, perhaps due to the congenital defect, and it's very sensitive to stress. It will not eat in front of me but eats like a horse the minute I'm far enough away from the tank.

The last note is that I haven't yet gotten the turtle to take any pellet formula. I have 3 separate formulas, one of which even the most finicky eaters eventually take to. Fancy baby turtle foods, all of them. Great stuff. The baby with the prolapse simply wont go pellet. She eats blood worms both frozen and dry, and that seems to be about it. I understand the importance of getting her to take a formulated and varied diet, but she simply will only eat the worms at this point. I want to get some fiber in the diet but I also want to ensure the poor turtle has access to as much food as possible in order to aid the recovery.

I may be wrong not to quarantine it. Please let me know your thoughts, anybody.


Thanks!


Mitch




My sense as a turtle veteran is that there is indeed something wrong with this turtle, congenital or otherwise.

 

[zovick]

Thanks for your reply.

The seller, Snakes at Sunset, is very elusive. Many of these online sellers are. They seem to have a physical store, but never answer that phone either.

Here is an update on my turtle; I hope that someone either can provide some insight, or perhaps someone will find this info useful in the future...

The turtle continues to eat, is still robust and healthy, but remains timid. I'm now beginning to think that I was correct in my initial assumption - that this is a congenital defect - and that with painstakingly careful husbandry, this turtle may survive and possibly thrive. I simply don't know what will happen long term, however.

The prolapse seems to have reached a size at which it has "maxed out" - it hasnt grown any larger, it's about the size of a pea (picture can be seen in previous post), and there are still occasions when it is fully retracted back into the body of the turtle (when it's retracted, one would assume this is simply a healthy baby turtle, strong as can be, rigid shell, beautiful coloring, eyes, etc.).

As an aside, I initially observed that the prolapse was more prominent after feeding, and I considered withholding food for a day or two to allow to the prolapse to remain retracted. This was a mistake in judgement. I skipped a single day of feeding, the prolapse remained, and the turtle was clearly quite hungry (great sign! but withholding nourishment was a mistake). The next day, the turtle once again ate - plenty of food - and following this feeding, the prolapse was miraculously retracted! Unfortunately though, it appeared again a couple hours later. As of now, it remains basically ever-present still.

I'm able to discern exactly how much the turtle is eating by utilizing a feeding tub within the tank. This way I can also track stool production - which is lacking. However, the turtle is capable of bowel movements. I will say that the prominent feature of the stool is that it is much darker, almost black, in comparison with the perfectly formed light-brown stools from my other turtles. Seems a bit more compact as well, as though the prolapse may be causing constipation, or maybe the other way around.

The turtle is in a community tank. Its behavior and health continue to improve incrementally, very slowly. I should say though that if it weren't for the prolapse, this would be mostly part and parcel stuff. For me, the bottom line right now is that if the turtle continues to eat and produce waste, I'm not going to bother attempting to treat the prolapse yet. She's too small for a vet visit/sutures and I fear the undue stress of quarantining her in a hospital tank could derail everything. Remember, this is a remarkably timid turtle, perhaps due to the congenital defect, and it's very sensitive to stress. It will not eat in front of me but eats like a horse the minute I'm far enough away from the tank.

The last note is that I haven't yet gotten the turtle to take any pellet formula. I have 3 separate formulas, one of which even the most finicky eaters eventually take to. Fancy baby turtle foods, all of them. Great stuff. The baby with the prolapse simply wont go pellet. She eats blood worms both frozen and dry, and that seems to be about it. I understand the importance of getting her to take a formulated and varied diet, but she simply will only eat the worms at this point. I want to get some fiber in the diet but I also want to ensure the poor turtle has access to as much food as possible in order to aid the recovery.

I may be wrong not to quarantine it. Please let me know your thoughts, anybody.


Thanks!


Mitch




My sense as a turtle veteran is that there is indeed something wrong with this turtle, congenital or otherwise.

It is remotely possible that if the affected turtle is not quarantined, another turtle might decide to take a bite of the prolapse.

 

[Malitz17]

Perhaps @Yvonne G has some wisdom…

Has @Yvonne G dealt

It is remotely possible that if the affected turtle is not quarantined, another turtle might decide to take a bite of the prolapse.

Thanks again for the reply.

I should have noted that this turtle is the only turtle in her aquarium. Other creatures in the tank are rummy nose tetras and a couple of mollys. There's no substrate and I've tried to minimize any chance of an accident occurring, whether it be a scrape or poke etc.

 

[Malitz17]

Has @Yvonne G dealt

Thanks again for the reply.

I should have noted that this turtle is the only turtle in her aquarium. Other creatures in the tank are rummy nose tetras and a couple of mollys. There's no substrate and I've tried to minimize any chance of an accident occurring, whether it be a scrape or poke etc.

I have 8 aquariums, all of which house turtles, but only one tank has more than one turtle. It's a juvenile tank with some unique babies, I'll share it on the forum when I get a chance.

 

[Malitz17]

I came home from work today to find the turtle in perfect condition with no prolapse. She's eating at the moment. What I've done is a small water change every other day. A smart water change. I'm also utilizing a feeding tub. So, as things currently stand, exceptional water quality and careful husbandry have gone a long way. Looks like this will be the course from here on out.

 

[Malitz17]

The turtle continues to improve in seemingly every way, except for the prolapse continuing to occur. Once again, perhaps my initial assessment of a congenital defect was correct.

Every morning I find the turtle more willing to explore, less timid, and more interested in whatever food hits the water. Healthy as can be, beautiful coloration, eyes, rigid shell, skin is immaculate, etc.

But it's extremely disconcerting to see that the prolapse appears on a daily basis and the sight of it would of course cause concern to any turtle owner.

If there's any change, I'll update. Otherwise it appears that my very first post was more or less correct: This turtle seems as though it will thrive and survive with excellent husbandry.

Mitch

 

[Malitz17]

I also bumped the temperature to about 80-81 F as she's a baby and many forums say warmer temperatures can help with a prolapse. I;m considering a course of sugar baths at some point in the next couple of days, but I have doubts over whether that would be a total waste of time or not. The turtle can retract the prolapse, it simply doesn't seem capable of keeping it retracted. So, I have some doubts over the efficacy and/or practicality of a sugar bath in this case. The turtle is so healthy though that I may consider it as an experiment at this point.

 

[Ink]

I'm glad to hear she is doing well. I'm glad to read that you are doing everything you can for her. Good luck

 

[Malitz17]

Thank you Ink!

 

[Ink]

Please post progress.

 

[Malitz17]

The turtle continues to progress, although various symptoms persist.

First, the turtle is now eating pellets only. This took some time and patience. I initially started with vibra bites given their similar appearance to blood worms - she loved them. Over about 3 days and multiple feedings I found her now snacking on the occasional staple pellet, a fancy baby pellet I have. All good stuff.

Most days, the prolapse is not present when I arrive home from work to feed. It usually is present after feeding, once or twice maybe she's gone 24 hours with no prolapse. Most of the time, it is is present, and the turtle remains timid, but will eagerly sun itself with all limbs outstretched - again, very good sign.

I suppose that's about it. She's happy. I work hard to maintain excellent water quality, I have an apparatus that makes water changes quite simple and so I'm at that on a weekly basis. I'm very happy she's not just surviving, but thriving. Perhaps once she gets a bit bigger, a veterinarian can intercede with a suture or something of that nature.

Mitch

 

[Malitz17]

The turtle continues to progress, although various symptoms persist.

First, the turtle is now eating pellets only. This took some time and patience. I initially started with vibra bites given their similar appearance to blood worms - she loved them. Over about 3 days and multiple feedings I found her now snacking on the occasional staple pellet, a fancy baby pellet I have. All good stuff.

Most days, the prolapse is not present when I arrive home from work to feed. It usually is present after feeding, once or twice maybe she's gone 24 hours with no prolapse. Most of the time, it is is present, and the turtle remains timid, but will eagerly sun itself with all limbs outstretched - again, very good sign.

I suppose that's about it. She's happy. I work hard to maintain excellent water quality, I have an apparatus that makes water changes quite simple and so I'm at that on a weekly basis. I'm very happy she's not just surviving, but thriving. Perhaps once she gets a bit bigger, a veterinarian can intercede with a suture or something of that nature.

Mitch

The moral of my story so far I would say is to do your due diligence if you find yourself in my situation.

Husbandry is key.

Many, many other posters in other forums continuously suggested I euthanize the turtle. Given my experience (but also youth, I'm young and have the energy to take extra care), I didn't want to go this route as long as I had a visibly and physically healthy/ eating baby turtle. She remains that - but with the prolapse. I'll keep you guys posted.

Mitch