Hi everybody,
I have been keeping a Rhinoclemmys Pulcherrima Manni for about 5 years.
A few months ago he was having white spots on his shell and was losing his scales but unregularly (nothing like what I was used to as he was growing bigger).
I went to the vet, he gave him antibiotics (baytril) and vétédine. But it seems like it has not entirely cured him (see photos)
So I'm a bit helpless right now. I'm not sure the vet was 100% sure of what he was doing or saying (he's not a tortoise/turtle vet). He took some scales and sent them to the lab to get analyzed and the lab found the following (worth mentoniong : on the way to the vet he pooed, the vet washed him off, but maybe some of the bacteria contained in his poo made it to the lab ? i.e. the citrobacter freundii as turtle have them in their digestive tract ?) :
- Bacteroides spp (rare)
- Prevotella oralis (rare)
- Bacteroides uniformis (rare)
- Acidovorax temperans (rare)
- Citrobacter freundii (a few)
- Pseudomonas alcaligenes (rare)
So I started disinfecting his shell every 2 days altogether. I start by removing the dead scales, I wash him off under the tap (and dry him) and then I apply the iodine solution diluted 1:1 with tap water.
He has become very picky with his diet. He will not eat fresh vegetables (lamb's lettuce, endives, radicchio, cress ...) but he will eat anything else like worms, dried fish and shrimps, fruits (I always only gave him orange and banana), liver ...
I'm currently supplementing whatever he will eat with these vitamins that the vet provided to me on a daily basis.
I use the 70W JBL Jungle lamp, a 120x60x70cm aquaterrarium with a few tropical plants and a 10L water zone heated at 22-26°C.
I used to keep the terrarium at a hygrometry of 70-80%, but since I've noticed the shell rot, I have brought it down to 50-60%. Apart from that, the substrat is a mix of coco humus, garden potting soil and peat. I also have spaghum moss, natural wood and a coco background.
From a behavior perspective, he actually does not look sick. He climbs everywhere, is dynamic goes into his water tank, back on land etc ... The only behavioral thing that would make me think that he is sick is that he spends quite some time under the lamp. For the time being, I am providing him with fresh water right near the lamp so he does not have to move to the tank.
Also, the last time I saw his poo, it was pretty soft and a bit greenish.
I'd be happy about any help anyone could provide about what else I can do and also about how grave the condition actually is based on the pictures I provided below.
Thanks a lot.
I have been keeping a Rhinoclemmys Pulcherrima Manni for about 5 years.
A few months ago he was having white spots on his shell and was losing his scales but unregularly (nothing like what I was used to as he was growing bigger).
I went to the vet, he gave him antibiotics (baytril) and vétédine. But it seems like it has not entirely cured him (see photos)
So I'm a bit helpless right now. I'm not sure the vet was 100% sure of what he was doing or saying (he's not a tortoise/turtle vet). He took some scales and sent them to the lab to get analyzed and the lab found the following (worth mentoniong : on the way to the vet he pooed, the vet washed him off, but maybe some of the bacteria contained in his poo made it to the lab ? i.e. the citrobacter freundii as turtle have them in their digestive tract ?) :
- Bacteroides spp (rare)
- Prevotella oralis (rare)
- Bacteroides uniformis (rare)
- Acidovorax temperans (rare)
- Citrobacter freundii (a few)
- Pseudomonas alcaligenes (rare)
So I started disinfecting his shell every 2 days altogether. I start by removing the dead scales, I wash him off under the tap (and dry him) and then I apply the iodine solution diluted 1:1 with tap water.
He has become very picky with his diet. He will not eat fresh vegetables (lamb's lettuce, endives, radicchio, cress ...) but he will eat anything else like worms, dried fish and shrimps, fruits (I always only gave him orange and banana), liver ...
I'm currently supplementing whatever he will eat with these vitamins that the vet provided to me on a daily basis.
I use the 70W JBL Jungle lamp, a 120x60x70cm aquaterrarium with a few tropical plants and a 10L water zone heated at 22-26°C.
I used to keep the terrarium at a hygrometry of 70-80%, but since I've noticed the shell rot, I have brought it down to 50-60%. Apart from that, the substrat is a mix of coco humus, garden potting soil and peat. I also have spaghum moss, natural wood and a coco background.
From a behavior perspective, he actually does not look sick. He climbs everywhere, is dynamic goes into his water tank, back on land etc ... The only behavioral thing that would make me think that he is sick is that he spends quite some time under the lamp. For the time being, I am providing him with fresh water right near the lamp so he does not have to move to the tank.
Also, the last time I saw his poo, it was pretty soft and a bit greenish.
I'd be happy about any help anyone could provide about what else I can do and also about how grave the condition actually is based on the pictures I provided below.
Thanks a lot.
