Disease / Illness
Respiratory Infections
Symptoms
Swimming lopsided, raspy breathing, swollen eyes, appetite loss, excessive basking and bubbly mucus from the nostrils or mouth.
Causes
Generally caused by drafts or incorrect basking temperature, but can also be caused by high humidity.
Cure
Make sure there are no drafts around the tank, especially the basking area, and ensure ththat the basking temp is as suggested in the appropriate care sheet. Water temp should be raised 2-3C, and also a vet visit will almost certainly be needed in order to get anti-biotics.
Retained scutes
Symptoms
You will see the layers building up, creating layered peaks on each scute, and making the lines between the scutes more pronounced. YBS particularly seem prone to this problem.
Causes
It is usually caused by high humidity or inproper lighting, but can also be caused by low basking temp or high water temp leading to reduced basking. Poor diet will also contribute to the problem.
Cure
Remove any lid or cover from the tank to reduce humidity, make sure you provide a good UVB source and the correct water and basking temps, and ensure there is adequate calcium in the diet. Vitamin E will also help with scute shedding
Pyramiding
Symptoms
Similar to retained scutes, but the obvious layering of the old scutes is not present. Shell looks very lumpy, and scutes are domed rather than peaked as in retained scutes. Usually accompanied by the turtle looking generally obese
Causes
Long term overfeeding high protein foods such as fish, meat, eggs, and most commercial pellets. People often don't realise how little food reptiles in general actually need, or are advised incorrectly, often by the food tub itself!
Cure
There is no cure, but if caught early enough, it can be stopped and should become less noticable as the terrapin grows. Feed plenty of greens in the diet and limit the amount of protein in the diet.
Shell Rot
Symptoms
Ranging from soft white patches on parts of the shell, to entire scutes falling off. Can affect any part of the shell, and often affects multiple places at the same time.
Causes
Shell rot is generally caused by bacterial or fungal infection stemming from poor water quality, or lack of basking due to incorrect temps meaning that the shell doesn't dry out completely. It can also follow on from retained scutes as water and bacteria can end up trapped beneath the old scutes.
Cure - Hard shelled turtles
Dry dock in a warm area with a temperature gradient from low to high 20's for up to 22 hours a day depending on seriousness of the rot. Ensure the water is extremely clean, preferably cleaning the entire tank thoroughly when the rot is first noticed. Acriflavine (or a similar general bactericide / fungicide) should be applied to the shell around an hour after removing from the tank and at least an hour before returning so that it has time to act on the dried shell. A strong UVB source such as a MVB should be used to help, as well as maintaining correct water and basking area temps. A calcium supplement such as cuttlebone will help also, and ideally the advice of a specialist vet should also be sought.
Cure - Soft shelled turtles
As for hard shelled turtles, but dry dock for a maximum of 8-10 hours at a time as softshells are more prone to dehydration. Also, as they rarely bask anyway, the water can be treated with some "aquarium tonic salt" and / or doses of acriflavine as directed for fish.
Ear Abcesses
Symptoms
Lumps on either side of the head.
Cause
Generally associated with poor water quality, but possibly also caused in part by hard water
Cure
You will need to take your terrapin to a specialist vet so that the abcess can be lanced, and anti-biotics provided.
Parasites
Symptoms
You may see the remains of parasites in faeces, and they may go off their food.
Cause
Usually only seen in wild caught animals, although they can sometimes come from live food items such as fish.
Cure
You will need to take the terrapin(s) to a specialist vet to confirm and treat the parasites