Chelonians

The three groups of chelonians

-tortoises
-turtles
-terrapins

Tortoises

terrestrial chelonians

turtles

aquatic, semi aquatic chelonians

terrapins

semi-aquatic hard-shelled chelonians

What is the dorsal shell called?

Carapace (the pelvic, pectoral girdles, and the rib cage are fused with this)

What is the ventral shell called?

plastron

Scutes

keratinized epithelium structure covering the bones of the shell

Respiratory System

-like mammals, but have a short trachea, and no diaphragm
-lungs attach dorsally to ventral part of carapace
-lie ventrally to membrane that is attached to abdominal organs

GI system

-short small intestine
-liver is ventrally located to lungs with two lobe
-indention for heart and stomach
-tract empties into cloaca

Cardiovascular system

-3 chambered heart, 2 atria, 1 ventrically with partial septum
-Partial septum result in mixing of 02 and DO2 blood
-RBC are nucleated

Sexual Dimorphism

-male tortoises have a concave plastron
-aquatic males have longer tails
-males in general have longer nails

Aquatic Habitat

-POTZ: 75-82F
-combining surface area of all carapaces should not exceed 25% of space
-water should be a deep as the width of the turtle, and avoid drastic water temp
-dry area to bask, light source should be directed towards it

Terrestrial Habitat

-temps outside 65-75f+, Indoors: 75-90f
-Make sure to have hiding places and shade
-thermal gradient and UV light, Substrate

Appropriate Substrate to use

cypress mulch, large conifer bark nuggets, alfalfa pellets, newspaper, indoor/outdoor carpeting

Aquatic Turtles Nutrition

-omnivores
-Meat source: fish, chopped skinned adult mice, earthworms
-Dark green leafy veggies
-Adults feed 3 a week, Younger EOD

Terrestrial Nutrition

-Mainly Herbivores (Leaves, stems, flowers, fruits)
-Palleted diets should be supplemented with high fiber items
-Adults fed 2-3x weekly, more for juveniles

Restraint

-extend head and grab behind the mandible
-Tongue depressors are handy
-be mindful of nails, can restrain with towel
-Turtles should go in some warm water

Metabolic bone Disorder

-softening and deformity of the shell and bone structure
-improper calcium and phosphorous ratio, VD3 deficiency
-can be caused by wrong diet or not enough UVA/B light
-Cx: anorexia, short/deformed shell, abnormal scute growth

Vitamin A deficiency

-conjunctivitis, Blepharitis, swollen eyelids, nasal discharge
-Dyspnea, ocular discharge, ear abscess

Vitamin A toxicity

-dry flaking skin
-sloughing of skin (2nd bacterial infection)

Shell Illness Trauma (Most common)

-Cause: humans, predators, nutritional deficiency/husbandry
-Tx: check for bleeding, fractures, Stabilizing shell during healing

Ulcerative Shell disease (Shell rot)

-wet or dry, caused by improper husbandry (no dry place)
-Cx: hemorrhagic discharge between scutes, bacterial, or fungal infections, severity can lead to cutaneous ulcerative disease

Overgrown Beak

-due to inadequate diet (high protein or low calcium)
-not enough roughage to wear down beak
-Tx: regular trimming, Dremel, sander

Salmonella

-bacterial burden that increases when the feces build up in the enclosure
-best to clean cage frequently, as there is no effective way to eliminate bacteria from the intestinal flora

Other zoonotic diseases

-Aeromonas, campylobacter, pseudomonas, mycobacterium