What are some causes of RI? And how do you know if your turtle needs Vit A? Would soaking a couple of his pellets in cod liver oil once a week be a good thing to do?
RI is like a cold or flu that a person gets (except RI often responds to antibiotics unlike cold or flu). Turtles come down with it when they've been exposed to another turtle with it or when their immune systems are weakened. Lots of things can weaken an immune system - stress, malnuitrition, being too cold, having some other sort of dibilitating health problem like internal parasites.
The symptom of a mild need for vitamin A is swollen or irritated eyes. To treat it, you can put zoo med aquatic turtle eye drops in the turtle's eyes, you can put some cod liver oil on a q tip and put it on the turtle's eyelids, or you can soak a few pellets in cod liver oil like you say.
If the turtle has a good, nuitritious balanced diet and good habitat he shouldn't need a vitamin a supplement.
If you incorporate foods that contain beta carotene (cantelope, carrots, red bell peppers, dandelions, yellow squash, pumpkin, for example) into your turtles diet, your turtle will make Vit A naturally and you shouldn't have to worry about a Vit A deficiency.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2007 12:21 am Just a few questions...