Mouth Rot?

EmbraceCalamity · 11-16-12, 11:16 AM

So I was in the Biology department at my university, and in one room there are a couple different projects set up for our Animal Behaviour class. In two small tubs, there was a little bit of water and a few large riverstones. I didn't see anything at first, but then I realised each one had two tiny, tiny baby red-eared sliders in them. (For the record, I can't imagine these poor things could have possibly been able to get onto the riverstones by themselves to get out of the water.) Without even thinking, I picked one of them up (which I know I shouldn't have done, but in hindsight it might be a good thing that I did), and I noticed that it didn't look well. Now my area of interest is geckos, not turtles, but it appeared to have what I'd consider mouth rot would look like. Its mouth was open and there was a lot of pale yellow slimy gunk in its mouth, and it refused to open its eyes at all. (The other one in the other...dish appeared to be alright.) I promptly emailed the professor to express my concerns (fingers crossed that they're not hers).

My question is: Does this sound like mouth rot? Or am I off base? How treatable is it that this stage? I told her that if the owner was unable or unwilling to treat it, that I'd be willing to take it (as a temporary measure, as I have 0 experience with turtles and don't really feel I could provide a proper enclosure for it).

~Maggot

**Aaron_S** · 11-17-12, 08:40 AM

I am unsure if that's mouth rot as I don't know much about diseases in turtles.

I would contact Marc at Little RES Q

Snakeman8 · 11-17-12, 09:15 AM

i dont know, ive never had a problem with mouth rot, but sounds like the describtion of it.

EmbraceCalamity · 11-17-12, 05:12 PM

I wish I'd taken a pic...or just taken the turtle. If it's still there on Monday, I'm probably just gonna take it. They wouldn't be able to prove it's me, even though I'm sure they'll be able to figure it out. I won't let the thing die just because I might get in trouble.

~Maggot

Lankyrob · 11-17-12, 06:00 PM

If they are ill and being kept in incorrect conditions then your best bet is to report it through the proper channels, otherwise they will just replace it with another one that will have to live in teh incorrect conditions.

EmbraceCalamity · 11-17-12, 06:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lankyrob

If they are ill and being kept in incorrect conditions then your best bet is to report it through the proper channels, otherwise they will just replace it with another one that will have to live in teh incorrect conditions.

Heh. This is a very rural area with very poor views on animals. I've reported horses being kept in terrible conditions to the proper authorities, and he just called me back and told me they were fine.

The guy messaged me and said he can't take care of them right now, so I guess I'll be taking them. So I just ran out and got a big tub to keep them in for now. I'll post pics once I get them.

~Maggot

shaunyboy · 11-17-12, 07:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmbraceCalamity

that I'd be willing to take it (as a temporary measure, as I have 0 experience with turtles and don't really feel I could provide a proper enclosure for it).

~Maggot

Quote:

Originally Posted by EmbraceCalamity

The guy messaged me and said he can't take care of them right now, so I guess I'll be taking them
~Maggot

i'm NOT having a go,or being cheeky.....

imo you are doing the right/decent thing,in taking them into your care,where they will get the proper attention

now you will have to,RESEARCH them and find out,HOW to GIVE them a PROPER enclosure....

there will be turtle sections in reptile forums,also there may even be turtle dedicated forums out there...

that said,if you post up the EXACT type of turtle you will be caring for,then there may be people on here with hands on experience,or at least be able to,point you in the right direction

re mouth rot
i've only ever seen it in snakes,it was anything from dark brown/black in colour,to pale creamy/yellow colour...

it was a gunky,pastey looking substance,if you could post pictures,it would give us a better idea of what your dealing with

i used cotton buds,the ones that come with,little cotton buds,at both ends of a little plastic stick,like we would use to clean inside our ears...

just use a little water and try and clean/gently scrape,as much gunk out as you can..

then take him along to the vets,ask him to take swabs and culture them,this will indentify,the exact type of infection and the BEST course of treatment

i hope you get him back to full health,please let us know how it goes

cheers shaun

EmbraceCalamity · 11-17-12, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

i'm NOT having a go,or being cheeky.....

imo you are doing the right/decent thing,in taking them into your care,where they will get the proper attention

now you will have to,RESEARCH them and find out,HOW to GIVE them a PROPER enclosure....

Already did that before I even messaged the guy. If nothing else and he wouldn't give them to me, I wanted to be able to give him information on how to care for them better. You underestimate me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

there will be turtle sections in reptile forums,also there may even be turtle dedicated forums out there...

that said,if you post up the EXACT type of turtle you will be caring for,then there may be people on here with hands on experience,or at least be able to,point you in the right direction

Red-eared sliders.

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

re mouth rot
i've only ever seen it in snakes,it was anything from dark brown/black in colour,to pale creamy/yellow colour...

it was a gunky,pastey looking substance,if you could post pictures,it would give us a better idea of what your dealing with

i used cotton buds,the ones that come with,little cotton buds,at both ends of a little plastic stick,like we would use to clean inside our ears...

just use a little water and try and clean/gently scrape,as much gunk out as you can..

then take him along to the vets,ask him to take swabs and culture them,this will indentify,the exact type of infection and the BEST course of treatment

i hope you get him back to full health,please let us know how it goes

cheers shaun

I'm gonna try to make an appointment with the vet on Monday. I've done some research on how to treat it, and I'll do more before I get it.

Don't worry. I've nursed much stranger things back to health.

~Maggot

StudentoReptile · 11-17-12, 09:35 PM

Good on ya, for taking the initiative.

I had a similar situation when I was college. There was an adult CA kingsnake looking pretty rough in a 10-gal tank in one of the Bio labs; cage not cleaned out in forever, stuck shed, growth on tail, etc. It was at the end of the semester, and I just went to the dept head and said, "Hey, that kingsnake in there needs some special treatment and care. Is there any way I can take it home?" He said sure.

Long story short, the snake ended up at our local reptile rescue, and eventually got adopted out.

EmbraceCalamity · 11-17-12, 09:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

Good on ya, for taking the initiative.

I had a similar situation when I was college. There was an adult CA kingsnake looking pretty rough in a 10-gal tank in one of the Bio labs; cage not cleaned out in forever, stuck shed, growth on tail, etc. It was at the end of the semester, and I just went to the dept head and said, "Hey, that kingsnake in there needs some special treatment and care. Is there any way I can take it home?" He said sure.

Long story short, the snake ended up at our local reptile rescue, and eventually got adopted out.

That's good. I hate when people see animals suffering and do nothing about it, as easy as that is to do for most people. It's easier to just ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist, but that doesn't alleviate their suffering.

I'm glad the guy was so willing to agree to give them to me and said if there was any way he could help to let him know. I might have had to go Lois Griffin on him if he hadn't.

~Maggot

EmbraceCalamity · 11-18-12, 12:12 AM

Question for y'all: I'm really not at all familiar (or fully understand) the different kinds of lighting. As my geckos are nocturnal, I've never had to worry about UVB, but turtles need it plus a basking spot. I know some bulbs say they're full spectrum but aren't or whatever, so what should I get for lighting?

~Maggot

StudentoReptile · 11-18-12, 07:00 AM

I would get a 5.0 ReptiSun (that's Zoo Med brand) tube florescent light strip. Those are the best ones. Have this on about 12 hrs a day.

*I do NOT suggest getting the compact florescent bulbs. There is much debate on whether or not these bulbs cause blindness in turtles & tortoises. Some keepers claim that they do. Conclusive results are pending, but most savvy hobbyists would say to avoid them just the same.

For heat, I would use any appropriately-wattage basking bulb or CHE (ceramic heat emitter). I like the CHEs because I can leave them on 24/7.

Lankyrob · 11-18-12, 07:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

I would get a 5.0 ReptiSun (that's Zoo Med brand) tube florescent light strip. Those are the best ones. Have this on about 12 hrs a day.

*I do NOT suggest getting the compact florescent bulbs. There is much debate on whether or not these bulbs cause blindness in turtles & tortoises. Some keepers claim that they do. Conclusive results are pending, but most savvy hobbyists would say to avoid them just the same.

For heat, I would use any appropriately-wattage basking bulb or CHE (ceramic heat emitter). I like the CHEs because I can leave them on 24/7.

What are your views on the mercury vapour bulbs that give heat and uv in same bulb? Apologies if this is what you mean by compact flourescent

StudentoReptile · 11-18-12, 08:33 AM

I like MVBs, but I didn't suggest them in this case because I wasn't sure how large the tank was. They do not come in small wattage sizes, and a 100+ watt heat bulb (UV or not) may be too much for two hatchling RES. Of course, that is up to the keeper to decide with their particular set-up, using a temp gun.

Lankyrob · 11-18-12, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StudentoReptile

I like MVBs, but I didn't suggest them in this case because I wasn't sure how large the tank was. They do not come in small wattage sizes, and a 100+ watt heat bulb (UV or not) may be too much for two hatchling RES. Of course, that is up to the keeper to decide with their particular set-up, using a temp gun.

Cool, wasnt thinking it for this situation but we used them when we had lizards and really liked them but have heard some keeper really hate them.