Taiyuan Zoo captive an adult Male Aldabra tortoise in indigestion, refusal to eat, multi-day fecal excretion, in order to ensure that the Aldabra tortoise normal diet, fecal excretion, maintain healthy growth, so that captive wildlife is protected, veterinarians through clinical observation, communication with the breeder, the use of improved feeding environment, site disinfection, change the temperature and humidity, combined use of morphine, multivitamin B and multi-enzyme tablets for many days to treat the Aldabra tortoise, after 3 weeks of medication, resume a normal diet, defecation gradually regular, The stool form reaches a healthy level.
At present, there are few reports of tortoises in China, especially in the prevention and control of diseases, and more relevant research is needed by peers.
First, the life habits of the Aberdara tortoise
The Aldabra tortoise (scientific name: Aldabrachelys gigantea) is a reptile thermotropic animal of the genus Aldabra tortoises of the tortoise family Tortoise family, with a large head and long neck, and its size is the second largest continental turtle in the world, after the Galapagos tortoise. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) includes ADA as a Class II conservation animal and the world's longest-lived tortoise. The limbs are thick and columnar, the dorsal carapace, limbs and head and tail are all blue-black, and each vertebral shield and rib shield have irregular dark spots, and the skin is loose.
Taiyuan Zoo has two adult Yada, one male and one female, with a back armor length of about 1 meter and a weight of 75 Kg. Because the tortoise usually has a lot of food in the body, it will not eat or drink for a long time, and it will not starve to death. Tortoises live a long life, can live hundreds of years, drink only fresh water, sometimes in order to find fresh water to quench their thirst, can crawl thousands of meters to find water, drink water when storing a lot of water in the bladder. Tortoises are afraid of strong sunlight and prefer to live in the shade. When the misty rainy season arrives, tortoises climb down the mountain to inhabit. When the dry season comes, we climb into the foggy ridges. Captive tortoises are suitable for living at 19-30 ° C, and the temperature difference between day and night should be controlled within 4-6 ° C, otherwise indigestion will occur.
2. The onset of disease in the Aberidala tortoise
At the beginning of May 2019, according to the response of the breeders of the amphibian hall of Taiyuan Zoo, an adult male Yada in the amphibian hall had less or no food intake for many days, poor mental state, inactivity, and no feces, as shown in Figure 1-1, in the case of food seduction interaction, it is still indifferent. The main feeding foods are apples, pumpkins, carrots, greens, refined feed, etc. The turtle is seen without trauma, touching the turtle, the head contracts slowly, and the eyes are not clever. At that time, the indoor temperature was 22 °, the night temperature was about 15 °C, and several other tortoises were kept in groups, and several other tortoises did not see abnormalities.
Fig. 1-1 Yada before treatment
III. Treatment:
1. Improve the feeding environment, maintain the hygiene of the building, regular ventilation, disinfection, temperature control at 25 °C, and control the temperature difference between day and night within 4 °C.
2. Adjust the type of original food and add bananas, tomatoes and other foods. Add calcium powder and multi-dimensional nutrients to food 1-2 times a week.
3. Soak in warm water at 38 °C for 30 minutes on a regular basis, and put in multi-dimensional water twice a day.
4. Medication
Morpholine (Morpholine tablets are a strong dopamine receptor antagonist with peripheral blocking effects that act directly on the gastrointestinal wall, increasing the tone of the lower esophagus sphincter and preventing gastric-esophageal reflux. It can enhance gastric peristalsis, promote gastric emptying, coordinate gastric and duodenal movements, inhibit nausea, vomiting, and effectively prevent bile reflux, without affecting gastric juice secretion), oral, one capsule at a time, once a day, and stop the drug for five consecutive days for two days.
B complex vitamin (B complex vitamin injection, indications for vitamin drugs. It is used for the adjuvant treatment of malnutrition and diseases caused by vitamin B deficiency, such as anorexia, beriberi, pellagra, etc.), one, intramuscular injection, once a day, and the drug is discontinued for five consecutive days for two days.
Multi-enzyme tablets (multi-enzyme tablets, indications for dyspepsia, loss of appetite) five capsules at a time, once a day, and discontinued for five consecutive days for two days.
Fourth, the results of the analysis:
Through the joint efforts of the breeder and the clinical veterinarian, Yada in the appropriate environment, a week after taking the drug began a small amount of diet, there is urine excretion, the basic diet returned to normal levels when taking the drug for two weeks, in order to consolidate, to prevent refusal of food again, the drug to the third week, the turtle mental state recovered, as shown in Figure 1-2, eat normally, observe the feces, digest completely, as shown in Figure 1-3, stop the medication.
Fig. 1-2 Yada diet returns to normal
Fig. 1-3 Yada's bowel movements return to normal
5. Discussion
Yada is the world's second largest tortoise species, the life expectancy is relatively long, there are higher requirements for the feeding environment, day and night temperature, humidity, food nutrition and other aspects of the keepers to strictly control, a little careless will appear indigestion, loss of appetite problems, keepers as captive wild animals around the guard, more observation of animal feeding temperature and humidity, mental state, diet, feces, etc., found problems in a timely manner to the superior response, with clinical veterinarians, more communication and communication, to ensure the healthy growth of captive wild animals.
In the process of medication, the reason why it is necessary to stop the drug for two days after five consecutive days of continuous medication is to ensure that while the drug continues to act, observe the animal's reaction and drug effect, so as to adjust the dosage in time to achieve the reduction of the side effects of the drug on the animal body in the case of as little medication as possible, and to avoid other problems caused by the overdose of the drug cannot be absorbed in time and caused by metabolism. In the process of oral medication, the staff encountered some trouble, Yada as a wild animal, and will not cooperate with the veterinarian work, when feeding the medicine, it will retract the head back into the shell, the mouth is tightly closed, the keeper according to their long-term feeding experience, with the tool to gently touch the tail root of the tortoise, slight stimulation forced the turtle's anus to feel itchy, at this time the turtle stretched out its head to make a stress response, but also opened its mouth to make a biting posture, its mouth opened instantly, the veterinarian seized the opportunity to put the drug into its mouth, the turtle is older It weighs more than a hundred pounds, and its strength is as great as that of a prime-age laborer. Morphine increases gastrointestinal motility, promotes gastrointestinal digestion, and improves the quantity and quality of intestinal flora. At the same time, multi-dimensional preparations containing trace elements are supplemented to ensure the balance of electrolytes in the turtle's body.
Yada is a second-class protected wild animal in China, and the technology and level of artificial breeding of tortoises have also attracted the attention of animal protection workers. In 1992, the indoor hatching of Burmese tortoises has been reported abroad, and in 2005, Wang Jimei and others systematically introduced the breeding and disease prevention and control methods of indoor Burmese tortoises. In 2014, the turtle breeding base of Wenchang Longevity Park in Hainan province successfully bred Sulcata tortoises. The breeding level of tortoises will gradually mature with the efforts of the majority of researchers, and the protection of wild animal species will be effectively improved.
In the alternating seasons, captive wild animals feeding temperature control is extremely important, especially tropical animals, too high day and night temperature difference may be the main reason for yada gastroenteritis, due to the age of yada, captive environment, limited activity space, small amount of exercise, resulting in Yada immunity decline, affected by the day and night temperature difference, gastroenteritis occurs.
This case provides a reference for the prevention and control of diseases in captive wild animals and provides good technical support for the protection of captive wild animals.
Author: Jin Xiuzhe, Liu Zhikai, Li Liangliang, Huo Zhansuo, Su Kai, Lei Ying, Li Jinbang