MORTALITY AT A HAWKSBILL TURTLE (ERETMOCHELYS IMBRICATA) REARING CENTER

Clinical history Mortality for the first month after hatching was 2-3%, but during investigations (second and third months) mortality was 12.5%. The manager reported that intra-specific aggression was causing bite injuries to the necks and cloacal region, which de- veloped into crusty-yellow lesions. Before death turtles became anorexic and showed retarded growth. Health investigations Skin lesion samples from live turtles were submitted for microbiological investigation. The samples yielded pro- fuse mixed growths of Aeromonas hydrophila, Proteus sp. and haemolytic E. coli. Moderate growth of mixed anaerobes were also isolated. Cytology demonstrated an inflammatory skin infection with bacteria and fungal elements. Five diseased hatchlings were euthanased, examined post-mortem and formalin-fixed tissues and clinical samples were submitted to Idexx Laboratories (UK). Water samples from two hatchling tanks and a sick turtle tank were collected and submitted to Idexx Laboratories. The water samples had a high bacteriological content. Results from the dead turtles and water are presented in Tables 1 - 3 in the pdf document on the WME News website. Diagnosis The health problems were caused by aggression that resulted in traumatic injuries and secondary bacterial and fungal infections. Clinical and laboratory findings supported a diagnosis of fungal dermatitis and stomatitis with secondary bacterial infection. Histopathology was unable to demonstrate predisposing or unrelated pa- thology in internal organs, supporting the conclusion that injuries and contaminated water conditions predisposed hatchlings to infection. Treatments. Sick hatchlings were separated into small tanks for treatment for 14 days and given enrofloxacin (Baytril 2.5%, Bayer, UK) 5mg/kg i.m. every 48 hours and topical iodine tincture (1:2 dilution) on the lesions with a five minute contact time once daily. Of the 80 sick turtles, one group of 23 were in poor condition (anorexic, weak, thin) and a second group of 57 had skin lesions, but were in better body condition. Of the first group 11 (48%) died during the period of treatment and 12 (52%) recovered. All 57 of the second group recovered. After a week of treatment the skin lesions had regressed in the surviving hatchlings.