CATDOLL : CATDOLL: How to prevent and treat turtle leech disease?

How to prevent and treat turtle leech disease?

The most common protozoan parasitic disease in turtle ponds is leech disease, also known as leech disease. The growth of turtles infested with leeches is not only affected, but even if the turtles do not die, it will affect the sales of products after they grow up, reducing economic benefits. This turtle disease exists in most places in China and should be taken seriously. So how to prevent and treat turtle leech disease?

(1) Pathogen of leech disease The pathogen is caused by parasitic leeches such as the pseudo-bat leech and the turtle leech.

(2) Symptoms: Yellowish or orange-yellow slimy worms can be seen on the surface of the diseased turtle, the inner side of the skirt and the connection between the plastron. In severe cases, the worms can be found on the eyes and the tip of the snout. The worms usually move slightly when touched, and curl up when exposed to heat but do not fall off. When the worms are forcibly peeled off, severe bleeding can be seen at the parasitic site. Severely diseased turtles are often restless and climb onto the sun terrace, unwilling to go into the water. When the parasites are on the eyes and the tip of the snout, the head tilts back and swims around. The appetite decreases with a long course of the disease, and the worms can be seen with the naked eye. When the worms suck blood, they excrete saliva into the wound. There is an anticoagulant in the saliva, which causes the wound of the diseased turtle to bleed for a long time and reduces hemoglobin. Therefore, most diseased turtles are emaciated, with pale abdomens and severe anemia, which often affects their growth. Direct death from leech disease is rare, and most of them die from other diseases at the parasitic site.

(3) A large number of pathogens are the main factors that directly cause the disease, so the disease often occurs in outdoor turtle-fish mixed breeding ponds, turtle breeding ponds and high-yield intensive breeding ponds that use water from rivers, lakes and reservoirs as the water source, especially in ponds that feed large numbers of snails.

(4) Epidemics can occur during almost the entire growth period of the soft-shelled turtle.

(5) Prevention: The pond should be thoroughly cleaned before stocking the turtle. Especially in areas where leech disease has been found to be prevalent, quicklime should be used heavily for pond cleaning, and the general dosage is required to be no less than 300 kg per mu. Disinfection can be carried out by dry method, so that the pH of the shallow mud and water at the bottom of the disinfection pond reaches above 11.

(6) Treatment: Sprinkle quicklime to raise the pH of the pool water to 9, which will stimulate the leeches to fall off. Then sprinkle bleaching powder (1.5 mg/L) once, and then sprinkle potassium permanganate (5 mg/L) once after 6 days to remove most leeches. You can also soak a towel in fresh pig blood and place it close to the water surface at the water inlet to trap leeches. Generally, most leeches can be caught in 3 to 4 nights. Caterpillars with worm bodies can be buried with quicklime. Usually, use quicklime to adjust the water so that the pH of the water is always kept at 7.5 to 8, because water with a slightly higher pH is not suitable for leeches to live.