Western News: December 20, 2016

4
Tuesday December 20 2016
WESTERN NEWS
Your Local Views
McMaster & Heap
Veterinary practice
Caring for TurTles
Foot injury needing veterinary attention.
Turtle Facts:
Turtles are not your average pets. They
are fascinating creatures that aren’t
particularly complicated to care for as
long as you invest a little time and have
the right equipment, you can enjoy them
for a possible 25 to 40 years!
Pet turtles in NZ are usually red-eared
sliders or snake necks. Turtles are cold
blooded so regulate their temperature
from their environment, moving between
sunning area and the layers of warm and
cool water.
Turtles have hard shells made up of
around 60 bones covered by plates called
scutes. Scutes are shed once or twice
a year and can be easily scratched by
minor trauma or softened by prolonged
immersion in warm water. When they
bask in the sun, their scutes dry and firm
back up.
The shell is part of its skeleton which is
attached to the spine and the rib cage
so they can’t crawl out of it. They can feel
pressure and pain through their shells,
just as you can feel pressure through your
fingernails.
Enviroment
Turtles can grow to be 13-28cm in
length so they will need a relatively large
enclosure. An outdoor enclosure is the
best place for your turtles – one with
water to swim, rocks to sunbathe on and
some shelter under which to keep cool.
If you are going to keep your turtle in an
aquarium, it is very important to keep
it clean. Turtles are messy eaters so the
water needs to be changed regularly &
good filter is essential.
Plenty of natural light is good, but they
also need special UV bulbs and a
heat lamp. A full spectrum UVA/
UVB reptile light is necessary for
the production of calcium and
maintenance of the hardness of
their shells. The ideal temperature
in an aquarium should be carefully
monitored and in the correct range.
Gravel is not necessary, and very
small gravel can be ingested by your
turtle and this can cause blockage
problems. Use stones that are large
enough not to be swallowed or river
rocks.
Diet
A healthy, balanced diet for turtles consists
of a wide variety of foods, from snails to
alfalfa. Red-eared turtles are omnivores,
eating mostly meat when young and
becoming vegetarian as they age and
need less protein. Juveniles turtles (up to
1yr old) should be fed twice a day and
adults every second day. They can only
feed in water.
Turtles like to eat worms, snails, insects,
fish and boiled chicken. The plants they
prefer include most varieties found in
tropical fish tanks, plus lettuce, cabbage,
alfalfa, and berries. Turtle food bought
from a pet shop contains essential
vitamins and minerals including calcium,
which is needed for the development of
the shell. A poor diet results in a soft shell
and a lethargic pet.
Do not feed - Red meat or processed
meat. Cat or dog food, avocado, spinach,
silverbeet, peas, corn, cauliflower,
cabbage, broccoli, fruits, raw chicken,
rhubarb, beetroot, tomato, celery
Turtle Problems
If your Turtle has the correct diet and
environment it is unlikely to get ill or have
problems but there are a few things to
look out for.
These include: Soft shell syndrome
(Metabolic Bone Disease): a result of poor
diet and/or insufficient lighting. Fungal
infections: a cotton-like layer on the shell,
eyes or mouth. Respiratory infections:
Wheezing, lethargy, a runny nose and loss
of appetite, all due to an environment that
is too cold.
If you see any of these symptoms in your
pet, make sure you take them to us for
assessment and treatment.
I really enjoy looking after the turtles that
come through our vet clinic. They are
beautiful, amazing and resilient creatures.
There is never a dull moment at work and
you never know what creatures we will
treat next!
Dr Sara Hodgson BVsc BSc
A special thank you to Donna who runs
the Turtle Rescue in Christchurch who
helped supply some of the information
used. To see what Donna does or for
detailed information on turtle care visit
her website: turtleinfo@paradise.net.nz
A pile of scutes which were removed to
reveal a healing healthy shell beneath.
More to Xmas than gifts
This week’s
opinion
piece was
written by
retiring City
Missioner
Michael Gorman
about not losing sight
of what Christmas
really means
For most of us Christmas
is a time of great
happiness.
Children are excited
as they receive gifts and
we use the time to get together
as families and with
friends to celebrate.
For some people, this
time of year also has great
religious significance as we
recall the birth of Jesus.
Whatever our belief, it is
a time to get together with
those we love and enjoy
ourselves.
Not everyone has good
reason to celebrate.
For some people, Christmas
reminds them of happier
days long gone.
Days when, for example,
they were not fighting addiction,
had not suffered
loss and separation and
were not unemployed and
living in poverty.
Christmas can be a time
of great loneliness if there
has been death or family
separation.
Many old people are
forgotten in the busy
Christmas rush.
Christmas can also be a
time of over spending.
We all want to give as
much as we can to our
children and to those we
love.
We are often seduced by
advertising and easy credit
into buying goods that we
cannot afford and we are
then in debt for much of
the next year.
While not wanting to
be the Grinch who stole
Christmas, maybe we
should cut back our spending
to what we can afford.
Homemade gifts or offers
to help out during the
year are just as acceptable
as expensive presents and
still tell people we love
them.
Remembering the lonely
and being aware of the
need to include them in
our celebrations and giving
people our time may
be the very best gift. And,
if it is safe to do so, then
Christmas may be the time
for family reconciliation.
Even if Christmas has no
religious meaning for us
we can still give love – the
greatest gift of all.
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McMaster & Heap