Have you noticed that your turtle has swollen eyes? You may be deficient in vitamin A. This vitamin is essential in these reptiles and its deficiency occurs mainly when they are fed foods that do not contain it in sufficient levels. The deficiency of this vitamin is especially frequent in young specimens of aquatic turtles and causes ocular and even systemic symptoms that can trigger the death of the turtle. The treatment will be to administer this vitamin, but without exceeding the dose, since its excess causes damage to your skin, as well as modifying your diet and environmental conditions.
Importance of vitamin A for turtles
Vitamin A, also called retinol, is found in fresh, green vegetables, which is why turtles, especially the water ones, present this deficiency if they are fed almost exclusively with dried prawns or foods with little vitamin A, unlike the land ones that follow a vegetarian diet. Vitamin A is an antioxidant compound that prevents cell aging, it is also very important at the ocular level, since it is responsible for regenerating rhodopsin in the retina, as well as in the maintenance of mucous membranes and skin, the ocular choroid, the reproductive organs and bone integrity.
The high growth of turtles from six months of age requires high amounts of vitamin A in the diet, therefore, if this is not taken into account, the animal experiences a vitamin A deficiency or hypovitaminosis A, a common disease in captive aquatic turtles.
Vitamin A deficiency in turtles
For symptoms of vitamin A deficiency to appear in adult tortoises, at least six months must have passed since the deficiency began, since their hepatic reserves of this vitamin can make up for the deficiency during this period.
Vitamin A deficiency in turtles may be due to a diet with little of it or secondary toabsorption failures at the intestinal level, conversion of beta-carotene to vitamin A or other factors exclusive to turtle metabolism. The turtle species most commonly affected are Graptemys and Trachemys (red-eared sliders).
The lesions that a turtle with vitamin A deficiency will present are swelling due to blepharitis, that is, an inflammation of the glands of the eyelids due to a squamous metaplasia of the same, with secondary obstruction of their ducts, which prevents the normal opening of your turtle's eyes. In addition, it usually also affects the conjunctiva, causing blepharoconjunctivitis that can lead, if left untreated, to a loss of the cornea of the eye. This injury can spread to more tissues of the animal causing atrophy and necrosis (cell death) in the tissues of the digestive, renal, pulmonary and epithelial apparatus, also the glandular, pancreatic and renal ducts become clogged with cellular debris due to squamous metaplasia. All this systemic condition in the turtle can end its life.
So, the clinical signs that we can see in turtles with vitamin A deficiency are:
- Blepharitis
- Eyelid edema
- Lethargy
- Anorexy
- Weightloss
- Tearing
- Rhinitis
- Middle ear and respiratory tract infections
- Blindness if the retina is damaged
- Kidney failure
- Inguinal and axillary edema
- Fatty liver
This deficiency is very rare to see in tortoises, since they usually feed on green vegetables with vitamin A precursor carotenoids, so if symptoms of blepharitis or palpebral edema are seen in tortoises a differential diagnosis must be made with other diseases that cause it before opting for this and administering the vitamin aggravating the damage.
Treatment for turtles with vitamin A deficiency
Given the symptoms that we have discussed in a turtle, we can suspect hypovitaminosis A, however, it must be verified through an analysis, although the diagnosis of this routine condition is usually based on the history of feeding, the clinic of the turtle and its response to vitamin A treatment.
The best way to treat a turtle with vitamin A deficiency is through parenteral injections of this vitamin, cleaning the eyes and application of ophthalmic ointments together with a change in their diet. In addition, a change in the conditions of the aquarium or land where they live is usually necessary, so that they can have more places to swim, since they are aquatic and it is a necessity that they have, so some fish tanks with places where they can resting is a good idea, although the ideal is an aquaterrarium. It is also necessary to control the temperature of the place, that they can sunbathe or put lights for it and filter the water.
Dose of vitamin A for turtles with deficiency
The feeding history and its response to treatment are very important to diagnose that the clinical ocular signs that the turtle presents are due to that and not to another cause such as blows, foreign bodies, infectious or parasitic disease.
Dose of vitamin A in turtles with deficiency should be by injection1,500-2,000 IU/kg once a week for two to six weeks or 500-5,000 IU/kg in one or two applications every 14 days, depending on the severity of the deficiency and symptoms presented by the turtle. Another option is to administer 11,000 IU/kg of vitamin A in a single dose. The rest of the symptoms must also be treated, if it presents infections, antibiotics, hydrate it, if it does not eat because until they open their eyes they usually do not do so, they must be given forced feeding or feeding tubes.
The danger of this vitamin is that it is fat-soluble, which causes it to accumulate and become toxic, so the dose must be adjusted to avoid hypervitaminosis that initially causes dry flaky skin that later a few days they become erythematous, blisters on the skin of the neck and legs that break open and expose the underlying tissue and skin is shed, which favors the exposure of bacteria causing secondary infections.
How to give vitamin A to a turtle?
In order for our tortoise to obtain the necessary vitamin A, as well as the rest of the vitamins and nutrients for proper growth and development, it is best to feed it with a good feed for aquatic turtles and can also be supplemented on occasions with fresh meat, fish or vegetables, being a good idea to includefish liver for being a good source of vitamin A. Vitamin supplements are not usually necessary if your turtle eats a complete and varied diet, but if they are needed they should be recommended by the exotics vet who is used to treating your turtle.
Vitamin A food for turtles
In order for our tortoise to feed properly and obtain vitamin A, it must have a varied diet Diets with dried prawns (gammarus) almost in exclusivity is a bad idea, since it is a supplement and not a food because it has very few nutrients. Their diet should be based on a suitable feed for aquatic turtles and, in turn, we can alternate the following foods that contain or help the assimilation of vitamin A in our water turtles:
- Chicken, beef or pork meats
- Fish: live anchovies or small fish
- Liver and viscera
- Hard-boiled egg
- Seafood: shrimp, clams, mussels
- Small invertebrates and insects
- Fresh Vegetables
Especially in growing turtles, it may be a good idea to include a vitamin supplement several times a week, although as we have mentioned, if the diet is complete and varied, it does not have to be necessary.
Therefore, vitamin A is very important in the he alth of our turtles and, sometimes, due to poor dietary management, together with poor environmental conditions, turtles can suffer from a deficiency of this vitamin that must be supplied with supplements that will be administered by the exotics veterinarian. You should also find out if the turtle has other nutritional deficiencies and monitor the conditions where it is found. For all these reasons, before adopting an animal like this, it is necessary to take into account all its needs, both in terms of environment and space, as well as food. Similarly, once bred in captivity they can hardly be integrated into their natural habitat if they realize that it is not possible to cover all their needs, so it is very important to value everything.
Land turtles, for their part, rarely show a deficiency of this vitamin because their diet is vegetarian and the food they eat already contains it. However, if you are looking for food with vitamin A for tortoises, we recommend you consult this article: "Nutrition of tortoises".
Tips
- Feed your turtle a good food intended for it.
- Keep the environment where your turtle is in the best possible conditions.
- In the presence of signs of vitamin A deficiency or another disease in your turtle, go to an exotic veterinary center.
- Vitamin supplements can be helpful in turtles, especially during their growth, but under veterinary control and with an adequate diet.
- They can sometimes be given fish liver, which is a good source of vitamin A.
