The turtle does not open its mouth. How to open a turtle's mouth

You will need

Salad
Tomatoes
Table lamp or heater
UV lamp
Plate or bowl
Boiled water
Manicure nippers

Instructions

If your turtle has stopped eating, try to determine if it's time for it. Turtles are usually active in the summer and go to bed, which is natural. But there are also exceptions. Even the Central Asian or Greek turtles, which usually follow the normal life cycle of the northern hemisphere, may well fall asleep in the middle of summer to get you thinking about their menu in winter. This happens if the turtle was eating well at the beginning of summer. The Central Asian tortoise has two periods: winter and drought. In this case turtle just leave it alone. You can put her a box of dry leaves. Place the "bedroom" in a cool place where there are no drafts.

If the turtle doesn’t hibernate but doesn’t eat, it may well be that it wants something completely different from what you are offering it. Try feeding lettuce or dandelion leaves. If the turtle remains indifferent, give something that no land turtle usually cannot refuse - a slice of tomato. If this does not help, try to give your pet the right to choose. Take it out on a warm, sunny day on the grass. Let her see for herself what she likes. Include on the menu whatever she chooses.

It is possible that the turtle will not choose anything. Try giving her a small piece of bread. Remember that, in general, you cannot feed a turtle with bread, it has a detrimental effect on the liver. But a small piece to whet the appetite will not hurt, turtles even love what is harmful for them. After the bread, add salad or dandelions.

The turtle may want to drink rather than eat after hibernation. Pour water into a saucer and place in front of the turtle. Some turtles do not eat after hibernation because their intestines are full. In this case, give the turtle a "bath". Pour warm boiled water into a bowl or plate, depending on the turtle's size. The water temperature should be slightly above room temperature. Place the turtle in the water carefully. This must be done so that the nostrils are above the water. This procedure will help solve two problems. Maybe the turtle is just thirsty, then it will immediately get drunk. A 10 minute bath is usually sufficient. But it can also happen that the turtle will immediately get rid of what is in its intestines. Then it must be washed, taken out and wiped off.

Even a very hungry land turtle will not eat if the temperature is environment below 18 ° C. Her digestive enzymes just don't work. Therefore, warm up the turtle and the room in which it is located. Put on a regular table lamp or heating device. At lower temperatures, food in the turtle's stomach is not digested and may start to rot.

There are many ways to unhook a turtle's jaw. The most common are the following options: press on special points and move lower jaw; use a special device called a "yawner"; insert an ordinary match into the corner of your mouth and move the lower jaw. There are many ways to open the turtle's mouth.

Stages of opening the mouth

Before the rules of how to open the turtle's mouth, it should be noted that all procedures must be carried out extremely delicately... A healthy turtle can go without food and water for more than 3 months. If it did not work out to carry out artificial feeding, then it's okay, postpone this procedure for the next day. In no case should you rage and jerk your jaws with special enthusiasm. The turtle is extremely sensitive to such barbarism.

If mouth opens to swallow the probe, then you need to carry out the following manipulations:

Place the turtle in a horizontal position, head up.

Gently unclench the jaws with a wooden strip

Insert the probe without changing the position of the turtle

If the reptile is large, then you need a second pair of hands to support the pet.

How do you open a turtle's mouth for force feeding? If you do not plan to introduce a probe into the stomach, then you need to do the following manipulations:

Fixing the turtle's head

Gently press on the points behind the ears (there are pits)

Move the lower jaw down

This method of opening the mouth is used when feeding the turtle. Having opened the jaws, a nutrient fluid is injected with a syringe without a needle. Thick carrot juice with vitamins and minerals dissolved in it.

A strip of paper or a match

Are there other ways to open the turtle's mouth? - Yes, there is another common method:

Fix the turtle's head

Insert a thin strip of wood or thick paper between the jaws

Move the lower jaw

If the pet is very small, then you can use a strip of ordinary notebook or newsprint.

There are several ways to open the turtle's mouth. The following options are considered the most suitable: the lower jaw is lowered due to pressure on special points; the mouth is opened with the help of a special device called a "yawner"; make the turtle open its mouth with a regular match inserted into the corner of its mouth. Naturally, there are other methods, but these are the simplest and most easily implemented.

Before embarking on such an action, you should plan everything well and remember that no serious effort should be made. Everything needs to be done so that later the turtle itself decides to open its mouth. It is necessary to remember one more point, if it was not possible to feed the turtle forcibly, then this is not at all scary, since it can be without food long time(up to 3 months). Failed today, it will work tomorrow and so on, but you can always try. Moreover, this leads to the emergence of skills that may be useful in the future.

To install the probe, your turtle will need to follow these steps:

The turtle is in an upright position, head up.
They try to open her mouth with a wooden object.
The probe is inserted carefully and carefully, without changing the position of the animal.

If the turtle has a large size, then you should use an assistant.

To just feed the animal, you can do with the following steps:

Fix the pet's head.
Do not apply too much pressure to the points behind the ears.
After that, the lower jaw is lowered down.

Then they begin to force-feeding, armed with a syringe without a needle. The syringe is filled with nutrient fluid (carrot juice with vitamin supplements). Food should be introduced in small portions and, mainly, on the tongue of the turtle.

A strip of paper or a match

There is another, equally effective option to help open the turtle's mouth. Here it is:

The turtle's head is fixed.
A wooden stick or piece of thick paper is inserted between the jaws.
Light pressure on the lower jaw opens the turtle's mouth.

In this case, it all depends on the age of the pet. If this is a small turtle, then you need to take a piece of thick paper, and if it is an adult, then a wooden stick will not interfere.

It is possible to open the jaws of an animal with the help of an ordinary match. For this, the tip of the match (without the sulfur head) is inserted into the corner of the mouth. After that, you should try to unclench her jaws. In this case, you should press on the lower jaw, since it is mobile. Upper jaw firmly connected to the skull and immobile. Therefore, all operations should be performed only on the lower jaw.

To what size does a land turtle grow?

Then you need to regularly pay attention to her behavior. In case of a change in the nature of the behavior, you must immediately find out the reason for this behavior, as this can affect the health of your pet.

Suspicious behavior includes the moments when the turtle begins to open its mouth quite often and make characteristic sounds. Such behavior can be regarded as such that indicates that the red-eared turtle has some kind of disease.

Possible reasons

ARI or. In other words, a respiratory tract disease of both viral and infectious origin.
Disorders in the gastrointestinal tract.
Decay processes in oral cavity.

It is very important to pay attention to such a factor as the discharge from the oral cavity of various types of secretions with the presence of a large number of air bubbles.

This is necessary in order to indicate the exact characteristics of the abnormal behavior of the animal in the process of consultation with a specialist in order to establish a preliminary diagnosis. In the case of an accurate description of the clinical manifestations, the veterinarian, even by phone, can determine the exact diagnosis and give recommendations on the method of treatment.

In no case should you self-medicate, as this can lead to disastrous results. The best option is to take the animal and take it to a veterinarian who has some knowledge and experience. The doctor will quickly and accurately determine the diagnosis of the existing ailment and prescribe qualified treatment.

Such diseases, especially pneumonia, are quite difficult to cure without the use of antibiotics, which are injected into the turtle's body.

In any case, you should pay attention to the conditions of keeping your pet. As a rule, most diseases, such as pneumonia or acute respiratory infections, develop in conditions when temperature conditions are underestimated and unsanitary conditions are observed within the reptile's habitat.

Disorders in the gastrointestinal tract are treated with the normalization of nutrition.

The leatherback turtle looks like a charming and harmless creature, but in its mouth there are several rows of razor-sharp teeth that any predator will envy. Hundreds of stalactite-like teeth (also called thorns) are hidden in the mouth of the leatherback turtle - they cover the mouth and esophagus of the turtle up to the intestines in even rows.

Leatherback turtles are the third largest reptiles in the world, and among turtles they are the absolute record holders in terms of size. In fact, they are quite peaceful, feeding mainly on jellyfish. They can grow to this size only because they eat too much - sometimes a leatherback turtle can eat jellyfish in a day, which in total weigh about 73% of its own body weight. Consequently, the turtle consumes about 16,000 calories per day, which is three to seven times more than is necessary for survival.

Teeth give these turtles an evolutionary advantage: sharp spines tilted towards the esophagus prevent slippery jellyfish from slipping out of their mouths. This means that leatherback turtles are capable of feeding on all types of jellyfish, from the smallest to the largest like hairy cyanea.