Stoneman
Active Member
Hello everybody!
I live in in Utah, U.S, and I have geochelone elegans. I am concerned about the health of the tortoises I have. I found some articles about the diseases, however I was not able to find much about the frequency and distribution of the diseases. I know the mycoplasma strains are widespread in U.S. in Europe, but I do not know how probable they are to test for. I know that m. testudinem was discovered much later in 1985. Has there been a collective diagnostic database that has monitored all positive tests of the disease?
I know that to test for everything would be ideal, but if it is highly uncommon, like the black plague in humans, there are other ways to utilize resources more effectively. I have also read that mycoplasma false readings are common.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090023314002366
https://tortoise.org/archives/brown1.html
In the past I have been advised to test for herpesvirus, and then later advised by another vet that it is not widespread enough, especially in star tortoises. The same vet who advised me of the very low risk of herpes, told me that mycoplasma was a risk, and that so was nuc
I read that tortoise intranuclear coccidiosis was most common in a. radiata, and that there had been low levels of findings throughout the world, that testing is extremely expensive because it requires polymerase chain reaction assay, and detection through an electron microscope, so I am not even sure I could test for this if I wanted. But it seems as though it would be extremely expensive, especially for such low risk of exposure. The person my second set of tortoises came from sells a. radiata, but as an intermediary.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16672578
I received my first group from LLL, they told me they were from Europe but would not give me any contact info for further questions, and they were infested with parasites. Three were from a private owner in California, which is why I am a little concerned about Herpes, and the other four are from "Europe," which is why I am concerned about the mycoplasma, because it has been found in US and Europe. I think that by Europe maybe they meant Indonesia, because of the poor condition they were in and how they were so insistent on not providing me with detailed information. The other two were in bad shape, however they came from U.S., originally from a U.S. breeder, then I purchased them directly from a negligent caretaker. So there is potentially broad distribution of the ones I have.
I want to know if anyone has good journals or articles they have saved, or books they would recommend on the subjects. I am especially interested in frequency and distribution charts. Does anyone have experience on testing for TINC? Is m. testudinem as important to test for as m. agassizi? Do they require different tests or does the test result in a positive with infection of either?
Thank you everyone, I am new to this so there is a lot I do not have solid understanding of.
-Cory
I live in in Utah, U.S, and I have geochelone elegans. I am concerned about the health of the tortoises I have. I found some articles about the diseases, however I was not able to find much about the frequency and distribution of the diseases. I know the mycoplasma strains are widespread in U.S. in Europe, but I do not know how probable they are to test for. I know that m. testudinem was discovered much later in 1985. Has there been a collective diagnostic database that has monitored all positive tests of the disease?
I know that to test for everything would be ideal, but if it is highly uncommon, like the black plague in humans, there are other ways to utilize resources more effectively. I have also read that mycoplasma false readings are common.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1090023314002366
https://tortoise.org/archives/brown1.html
In the past I have been advised to test for herpesvirus, and then later advised by another vet that it is not widespread enough, especially in star tortoises. The same vet who advised me of the very low risk of herpes, told me that mycoplasma was a risk, and that so was nuc
I read that tortoise intranuclear coccidiosis was most common in a. radiata, and that there had been low levels of findings throughout the world, that testing is extremely expensive because it requires polymerase chain reaction assay, and detection through an electron microscope, so I am not even sure I could test for this if I wanted. But it seems as though it would be extremely expensive, especially for such low risk of exposure. The person my second set of tortoises came from sells a. radiata, but as an intermediary.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16672578
I received my first group from LLL, they told me they were from Europe but would not give me any contact info for further questions, and they were infested with parasites. Three were from a private owner in California, which is why I am a little concerned about Herpes, and the other four are from "Europe," which is why I am concerned about the mycoplasma, because it has been found in US and Europe. I think that by Europe maybe they meant Indonesia, because of the poor condition they were in and how they were so insistent on not providing me with detailed information. The other two were in bad shape, however they came from U.S., originally from a U.S. breeder, then I purchased them directly from a negligent caretaker. So there is potentially broad distribution of the ones I have.
I want to know if anyone has good journals or articles they have saved, or books they would recommend on the subjects. I am especially interested in frequency and distribution charts. Does anyone have experience on testing for TINC? Is m. testudinem as important to test for as m. agassizi? Do they require different tests or does the test result in a positive with infection of either?
Thank you everyone, I am new to this so there is a lot I do not have solid understanding of.
-Cory