Mycoplasma

[TheoDoreT]

My almost 3 year old Hermann has been tested positive for Mycoplasma, the vet is sending me some antibiotics , he does seem to be a little better than he was a couple of weeks ago but I’m really worried about what this could mean for him. Any help would be welcome

 

[zovick]

My almost 3 year old Hermann has been tested positive for Mycoplasma, the vet is sending me some antibiotics , he does seem to be a little better than he was a couple of weeks ago but I’m really worried about what this could mean for him. Any help would be welcome

Mycoplasma is virtually incurable. Once your tortoise has it, the tortoise will always be "carrying it" chronically and be prone to getting acute episodes from time to time. The acute episodes can be treated with antibiotics and go into remission, but be prepared for future acute episodes to occur without warning.

 

[TheoDoreT]

Thank you, the vet did say he would always carry it , is there anything I can do to help try to prevent episodes as much as I can ? Is this something he would have been born with or had from a young age and something triggered it ?

 

[zovick]

Thank you, the vet did say he would always carry it , is there anything I can do to help try to prevent episodes as much as I can ? Is this something he would have been born with or had from a young age and something triggered it ?

Other than keeping the tortoise warm enough and not exposing it to cold drafts or a cold and wet environment, I don't think there is much that you can do to prevent acute episodes.

Birds such as chickens can hatch with mycoplasma which they contract via their mothers through the egg shells. This is called vertical transmission.

That being said, I don't know of any studies which definitively say that vertical transmission is possible or likely in tortoises, but it would not be a stretch to think that if it happens in birds, it can most likely happen in reptiles as well.

 

[Yvonne G]

I believe stress is also a factor.

 

[Maggie3fan]

Here's AB my tortoise, he's 21 years old been a carrier of mycoplasma his whole life...he is kept separate from other tortoises and sanitary measures are taken...but it's not all gloom and doom...look at this happy face...