Septicemia :(

[NinjaTortoises]

Ok i am just asking a question that is related to my 4 torts, they are all around 5 months old now, they have a pink line under the plastron, the line which outlines the plastron scutes, i am very worried now, they have had those lines for as long as i can remember though but im not sure because im worried i guess, all 4 have the lines, they eat they soak they bask and do normal tortoise things, please let me know what you think...thanks alot

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i recently found a thread about septicemia, maybe thats why i remembered the pink line under them and started to kinda freak out :/ i am still worried though

 

[lisalove]

Pics would be helpful, but they may just be growth lines and are very normal.
Here are my little guys lines...

Do they look like this?

 

[dmarcus]

It could be that or new growth, how wet is the substrate kept?

 

[NinjaTortoises]

Pics would be helpful, but they may just be growth lines and are very normal.
Here are my little guys lines...

Do they look like this?

this is exactly what it looks like, the 2 bigger torts have a more pink color the smallest one has it as well but is less pink.....is that normal, i wish i had a good camera the one i use sucks so bad its blurry

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It could be that or new growth, how wet is the substrate kept?

the substrate is actually dry right now, it dries up fast, i mist the tortoises often though not too often

FYI i use cypress mulch as substrate and some sphagnum moss for humidity they burrow into the cypress though so they dont sleep on the moss at all

 

[lisalove]

Hard to form an opinion without seeing them. If they look like my torts lines-I would say new growth lines.
Septicemia is not normally confined to the lines.
Here is something for you to read that may help:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medinjuries.htm

I must say again it's difficult to know for sure without a visual.

 

[Kristina]

If the substrate is dry, then you need to pour water into it until it is thoroughly damp but not so wet that you can squeeze water out of it with your fist. Misting just won't keep it damp enough.

Also, it is absolutely impossible to mist "too often." I sometimes mist mine more than 10 times a day. I spray them every single time I walk by. More misting is better than less misting.

It sounds to me like what you are seeing on your little tortoises is just growth lines. The new growth on the plastron often has a pink tinge. I can't think of a single thing that would cause all four of your tortoises to develop septicemia at the same time, unless all were injured at the same time, like by a dog for example. Septicemia is a systemic infection, and actually pretty rare.

 

[dmarcus]

Yes that would be growth lines on your torts....

 

[yagyujubei]

Perferctly normal new growth. If this was septicemia, they would be very sick indeed, not carrying on like normal.

 

[Tom]

Do you feed Mazuri? Try soaking the tortoises after each feeding of Mazuri and see if the pinkness fades away. I have seen the film or Mazuri on the plastron that they get from walking in their food encourage bacterial growth and turn the plastron lines pinkish. If this is your problem, soaking after each feeding should make it fade away.

 

[NinjaTortoises]

thanks for all the replies, yea i started wetting the substrate more now so its moist or damp, and I dont realy let them walk on their food, i reposition them often because one of them always walks over it and i dont know why it does it lol the others are trying to eat and its on the food lol but yea the lines are pretty light they are noticeable but dont seem bad, they are like lisaloves photo only a little more pinker, or maybe its just the light theyre under that makes it seem like that, i did the soaking after eating, seems the same afterward though tom, oh and Kristina, i dont think theyve been harmed my dogs have never touched them, they are too high up for them and they dont pay attention to the torts lol i havent taken them outside in a while, they get sun from inside the house near a windowsill

 

[zesty_17]

i am very doubtful it is septicemia. i have seen early signs of this in water turtles, in which the soft skin around their necks & legs becomes very reddened, and they can come back from this with changes in husbandry & vet care.

 

[Tom]

Just throwing it out there just in case someone doesn't know it, but glass filters out almost all of the usable UV. So sunshine through a window is not meeting any UV needs. My apologies if everyone already knows this.

 

[TORTOISEMAN1]

good post with lots of good info!

 

[Kristina]

oh and Kristina, i dont think theyve been harmed my dogs have never touched them, they are too high up for them and they dont pay attention to the torts lol i havent taken them outside in a while, they get sun from inside the house near a windowsill

I really wasn't actually suggesting they had been harmed by your dogs, I didn't even know you had dogs. It was an example. What I was saying is that septicemia usually only comes from an injury LIKE being chewed by a dog. If a dog had chewed your tortoise, you would know.

And as someone else mentioned, sunlight through glass or dense screen does not provide UV because it is mostly filtered out.

 

[jaizei]

I completely understand where the OP was coming from. I recall reading something that made it seem as though a pink line down the middle of the plastron was indicative of septicemia.

 

[NinjaTortoises]

no prob kristina i wouldnt inspect before placing them anywhere where they could be in danger, oh an hey Tom i make sure the window is open lol and the sun is hitting them and its warm always, once the sun goes away from the window i move them to there enclosure with their UV bulb which i turn off around 5 hours after i move them from the window, joker yea i am glad i learned some important things, jazei yea me too but now i know