Essentials of Tortoise Medicine and Surgery

About this book

Reach for Essentials of Tortoise Medicine and Surgery whenever a sick or injured tortoise comes into the surgery. Essentials of Tortoise Medicine and Surgery is designed as a concise and practical quick reference for the busy practitioner seeing chelonians as part of their caseload. Covering everything from species identification to common basic surgery for tortoises and freshwater turtles, the emphasis is on the more common and likely diagnoses.

The first section of Essentials of Tortoise Medicine and Surgery gives an overview of the basics of tortoise and semi-aquatic/ aquatic freshwater turtle husbandry and keeping, as well as a guide to general investigation and diagnostic techniques open to clinicians. The second section provides a clinical guide based on clinical signs and differential diagnoses.

Based upon the experience of authors who have been practicing with these species for several decades, Essentials of Tortoise Medicine and Surgery is a useful guide to veterinarians, students, veterinary nurses and technicians new to working with these fascinating creatures. It will also serve as a useful aide memoire to more experienced clinicians.

Contents

Preface

Part I Introduction
1 Biology
2 Husbandry
3 Practice Needs
4 Examination
5 Basic Techniques
6 General Anaesthesia
7 Imaging
8 Surgery
9 Clinical Pathology

Part II Presentations
10 Anorexia
11 Diarrhoea
12 Dyspnoea
13 Otitis Media/Aural Abscess
14 Egg Retention/Dystocia
15 Fallen in Pond
16 Follicular Stasis
17 Orthopaedics
18 Fractures of the Shell
19 Hepatic Lipidosis
20 Lameness
21 Lethargy
22 Soft Tissue Masses
23 Nasal Discharge
24 Ocular and Conjunctival/Palpebral Swelling
25 Ocular Opacities and Blindness
26 Generalised Oedema or Anasarca
27 Inflammation of the Oral (Stomatitis) and Pharyngeal Areas
28 External Parasites
29 Internal Parasites
30 Peeling Skin or Shell
31 Prolapse
32 Shell Disease
33 Skin Ulceration
34 Soft Tissue Trauma
35 Swimming Problems
36 Swollen Limbs
37 Uroliths
38 Vomiting and Regurgitation
39 Metabolic Bone Diseases
40 Shell Deformities

Appendix 1 Formulary
Appendix 2 Haematological Normals
Appendix 3 Toxicoses

Index

Customer Reviews

Biography

John Chitty is a director of a small animal and exotics practice in Andover, UK with a 100% avian and exotics caseload. He works with several zoological collections and has lectured and published widely on a variety of avian and exotic species as well as co-editing two avian texts.

Aidan Raftery is currently the clinical director of the Avian and Exotic Animal Clinic in Manchester, UK. He is a visiting lecturer at the Royal Veterinary College, UK, and has produced many chapters for textbooks on exotic animal medicine and surgery. He is also a regular presenter at conferences and at continuing education events for veterinary surgeons.