How can you tell if your turtle's aquarium has salmonilla? Effective treatment without vet?

Question

My turtle ate my favorite large, fish :( and ever since, the aquarium has not looked clean. I have cleaned the filters over and again. It looks like there are a ton of little white things floating on the top of the water. Could the tank be infected by salmonella? If so, any way to effectively scrub it out without being at risk of getting sick? I've put off cleaning it out of a lack of an effective way to kill the bacteria if its there. But, the question still remains if I’m just a hypochondriac.

Answer 1

There's a little bit about salmonella on this page : http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Info/info.htm if you scroll down. Everything I've read is that the best way to deal with salmonella is to simply wash your hands very well after handling your turtle and it's habitat.
Your better bet is to ask at a reptile forum, where the people really know their stuff.. here's a couple:
http://www.reptileforums.com/forums/cmps_index.php
http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload/index.php?s=f9f77b0b711b1f325dd7c78285eea093&
Good luck with your turtle :-)

Answer 2

Salmonella are microscopic germs that cause food poisoning. Turtles raised in waste treatment ponds or that are kept in dirty cages often carry it.

To put this is perspective- about 20-30% of turtles have it- so do about 20-30% of coins. Almost all room-temperature cooked chicken and eggs have Salmonella (think egg or chicken salad!) Salmonella presents as a 'stomach flu' or '24 hour flu'. In fact, EVERY case of these MIGHT be Salmonella. It is estimated that most of us get Salmonella every 2-3 years.

White things on the water can be many things, most likely little bits of fat or protein from the turtle's waste or little bits of left-over fish. Bacteria? There is probably a TON of it in there because of these waste products.

It is probably time to tear the tank down, scrub it well, and rebuild it. Be sure to scrub the gravel as well, and use something to cut grease, fats, and oils, like some detergent and hot water.

As far as protecitng yourself- good handwashing will take care of it.

It is NEVER a good idea to mix turtles and fish-
- Turtles eat or harass fish
- Turtles are REALLY messy eaters and need about twice as much filtration as a fish does
- Turtles eat fish... did I mention this already?

Answer 3

This will be an ongoing concern since turtles always carry this bacterium. Good hand washing on your part will protect you, and as for the tank, you should break it down @ least once a month & scrub it out with a mixture of 50% water & 50% bleach. Rinse everything VERY well & let dry thourghly. Make sure the tank no longer smells like bleach. If it does, keep rinsing. If you can't scrub the tank's contents (rocks, gravel etc) discard it & replace it with new material.

Answer 4

Salmonella is always present in the gut of turtles. Wash your hands thoroughly every single time you touch the turtle or its tank. The white things are something else. Maybe bits of shed shell. I change 100% of my turtles water every day and have no problems with water quality.

Answer 5

Salmonella is common in turtles under 6 inches in diameter. Its most likely shell, where your turtle is growing.

Answer 6

turtles can shed layers of their shell thats probably the white stuff floating in the tank. just wash your hands before and after you mess with him or the tank. all aquatic turtles carry salmonilla no way to get rid of it . for the layers of shedding using a sulfer block made for turtles in the tank will help

Answer 7

if you dont want to go to the vey because of the $ involved than you should look up your local reptial store and go in a speak with them they'll be very helpful, if you dont have one than call you local ASPCA or SPCA and ask them ...

Answer 8

white vinegar, or one of those steam shooting cleaning appliances

Answer 9

Need vet.