Misinformation on the worldwide web
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While a great deal of the information available on the Internet is accurate and useful, it should also be treated with caution
Readers might remember from past columns my Indian roofed turtles.
These turtles were once known as “Kachuga kachuga”, but after further study, researchers have now changed their Latin designation to “Pangshura tecta”.
They’re quite small - the ladies around 12 cms long and the boys 8 cms.
They’re sociable and active and (according to me) very pretty, with bright markings on their faces.
The Internet has lots of files on these turtles, but I don’t trust all the information. For instance, one “expert” says that these turtles come from Thailand and are called “Thai turtles”.
The turtles actually come from India and Sri Lanka, but are smuggled into Western countries through Bangkok, the reason for the confusion in their names, I suppose.
The information on the Internet might be accurate, or not. I’ve learned about taking care of turtles partly from the Internet, but also from books and from talking to experts.
I’ve been thinking about misinformation on the Internet a lot this week, because of two baby turtles I gave a reader a few months ago.
She promised to provide a good home, but since she had no experience raising turtles, I was careful to explain her about care and feeding.
Just last week, she phoned me. One turtle had stopped swimming and eating and simply died.
The other was still alive but not eating at all.
Where was she keeping the turtle? In a small pond in her garden.
What was she feeding the turtle? A lot of Chinese morning glory (pak boong). She thought that her pak boong was adequate since she grew it herself in her garden.
If you feed your turtle fresh food, the way I do, you should give babies 50 per cent vegetables and 50 per cent protein, gradually reducing the protein to around 20 per cent by the time it’s about a year old.
I didn’t know what the problem was with this turtle. It could be parasites, a lung infection or a lack of vitamins and minerals baby turtles need. I told her to take the turtle to Chulalongkorn’s Water Animal Department, where vets could assess the problem and take proper steps.
Instead, she went on the Internet, where she found advice to soak the turtle in salty water for an hour to kill parasites.
She didn’t ask me, but this advice works, I suppose, if you have no access to proper medication and if, in fact, the turtle is suffering from parasites.
Such a soaking also works if the turtle isn’t weakened from other causes and if its immune system is strong enough.
The following day, the woman messaged me to tell me what she had done. She also said that the baby had died.
In this case, it wasn’t strong enough to withstand the shock of the salt bath, I think.
