I had baby turtles when I was a child. I remember staring at them for hours, just falling in love with their little faces peeking out of from their shells. Like many kids growing up who had turtles in a small aquarium, one day you come home from school and the turtles have gone to heaven! I was blessed with parents that allowed me to take the time to bury my little guys and say a blessing over their garden grave. I cried and asked, what happened, why did they die? If I only knew then what I know now, perhaps my guys (that was their names ‘the guys’) could have been helped with the use of hydrosols or essential oil blend for the common bacterial infections that can occur.
- Avoid use diffusing essential oils directly with and around fish/reptiles/amphibians (due to their pH levels and aquatic environments).
- Do not use essential oils to clean fish tanks or reptile habitats.
- Use caution when handling animals after applying essential oils/aromatherapy products to yourself.
- The use of certain hydrosols when diluted may be useful for short-term issues such as cleaning a wound.
- Always keep essential oils and aromatherapy products out of reach of children and pets.
There is new research pertaining to the possible use of certain essential oil components against bacterial infections suffered by turtles.
PubMed Abstract (2017): Antibacterial activity of essential oil from lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) against pet turtle-borne pathogenic bacteria.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29046693
A friend has had success treating a bacterial fungal overgrowth in a larger outdoor Koi fish pond with the use of highly diluted tea tree essential oil. (*There is also a product called Melafix on the market which contains Melaleuca for this type of use). *This is not an endorsement of this product, just listed here for ‘awareness’ in ‘education’.