Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

i have a 4 year old eastern that i have raised since birth and has been extremely healthy since the day i got it. This winter I hibernated her for the first time and she did just fine, woke up and was doing well. I noticed the other day that she "might" have some small swellings on the side of her neck "ear infection" she eats but with some trouble, walks around and her eyes are open however it seems as if the lids of her eyes are slightly pale when she closes her eyes. She is always been housed outdoors in a 10ft by 6ft pen with 3 other turtles that have no issues at all. My problem is that if her neck swellings need to be lanced she retracts her head into the shell and it is near impossible to get her out, so I dont understand how even a professional would be able to do it. Im not even sure if it is even an ear infection or if it is just the shaping of her jaw/head as she matures. However she is not as lively as the others and she defiantly takes longer and has a much harder time eating then the others. My girlfriend goes to vet school and works at a vets office so i have access to what ever I need. They vet there is not all that experienced with reptiles but has given injections to box turtles before. I feel that lancing will cause huge amounts of stress and would rather do injections. Unless some has a good technique to get the head of a baby turtle out. The turtle shell is about 3 inches and i was wondering if someone had the dosage/antibiotic that i would need to treat her. Can antibiotic injections cure an ear infection alone or is it a “MUST” get it drained along with antibiotics? Any other remedies that you guys have that might stop this at an early stage. I soak her every day give her worms/fruit and veggies, and she is exposed to sun everyday. "im not sure if she is even a she"
Any help/ advise would be great.

Thanks everyone!

the best advice is dont try this kind of treatment yourself, you'll kill your turtle for sure

to clear things up, im not doing anything myself I am just telling the vet what to do because he has never done this before. He is doing my girlfriend (myself) a favor and not charging us so i am just getting all the info.

thanks for everyones help

I already said im not doing anything myself, I want to pass the wisdome of others who have done this before on to the vet, who has no experience with turtles

Yes it has to be lanced. Reptiles have a hardened caseated pockets of pus rather than a liquid, so it has to be removed manually. Your vet will have the resources to do it. The turtle should have anesthesia, which then makes it easy to extract the head. The vet can easily go online and consult with experienced reptile vets. Or use Mader, Frye, or other resources. Vet really don't expect the customers to do all the research.
chelonialuv