Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My two year old spotted has a large tumor on his ear. He has been sluggish and I have recently been finding him upside down in the tank. I fear he is about to die. The other spotted in the tank died a few weeks ago. Does anyone know of a last ditch effort to keep my spotted alive?

take him to a vet, I would maybe dry dock it for now and change the water.

Sounds like a ear abscess not a tumor. He needs to get to a vet to have it properly cleaned up and then needs antibiotics.

Get the abscess lanced and cleaned out under sterile conditions and give injectable antibiotics. Sorry, it isn't cheap, but it is an easy condition to correct with proper care.

These are abscesses. They should be surgically removed by a vet.
Once it has been removed the site must be keep clean. You may see
this corn meal looking stuff coming out of the site for about a
week. Remember to keep the turtle in a very clean tank.

You folks have been helpful and have recommended that I go to a vet. Where do I find a vet that does turtles? I live in Los Angeles.

If you have a zoo in Los Angeles all you need to do is call
the zoo and ask them for the name of their Vet. I live in a
very small town and that's how I found one. To help right now
the water needs to be cooler and very clean. My turtle that had
this infection lived with it for about a year before I knew what
it was. My turtle is now three years old and you can't even see
a scar.

Check here www.anapsid.org/vets/califs.html.