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My southernpainted turtle has a small bump on his neck near the shell, in the water it looks white, on his basking platform it just looks like a small bump
Optional Information: Pet's Gender: Male Pet's Age: <1 Name of Animal: Cecil Already Tried: Just noticed it while feeding him today
Hello,
Can you tell me about the set up?
Is he housed alone?
Do you have a UVB light? How old? Tube or coil?
Do you feed any supplements?
Can you post a picture of the area? You can use the paper clip icon if you have one above the text box, if not please use Photobucket.com and post a link here.
joan
Thanks for fast responce! The tank setup is a 30 gal (29h) filled 3/4 of the way up. On the left side is a zilla floating basking platform with a zoomed 75 watt UVA/basking lamp positioned to keep his basking area 90F, on the left is A zoomed UVB cfl lamp, both lamps are less than a month old. Cecil is the only turtle in the tank, however I do have an Angel fish, a pleco, and an African drawf frog.
For filtration I have the under gravel filter and a submersible 10-30 gal tetra whisper filter. I have already changed out the filter once before. The water is treated with reptisafe, and I do 20% water changes weekly. I am attaching a pic but not sure if you can see it, as I said it is a very small bump on a very small turtle, hes about the size of a half dollar. The bump is that brown spot behind his right eye as looking at him from the top view
The Picture did not post. Is the bump in the ear area? Do you use any supplements? I would love see the area, and where it is located to be able to give you a good answer. Could you please try and post a pciture again?
Joan
is there a size limit for the pic, it will not insert, it keeps puling up the insert picture window I have tried five times with no success
Could you use Photobucket.com and post the link. It is a free photserver. I have some supicions of what it is, but would like to see a visual and the area.
ok Here is the link, it is the small brown bump right behind his right eye on the top of his head
http://s1150.photobucket.com/albums/o607/hwy420man/?action=view¤t=IMAG0234.jpg
Sorry I forgot to include supplements, I give him repticalcium and I feed him live guppies I breed myself, and ramshorn snails. I also feed him carrots and romaine lettuce
Good strong diet and everything sounds great! I suspect that we are dealing with the beginning of an abscess. These are common in reptiles. All it takes is a scratch and bacteria to enter the area and it closes trapping the bacterial inside causing an abscess. What usually meeds to be done is a Herp vet will open it and clean it out and start an antibiotic.
The problem is if I am correct the area will continue to grow and get bigger. reptile abscesses are filled with a cheesey type material and usually lanced and cleaned out. At this point it is small and may be able to be treated with an antibiotic alone.
I would be happy to locate a Herp Vet with the State you are located in. In the mean time, you can use a little diluted Betadine and water to clean the area and a thin layer of Neosporin.
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Yes please find me a herp vet in my area (40342) that can treat him. I am afraid that they will try to take him away from me due to the fact he is smaller thanXXXXXsmaller :-) And I would not want to take him anywhere that would try to take him from me, matter of factly, I would end up in jail for assualting the vet. I spent nearly 500 dollars on environment and research into caring for him and I'm not just going to turn him over :-)
Also one last thing, if you think I can treat this at home with betadine and neosporin, can you give me a proper procedure for doing so, and also should I dry dock him?
As long as you are caring for him, nobody should want to or be able to take him away. We often see these little ones sold in the pet shops here in Fl. You cannot believe how many hatchlings that I get as rescues found on the side of the road , or trying to cross the road to get to the water. A Herp Vet is used to treating these little ones.
This is a list of Herp Vets in KY: http://www.anapsid.org/vets/kentucky.html
This is a list of Vets that treat turtles in KY:
CLINIC'S NAME: Animal Care ClinicVET'S NAME: Butch Schroyer, DVM
ADDRESS: 3605 Harrodsburg Rd., Lexington
PHONE NUMBER: (NNN) NNN-NNNN/p>
CLINIC'S NAME: Guardian Animal Emergncy Clinic
VET'S NAME: M. Wixsom, DVM
ADDRESS: 4823 Daniels Fork Rd., Ashland
As far as treating this area we just make the betadine a tea colored solution and then apply the Neosporin. you can keep him out for about 30 mins to be sure the Neosporin absorbs in. This can be repeated 3 times a day.
The problem may not be a big issue and it is always wise to have a little one check for health and a fecal sample run to be sure there are no paraiste issues.
Thanks a lot, you have really allievated my worries, I was afraid he was going to die, or I did something wrong. I actually purchased him in florida :-) I'm going to go ahead and subscribe to your service just in case I have any other questions or issues, because I want him to live to old age. BTW, How long can I expect him to live, with proper care?
I tell people that have turtles to make provisions in their wills. With proper care these guys can live form 20 + years old with care. This is a good little care sheet to use: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-western_painted.htm
Please do not forget to press the Smiley Face so I can be compensted for my answers.
Experience: I have been doing Reptile Rescues for 15+ Years