Maggots

[kristenA]

I'm devastated. In 24 hours maggots have eaten away 50 percent of my torts front legs. Has anyone on here had successful treatments? The vet didn't seem hopeful.Please don't tell me horror stories.

 

[G-stars]

How did this occur? There must have been some type of wound for maggots to form. Pictures will help.

 

[waretrop]

First, Keep your cool....rinse the wound with cool water... pluck out all maggots......put the critter in a warm new place....go look and clean the critter house completely....then put it back in it's home. Do the same thing at least every day for a while. Till it starts to heal. Find out the source of flies...keep them out of the room where the tortoise lives.....

 

[kristenA]

I asked about the wound entry also. The vet said it wasn't needed for the maggots to enter. Hee was absolutely fine the day prior

 

[kristenA]

I'm trying to figure out how to post a picture.

 

[kristenA]

Here is Darren

 

[kristenA]

He can't walk

 

[waretrop]

Just wash the maggots away with a spray of water.....Go do it now.....if you don't they will keep eating the flesh.....

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Maggots don't eat healthy tissue.
Maggots will not eat a healthy leg.
Something else is going on.
Do you have a good vet?
Has the tortoise been there?
Redfoot?
It might be an infected wound that went unnoticed for a while.
@deadheadvet

 

[Markw84]

Absolutely. There was something wrong in the first place that would attract a fly to lay eggs.
Its a bad picture and can't make out much, but certainly don't see 50% of the leg eaten away.
Put the tortoise down and focus the picture to give us a good shot of the area affected and another overall view of the tortoise.
From that picture I see nothing to indicate "not being hopeful"????

 

[ZEROPILOT]

At a bare minimum I'd rinse out the wound. Get some antibiotic cream on it and find another vet.
Hang in there @kristenA

 

[kristenA]

He definitely did not have an open visible cut. I had bathed him the night before last.

 

[kristenA]

myiasis was the term the vet gave

 

[waretrop]

I would still rinse it with warm water and use either salt water or mercurochrome on it. It may erupt and then heal.

 

[Markw84]

Myiatic flies are normally like bot flies and do not have swarms of maggots that infest an area. What you described was more like a group of housefly maggots and houseflies are non myiatic. Was it an infestation of maggots or a single or few under the skin?

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm guessing that rats or some such, ate the legs, then flies deposited eggs on the open wounds. Fly eggs hatch in absolutely no time at all.

 

[eric joranson]

myiasis was the term the vet gave

the term Myiasis is infection with a fly larva, usually occurring in tropical and subtropical areas. The flies will deposit their eggs on the skin and will hatch and begin to feed on living tissue of another animal. In that case you would not necessarily have seen a visible wound; till these larvae begin eating the flesh. A more common form of fly larvae would be attracted to the infection of an injury. Possible abscess that ruptured. In either case I suggest you follow the advise given above about cleaning the affected area; and using an antibiotic cream. Keep it out of any kind of dirt or substrate material until healing has progressed some. This is one time that use of paper towels would be ok.Then totally change out the enclosure area; substrate(burn or destroy) and anything in it. Wiping it down structure with a mild bleach solution; airing out in sunlight. Any photos of the maggots? Also recommend you use the recommended vet list here on this site for your area; and find one that has more experience with reptiles. This is not a lost cause case.

 

[Markw84]

the term Myiasis is infection with a fly larva, usually occurring in tropical and subtropical areas. The flies will deposit their eggs on the skin and will hatch and begin to feed on living tissue of another animal. In that case you would not necessarily have seen a visible wound; till these larvae begin eating the flesh. A more common form of fly larvae would be attracted to the infection of an injury. Possible abscess that ruptured. In either case I suggest you follow the advise given above about cleaning the affected area; and using an antibiotic cream. Keep it out of any kind of dirt or substrate material until healing has progressed some. This is one time that use of paper towels would be ok.Then totally change out the enclosure area; substrate(burn or destroy) and anything in it. Wiping it down structure with a mild bleach solution; airing out in sunlight. Any photos of the maggots? Also recommend you use the recommended vet list here on this site for your area; and find one that has more experience with reptiles. This is not a lost cause case.

One of the most commonly seen cases of myiasis is not necessarily in the tropics but here with the bot fly. So common with aquatic turtles that develop that bump in the neck. My issue is the diagnosis. There are myiatic and non myiatic flies. A myiatic fly lays its eggs in healthy tissue under the skin. The developing larva (maggot) will feed on healthy tissue and create an abscess A non myiatic fly will lay multiple eggs on rotting/decomposing organic matter. Not on healthy flesh. So a lot of maggots suddenly appearing indicates a wound or diseased tissue there before the maggots. So the cause of that would be important.

 

[eric joranson]

One of the most commonly seen cases of myiasis is not necessarily in the tropics but here with the bot fly. So common with aquatic turtles that develop that bump in the neck. My issue is the diagnosis. There are myiatic and non myiatic flies. A myiatic fly lays its eggs in healthy tissue under the skin. The developing larva (maggot) will feed on healthy tissue and create an abscess A non myiatic fly will lay multiple eggs on rotting/decomposing organic matter. Not on healthy flesh. So a lot of maggots suddenly appearing indicates a wound or diseased tissue there before the maggots. So the cause of that would be important.

not sure about central California; but I do believe that southern CA is considered sub tropical which falls in the area of myiasis. Not sure of location of original poster; but it would help to know.

 

[TammyJ]

A warm salt water soak, cleaning out the maggots, and a visit to a good herp vet.