Need help with ear abscesses

[kimber_lee_314]

I need some help with ear abscesses. Three of my box turtles have had chronic ear abscess. They are in two different enclosures (an Eastern in one and a Gulfie and Florida in another.) I have taken each to the vet where the abscess was lanced and cleaned out. When they didn't clear up after that, I had them lanced a second time and started Baytril. At one point I started cleaning them daily with Betadine but started to worry about skin damage so I stopped. Back to the vet - she took a culture. The results were psuedomonas (and something else - I can't remember) but both respond well the Penicillin, so I started them on Penicillin injections. They started to finally look better, but now that the Penicillin is completed, they are started to ooze again! I need help! I'm not sure what course to take at this point. (By the way - they are all eating well and active. All laid eggs this summer and seem happy.)

 

[yagyujubei]

I have lanced these, and give a shot of fortaz. Sometimes, if you miss a piece, it will reoccur,but other than that no problems.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Any more suggestions?

 

[earthyman71]

check out www.aboxturtle.com for information about ear abcesses.

i've had a turtle or two who have had them and it does really take a good lancing, proper removal of the abcessed material, leaving the ear canal open to drain and dry and, in my experience about 10 days of baytril shots to clear everything up.

the nearest i could figure out the cause of mine abcessing was me changing the substrate in their pens and not getting it just right in terms of humidity and dampness.

just a perspective among many here on the forum.

hope your buddies get better!

 

[Raymo2477]

I had and abscess problem with one of my boxies when I was a kid. We lanced the abscess, removed the chunk of white gunk, cleaned the would with peroxide, left it open, treated with peroxide two more days, and the used a topical antibiotic. We never covered the wound and left it open to heal properly which it did in 10-12 days.

I had the same issue with a green iguana but it kept reoccurring and we had to go to the vet for oral baytril treatments. After two weeks the infection was gone and the iguana was better. The only issue was the antibiotic must have killed of the beneficial bacteria in his system because he had some digestive issues over the next few weeks.

 

[fbsmith3]

The problem with an abscesses is they are only part of the problem. You must treat what caused the abscess along with the abscess itself.

20 years ago, I had a male Ornate Box turtle who had recurring ear abscesses. I tried everything and spent several hundred dollars at the Vet. My advice is if your current Vet doesn't help, find another vet. I stayed with one vet and that was my big mistake.

Cleo had a small abscess one, I over reacted and brought her to a Bird vet. She said "lets leave it, if it gets worse we'll deal with it then." She then advised me to use diluted Epsom salts baths (1 tablespoon per gallon) daily, normal water bath at 100F, rotted bananas and bird vitamins. This all happened in 1996 and probably all wrong, but it worked. The problems never returned, I still feed her rotted bananas and always change her water twice daily. I now think Epsom salts is a bad idea, but it worked back then.

 

[turtleluv88]

One of my male boxies got one and he had it lanced with no antibiotic treatment but it cleared up really fast and never came back. I believe the reason he got it was because he was being a very picky eater and refused to eat vegetables of any kind. So I started to soak his dry food with baby food (instead of water) (the carrot, squash and sweet potato flavors) and he loved it and now has slowly started to eat other vegetables. So I was wondering if your boxies are getting enough vitamin A because a deficiency can cause the abscesses.

 

[fbsmith3]

One of my male boxies got one and he had it lanced with no antibiotic treatment but it cleared up really fast and never came back. I believe the reason he got it was because he was being a very picky eater and refused to eat vegetables of any kind. So I started to soak his dry food with baby food (instead of water) (the carrot, squash and sweet potato flavors) and he loved it and now has slowly started to eat other vegetables. So I was wondering if your boxies are getting enough vitamin A because a deficiency can cause the abscesses.

A very good point. Vitamin A because a deficiency. This is what the bird Vet mentioned.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

I can't figure out what is causing them. I change their water two or three times a day. I feed high vitamin A veggies and add cod liver oil to their food once a week. I have a lot of box turtles, and it's only these three that keep getting them. All the others are fine so I'm skeptical that its environmental - but I'm open to it. I just don't know what course to take now. My vet is very good and I trust her completely, so it's not her. I just don't know what else to do for these girls.

 

[turtleluv88]

Do you have them in an indoor enclosure? If so, have you switched out the substrate and cleaned all there furniture? I did that with mine when he came back from his surgery. Also do they have the proper lighting (uva and uvb)?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

Do you have them in an indoor enclosure? If so, have you switched out the substrate and cleaned all there furniture? I did that with mine when he came back from his surgery. Also do they have the proper lighting (uva and uvb)?

No, they live outside.

 

[yagyujubei]

I wouldn't think that penicillin would be effective against pseudomonas.

 

[fbsmith3]

I work in Biotech and I started my career in Microbiology. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is found in stagnant water and very common in hospital borne infections. It is very hard to treat and involves continual cultures during treatment. You have to rely on your vet for this and this may end up being very expensive.