Ear Abcess?

[jlyoncc1]

I have someone bringing me a EBT tonight. Have not seen it yet, but the girl thought he has an ear abcess and does not have the money to get it to the vet. I have a great vet but was just wondering if this is something that is just treated with antibiotics?

 

[Yvonne G]

You have to lance it, but you should wait until it is ripe or it keeps coming back. If you don't think you can do it yourself, you should have the vet do it. Its quite easy, and if he'll let you watch, next time you can do it. Ear abscesses usually develop because of some other thing...what I'm trying to say is that the ear abscess is a symptom of something else, so a round of antibiotics would be in order.

Yvonne

 

[Candy]

Yvonne, I don't see Dale's ears and how does the vet keep their head out long enough to do that?

 

[jlyoncc1]

Yeah, how do you keep their head out? I don't have any intention of doing it myself, but just curious. I guess I will see when I go to the vet! LOL

 

[egyptiandan]

Like Yvonne said, you almost always have to lance them and clean them out before they will clear up. I've only had a couple that cleared up with just antibiotics.
I have done more ear abcesses than I care to remember. They are fairly easy to do once you've got the hang of it. An easy one can take just 5 minutes and most take no more than 10 minutes.
Thats the tricky part, getting a hold of their heads You have to grab the top and bottom of the head at first, than grab the sides as well. This way you have the head and can get a better grip, top to bottom. You have to gently pull the head out and keep it out. Than keep that sides (that the abcess is on) leg out of the way, so you can lance the ear.
I have pictures of me doing a tortoise if anyone wants to see.

Danny

 

[bettinge]

Like Yvonne said, you almost always have to lance them and clean them out before they will clear up. I've only had a couple that cleared up with just antibiotics.
I have done more ear abcesses than I care to remember. They are fairly easy to do once you've got the hang of it. An easy one can take just 5 minutes and most take no more than 10 minutes.
Thats the tricky part, getting a hold of their heads You have to grab the top and bottom of the head at first, than grab the sides as well. This way you have the head and can get a better grip, top to bottom. You have to gently pull the head out and keep it out. Than keep that sides (that the abcess is on) leg out of the way, so you can lance the ear.
I have pictures of me doing a tortoise if anyone wants to see.

Danny

I'd like to see the photos!

 

[jlyoncc1]

I'd like to see them too Danny!

 

[egyptiandan]

Pictures are a bit blurry (hard to take pictures one handed ) but here goes.

Here she is a couple of months later.

This was quite a few years ago. She was a friends tortoise and the vet that did the first lancing (didn't get it all) wouldn't do it again, so she sent her to me. I did that right out of the shipping box.
She's doing great and has laid her first clutch of fertile eggs this past May.

Danny

 

[jlyoncc1]

Wow! That's crazy. I took my boy today and she lanced it. I didn't get to watch but it took just a minute. She is such a great vet. He was back in his pen eating by noon!

 

[Isa]

Dee
I am glad your new little one is ok .
Danny, wow scary but you did a very good job
I did not know an ear abcess could be that big.

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow! That's crazy. I took my boy today and she lanced it. I didn't get to watch but it took just a minute. She is such a great vet. He was back in his pen eating by noon!

Be careful putting him back outside with an open wound. Flies will lay eggs on it and you will have a maggot infestation.

Yvonne

 

[Candy]

Danny do you know how much pain this causes them? I should think they would feel it right?

 

[jlyoncc1]

Thanks Yvonne & Isa, I asked her about that. She gave me an ointment to squeeze into the abcess. I have to do this each day. I would think that would prevent them from getting in there?

 

[bettinge]

Disgusting! I could probably do it, but it looks like you need 4 hands. Exactly what is it? Looks like more than pus.

 

[Crazy1]

Thanks for this info every one. Danny oh how painful that must have been before you lanced it. An inch long absess, Wow. Glad she is doing great now.

 

[egyptiandan]

I'm sure the initial cut hurts a bit, but not for long.

4 hands would be great if I had them. But I manage with 2 pretty well

It was affecting her eye sight as well, so I'm sure it felt soooooooooooooooooooooooo much better to have that out. Her eye sight will never be quite right (she bites at the food a few times before she finds it). It is the biggest abcess I've ever seen and it was the first on a tortoise.

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Yvonne, I don't see Dale's ears and how does the vet keep their head out long enough to do that?

They don't actually have external ears. But if you look just behind his eyes and around his jaw, you will see a smooth-looking circle. That's the tympanic membrane or ear. I've had luck with grabbing the head between index finger and thumb, right behind the jaw. You have to hold tightly. Its not for the faint of heart, as you have to be pretty aggressive and hold on tightly. This is not pleasant for the turtle.

Yvonne

---

Disgusting! I could probably do it, but it looks like you need 4 hands. Exactly what is it? Looks like more than pus.

It's just pus. However, to let the "boil" ripen, means you wait long enough that the pus hardens into something similar to cottage cheese. This ensures that you can remove all of it easily. When they have that large of an abscess, or if they are unlucky enough to have one on each side, swallowing is very difficult. Because you see the swelling on the outside, and there's that much swelling again, on the inside.

Yvonne

 

[Stazz]

EEEEK ! Shame, I'm sure the poor guy is ecstatic to have that off his head! Awww

 

[tortoisenerd]

Wow that's huge!

 

[PATMAN]

Wow, I can't believe how big that abscess was!

I like to use an exacto knife when I've done it which I soak in Malcolm then betadine. I works rather well.

Thanks for sharing those pics Danny!