Hi: I just found a great local tortoise forum on FB that I joined. They were telling both remedies and horror stories about ear abscesses in redfoots- but I imagine this is good for other species too.
One lady took her juvenile tortoise (recently rescued with an ear abscess) to a "reptile vet" who made the cross cut incision, drained the abscess, and the little tort was dead from loss of blood before they got her back home.
Many people talked about various vets lancing and cutting and draining and "popping" ear abscesses - ONLY AFTER THEY TURN WHITE AND HARD. Another lady said her herp vet won't touch the ear abscesses because he told her nature has already isolated the infection locally, and will take care of it- just make sure the tort is warm, soaked, eating normally, not being attacked by others in the herd, and make sure to monitor nutrition intake and output and they will heal naturally.
Many reported that the torts who are prone to abscessed ears have recurring abscesses in one or both ears over time.
Then, I found some hope that I wanted to share here - Another lady who is adamantly against vets until all other husbandry conditions have been explored and controlled posted this remedy that I believe everybody should try prior to cutting open a tortoises ear/head!
She puts a drop of copaiba essential oil on the tortoise in the morning, directly on the abscess, and then one drop at night directly on the abscess, and the abscess (according to her) completely clears up in one week.
http://www.nativeamericannutritionals.com/balsam-copaiba.htm
She also said she has tried other essential oil companies for her torts over the years, but after much research, she likes Native American Nutritionals best, as they use only organically-grown, stable herbs and plants, and take refinement and production seriously with respect to contaminants, storage, etc.
I ordered some, and it will now be part of my refrigerated pantry of tort home remedies in case my little ones develop abscesses.
I spoke to a natural healing herp vet, and he said we don't know how they survive these types of illnesses in the wild - for instance, if they eat a poison bug or toadstool, or get into some diseased carrion. Like I believe, he said there are probably some "go-to" barks, roots, and insects they seek out and eat, like perhaps copaiba which comes from South America, which is both a natural antibiotic and a natural anti-fungal in one compound...
Thought I'd post in case any of you who don't have a go-to herp vet closeby want to try it- don't use more than one drop each dose, morning and night though. And abscess, by all accounts I've read, take a long, long time to heal.
Cheers,
Karen
One lady took her juvenile tortoise (recently rescued with an ear abscess) to a "reptile vet" who made the cross cut incision, drained the abscess, and the little tort was dead from loss of blood before they got her back home.
Many people talked about various vets lancing and cutting and draining and "popping" ear abscesses - ONLY AFTER THEY TURN WHITE AND HARD. Another lady said her herp vet won't touch the ear abscesses because he told her nature has already isolated the infection locally, and will take care of it- just make sure the tort is warm, soaked, eating normally, not being attacked by others in the herd, and make sure to monitor nutrition intake and output and they will heal naturally.
Many reported that the torts who are prone to abscessed ears have recurring abscesses in one or both ears over time.
Then, I found some hope that I wanted to share here - Another lady who is adamantly against vets until all other husbandry conditions have been explored and controlled posted this remedy that I believe everybody should try prior to cutting open a tortoises ear/head!
She puts a drop of copaiba essential oil on the tortoise in the morning, directly on the abscess, and then one drop at night directly on the abscess, and the abscess (according to her) completely clears up in one week.
http://www.nativeamericannutritionals.com/balsam-copaiba.htm
She also said she has tried other essential oil companies for her torts over the years, but after much research, she likes Native American Nutritionals best, as they use only organically-grown, stable herbs and plants, and take refinement and production seriously with respect to contaminants, storage, etc.
I ordered some, and it will now be part of my refrigerated pantry of tort home remedies in case my little ones develop abscesses.
I spoke to a natural healing herp vet, and he said we don't know how they survive these types of illnesses in the wild - for instance, if they eat a poison bug or toadstool, or get into some diseased carrion. Like I believe, he said there are probably some "go-to" barks, roots, and insects they seek out and eat, like perhaps copaiba which comes from South America, which is both a natural antibiotic and a natural anti-fungal in one compound...
Thought I'd post in case any of you who don't have a go-to herp vet closeby want to try it- don't use more than one drop each dose, morning and night though. And abscess, by all accounts I've read, take a long, long time to heal.
Cheers,
Karen