Star Tortoise, Pinkish swell/skin below the ear.

leno

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Hi, recently i have noticed that my star tortoise has this pinkish small looking swell/skin on its neck, below its ears on both sides...is this normal?

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leno

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Yes, apparently is the same tortoise that has slightly soft shell and with the pink swell on both the necks.
 

ascott

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Yes, apparently is the same tortoise that has slightly soft shell and with the pink swell on both the necks.

Ok, so if it were me..I would begin to do visual inspection of the tort each day..I would first try to the tort the much needed uvb exposure for a few weeks to see if he is more active and appetite increases..I would also be sure to improve his diet now..not gradually, but now...if the pink areas remain without growing then perhaps you will have a little time before the stress of a vet visit has to happen..
 

leno

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She is happy eating and moving around, without any issue...I'm just thinking to soak her more often to see the neck area would recover...as there is still some flaky skin shedding off.
 

Yvonne G

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It looks like it may be the start of an ear abscess. You can't lance them until they ripen.
 

leno

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It looks like it may be the start of an ear abscess. You can't lance them until they ripen.

Hi Yvonne, So right now the only thing I can do is to wait until it ripens and do a surgery?
 

Yvonne G

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Yes. It will swell and get hard then turn white. Then it can be lanced like a boil. Best to have a vet or tortoise rehabber do it

Ear abscesses occur because of an infection somewhere in the tortoise's body (not necessarily in the ear area), so antibiotics are in order.
 

ascott

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It looks like it may be the start of an ear abscess. You can't lance them until they ripen.
Yes. It will swell and get hard then turn white. Then it can be lanced like a boil. Best to have a vet or tortoise rehabber do it


This is also what I was thinking..however, this tort has been without some very basic important necessities...so was worried about too much stress piled on too soon...
 

Joo

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Leno, replied you on the other thread. Dr Hsu's charged a little over SG$50. I sent the other female to him for running nose which cost about the same.

As for your tort, if it is just the of an abscess, what i did to my other tort was to apply OXY10 (acne cream), which works. You might like to consider this while waiting for the abscess to ripe. I know some member may not be agreeable to self medicating. so, its up to you.
 

Joo

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Leno, just read from your other thread that you set up UVB? We are at the equator with more then enough sunlight. You need to put her under the sun with shades around. I did that to the babies 2-4 hours a day.

AND high calcium diet.
 
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