General Care Discussion :: Face abscesses ... Ear infection ?

[k23]

So here's the story:
A few days ago my RES was "stuck" on top of her driftwood, probably overnight, because I saw her the day before and the next morning still in the same spot.
This has happened before but never this long; usually I help her down because she would give me a look that says "Get me down! I'm stuck..". But I've solved this problem now thanks to this unfortunate event, I found out there was a piece of the wood that acted like a wedge so I sawed and smoothed it off immediately.

ANYWAY, I noticed she was sleeping all the time and looked rather weak later. I figured she was dehydrated.
While I was treating her of this I noticed her head seemed larger than normal. On closer inspection, I noticed the sides of her face were a little swollen.

I've heard that dehydration can cause ear infection. Is this true?
Can it subside over time? Is there anything I can do?
It doesn't look as large as what I've seen in pics. Not like a balloon. Just a very slight enlargement. The left side seems more obvious than the right and somewhat larger.
She is also back to her normal self again, eating, swimming, and basking, the next day after the incident.

P.S. When she was stuck it wasn't a very hot day. Average temp. here where I live, about 32'C and its been raining a lot too. (Hope this additional info helps)

[steve]

I have not heard of dehydration as a factor in causing abscesses. Overnight certainly wouldn't do it. It really needs to be lanced and cleaned out. Maybe you can post a pic of it? Is it sensitive to her?

[k23]

I took these pics a few days ago. The one on her left side looks like it shrunk while the one on the right seems to be getting bigger.






It doesn't seem to bother her. Is it possible to remove it myself?
I suspect that the vets around here don't have much experience or probably not even specialized. It's a small country tho so I can't really complain.

[steve]

Is it possible to remove it yourself? Sure but I would make the effort to find a vet, even one that might not be a herp vet for some guidance.

[k23]

I took her to a vet, he wasn't familiar with turtles tho. I told him about my RES etc We managed to get the abscess out. He also gave antibiotics and told me to bring my RES back next week for a check up.
He told me that my turtle doesn't need to be dry docked. I wasn't sure if he was right. I placed my turtle in her normal tub for a day then decided to follow my gut and just keep her in shallow water. Should I dry dock my turtle?
She doesn't have any bandages tho she's not bleeding at all. But knowing that her cheek was lanced keeps bothering me. I'm afraid that the water will infect it.
The swelling is less since the visit to the vet, but its still there :/ Any advice?
I soaked her in iodine and water earlier today. And I trick her into eating her meds with bananas. Is this all right?

[steve]

You can dry dock and then rehydrate every few hours so she can drink and eat. If shouldn't be for a long time if the procedure was done correctly. I don't know about iodine soaks, betadine is what is normally prescribed. What meds did you give her?

[k23]

Sorry, I meant Betadine!
The vet told me to feed her antibiotics. Its just a tiny pill he gave, divided into four, to last for four days. I hide it inside a small piece of banana so she would take it. She seems fine and energetic. Don't seem to be any infections on her cut tho I think there's still some abscess left because it's still swollen after 2 days. Her follow up appointment will be this coming Monday. She's being dry docked now.
Will update again soon.

[wang0516]

Thank you for your sharing
i am a new one here .

[k23]

So I just came back from the vet, he said to just keep giving her antibiotics and the abscess will go away naturally and he would see her again in about 3 months...
The name of the antibiotic is Baglil (?) I can't read his writing properly. Here's what he wrote:

Should I do as he says or should I get another vet to check on her?

I took a pic of her earlier, she seems to know that I'm taking pics of her face...so adorable.
Anyhooo, her wound from last weeks vet visit dried up n peeled off a bit:


You could also clearly see that its still swollen. I decide to dry dock her until the cut heals.
The abscess doesn't seem to bother her, and it doesn't look like its getting any bigger.. but its STILL THERE..
So, what do you think? Should I bring her to go see another vet?

[steve]

The medication is probably Baytril, which is an antibiotic. It can suppress her diet, so keep an eye out for that. I don't know how effective it will be... in most cases when it is lanced and drained, no additional procedure or medication is required. It couldn't hurt using it in the appropriate dosage. Have you looked into any other vets? Any progress on that?

[k23]

There are 2 other vets, I've contacted one of them and they did offer to check up on my res. I've never been to this one, I don't know much about them except that my neighbour brought her dog there for a wound treatment once.

The other is a vet where I used to bring my rabbit, it was a long time ago, the place is small but very clean and organised.
Is it a good idea to try one of them? And if so, how soon?

The antibiotic seems to be fine. She's actually eating a lot.

[SquidSox]

A second opinion can never hurt the more info you have the better off you are in deciding what to do from here.

[k23]

Its been almost a week since her last vet visit. I notice the bump is getting slightly smaller, just slightly.
I've decided to wait a while and see if it does decrease in size again over time. If it gets any bigger or stays then I'll bring her for another visit to the vet.
She's still under medication, the antibiotic supply is made to last up to a week. I hope she'll get better soon, will update next time

[steve]

Hoping to hear good news in the next update

[k23]

GOOD NEWS!
Its gone! She is all right now thanks everyone..