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hi. i would like to know if the white spot on my red ear sliders red streak is ok. i just noticed it today and when i touch the white spot, it doesnt seem to bother her. the white spot pops up and it is stuck on the skin. my turtle seems a little inactive.

heres a pictue:
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4746/dsc01921a.jpg

sorry its really blurry.
thank you

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my turtles are temporarily staying at a friends house. the water temp. is around 81 degrees. UV light is not used at the moment.

the white spot looks like a pimple. it looks like something that can be scratched off but is stuck. the side of the head of my turtle is not swelling.
other than that, everything else is fine

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how do i know if it is abscess? my turtles head is not swollen. its just a white spot that pops up like a pimple.

Not that clear, but is it like a pimple? Hard to tell if you just noticed it today...If it starts to grow, it's possible it could turn out to be an abcess, but at this stage it's too early to tell. Are you sure it's not just something stuck on the skin?

What is the water temp and basking area temp?

If that is an abscess, please don't try to pop it yourself, okay? I know on humans we normally drain abscesses or pimples, but it would be better to let a vet handle it, if it is in fact an abscess. Reptiles are rather different in treatment compared to mammals.

Do a quick google search for ear abscesses in turtles or look through the photos on this site to see what an abscess looks like. They generally look like a swollen bump sticking out of the side of a turtle's head.

I dont think its an absess. I had a turtle get one. Its took two days for its head to go from normal to a very large ear absess. Im surprised it went that fast. Dont know if thats normal though.

You said it didnt seem to bother him which is main reason i think its not. An ear absess is a very painful thing for a turtle.

If, by chance it were an abcess (and I'm not saying it is), it wouldn't bother him at that size. I've see turtles with fairly large lumps seemingly not affected (I know it's painful, but a turtle can't really complain). At some point, though, the sheer size of the infection would affect eating and behavior.