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I live here in LA, near Venice. Can anyone recommend a doctor for my turtle who has an ear abscess. Thanks.

Try this list and see if you can't find something close...I'm no expert on LA and it's surroundings.

http://www.tortoise.org/general/vetlist.html#LA

I'm not sure. All I can say is that I used to work at ASEC (animal surgical and Emergency) on Sepulveda and Santa Monica......that's actually where I inherited my turtle. I would not recommend them as your primary hospital, although they are excellent at treating dogs and cats, they don't really know too much about exotics, though they WILL be able to help you no matter what.

the exam fee is about $100 now I think. They may also be able to recommend a doctor for you if you call them. 310-473-1561

Thanks! I will try this morning to set up some kind of appointment. I'm a bit worried on how much this is going to cost me but of course I don't want Slick to suffer. Thanks again!

You could contact the California Turtle and Tortoise Club www.tortoise.org and see if anyone in your area can recommend a good herp vet.

Thanks for your responses. I did contact the toutoise club and they recommended a view vets who won't tell me how much it will cost to remove the abscess. I finally got one receptionist to tell me it will cost about $200. I took him to a 2nd vet and he said it will also cost $200-300. Anyone know of an inexpensive way of dealing with this?

The vets ought to let you pay it out over time.

The abcess has been there a long time, hasn't it. It's painful for the turtle and gets worse over time. I hope you'll go ahead and deal with it. You have to be prepared to sometimes pay the price to keep your pet healthy. It's the same with a dog or a cat.

Good luck. I'll keep you in my thoughts.

I'm amazed that there are herp vets who won't even give you an idea of the cost of the procedure. Not even a quote for an office visit? In experienced hands, this procedure isn't that complicated. I don't know of an "inexpensive way" to have your turtle treated other than to search a bit more, and if you can't find anyone who's experienced and will do it for less, go with what you have. Are there any veterinary schools near you? Any zoos? If there are, perhaps someone there would be willing to help or have suggestions for other herp vets.