Red ear slider with abscess

[aeri]

One of my red ear sliders seem to have a severe case of abscess...it's solid and when you touch it the turtle whimpers. Not too sure how it got it.

I brought it to a vet and they said they'd have to operate on it for $800...
They gave some sort of iodine for it but it didn't help.
I'm wondering if there's any other way I can treat it myself?

 

[jason longboard]

sorry man,i know alot of ppl keep those on here so hopefully they will chime in soon,good luck.

 

[Vicious_Fish]

Where is the abscess located?

 

[aeri]

both hands

 

[Vicious_Fish]

[SIZE=-1]Most abscesses in turtles are caused by vitamin A deficiency. It's usually recommended to have the abscess surgically removed. But perhaps more foods with lots of vitamin "A" will help the swelling come down. A vet may even be able to give your turtle a shot of antibiotics and vitamins. What are you feeding your turtle now?
[/SIZE]

 

[aeri]

reptile pellets and occasionally lettuce/apples...the vet never mentioned anything about diet. i should've considered that.

 

[vicedretard]

alot of things that go wrong in reptiles...specially turtles and torts are diet based. Im not completely conviced that this is one of those cases as their is little explanation about the situation but in any case i would call up the same vet you went to and ask about the affects a lacking diet might have on the turtle, or all together go to a second reptile vet for a second opinion and see what your options are from their point of veiw...abcess also can form from scratches and what not that become infected while trying to heal...which for turtles sucks cause they are swimming in water infest with on feces and urine toxins. Here is a breif paragraph i found...

Abscesses

Abscesses are very common in all reptiles including turtles and tortoises. The most common locations are the ears, legs, nasal passageways, jaw, and liver. Abscesses often present as hard lumps or swellings under the skin. Antibiotics are not usually very effective in controlling these abscesses, so surgical removal is the preferred method of treatment.

taken from...
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=17&cat=1797&articleid=941

 

[Vicious_Fish]

reptile pellets and occasionally lettuce/apples...the vet never mentioned anything about diet. i should've considered that.

See if you turtle will eat shreded carrots and squash. Both are high in vitamin A. So are most types of fish. You could also try feeding him small amounts of fresh fish fillets.