Urgent Care :: Circular Sore on Turtle's Head

[turtle_gent]

Hello,

My turtle is experiencing an inexplicable circular sore on its head. I would be less concerned if it was on his feet, but I am worried about it affecting his eyes or brain in some way. My turtle is around 15 years old and he is fairly well taken care of. He eats a proper diet and we give him plenty of time outside of his aquarium. He has a UVB light that we usually turn on for a few hours in his aquarium everyday.

He walks among us like a green person. Does anyone know what this could be?

It started off as an injury I think (we noticed a small sore a few weeks ago and attributed it to him falling off something - he loves to climb on boots and whatever else he can find) but now I am starting to get worried as it looks like it might be growing larger. I don't have a lot of money for a vet so I want to ensure all is well.

Please let me know if you can provide any insight?

[jenaero]

Here's what I would do. Put a dab of polysporin (NOT the kind with pain reliever in it) a couple of times a day and keep an eye on it. I'd also confine him to his tank (assuming a basking spot is set up) and leave the heat/uvb on all day. It's hard to say what kind of injury it is, as he has so much access when roaming around the house. It looks like a burn to me. Does he have access to any heat sources while roaming?

[turtle_gent]

Thanks a lot. I don't think he has access to any heat sources. There is a hot water heater in the laundry room that he could potentially touch, but there is no access to anything so hot that it would burn him without him noticing. I will try the polysporin thing tonight. Thanks again.

[marisa]

If you don't have Polysporin, Neosporin should do the trick as well.

[turtle_gent]

I have polysporin-ed the area. Now his head looks shiny but I don't think he cares. I had to wrap him in a towel as he hates being held but I got the job done! I will let you know how this works out. Thanks again for the suggestion.