Urgent Care :: Bump on top of turtle neck

[christine]

Hello, thanks for all the info I have already learned from old forum posts.

Here is the basic info:
My daughter was given three juvenile yellow bellied sliders (we think) a few weeks ago. They are housed in a 30 gallon tank with large river rock and about 8 inches of water. A basking area is setup as well as a canister filter. We do not use a heater at this point, and the temperature is about 79 degrees currently. One of them has what appears to be a lump on the top of his/her neck. This lump is only visible when swimming underwater or stretched out.

1) We are wondering is this is a medical problem that needs attention. 2) Has anyone seen this in other turtles? 3) Should this turtle be put in quarantine away from the other two?

The turtle is eating well (turtle pellets), is active, and completes basking and swimming cycles several times per day.

Here are two photos of the above mentioned turtle.

http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq21 ... AG0054.jpg
http://i449.photobucket.com/albums/qq21 ... AG0060.jpg

Thanks!

[jenaero]

Welcome aboard christine

Looks like either an abcess or irritation. Do the other turtles nip at him at all? Either way, a trip to the vet is your best option. If you have the equipment to quaratine, it's never a bad idea. If not, after treatment by a vet, just make sure to keep the water extra clean while he heals. If the other turts are nipping at him, quarantine would be the solution.

good luck

[christine]

Thanks for the response! We do have a vet appointment, but it is not til Monday, just trying to collect some information beforehand.

Thanks again, will quarantine today.

[theartbook35]

Is the turtle shaking it's head at all, or trying to rub this spot on anything? That would be a clear sign of an irritation.

Sometimes turtles are born with weird looking birth defects in the shell or head, and if it's had this since you got him, it could be a bizarre growth in the neck from birth. I'm gonna warn you right now, that, if that is not an abscess, and is a birth defect, I've read that turtles with birth defects don't have very long lives.

[jozzep]

Wow...very obvious in pic 2.Never seen that.Most defects i've seen are usually in the carapace or plastron.
Good luck at the vet.

[SpotsMama]

It does look like an abcess. Most of the time when a turtle gets an abcess, it's in the ear. However, they can get an abcess anywhere like in this case, on the top of the neck. Like Jenaero said, a trip to the vet will tell you for sure. If it's an abcess, the vet will lance and drain it and put antibiotics on it. He/she may or may not also give an antibiotic injection. And you will need to keep your turtle very clean while it heals.