American Box turtle health

Question
Our Box turtle [female- age 12] has swollen cheeks. We've read that that is a box turtle illness. I found the turtle a couple days ago. She is eating well [colorful diet of fruits and leafy plants}. What should i do? (I don't have alot of money so the vet is kinda out of the Question:(...)

Answer
Hi Kayla,

From your desription, it sounds like an ear abscess (perhaps on both sides) which is an extremely common condition with captive box turtles. I'm assuming you meant that you "found" the turtle with these symptoms a couple days ago but that she has been in your care for a while.
Reptile pus is rather solid and these abcessess form behind the ear drum where is it is trapped and forms a hard lump. Because of this they don't tend to just drain spontaneously.  It can put a lot of pressure on the jaw and spread up into the eyes and brain in severe cases.

I have linked a couple sites on the treatment, not to encourage you to try it yourself but to show you what is involved. There is really no effective treatment other then an combination of lancing and systemic antibiotics.
I would encourage you to contact a vet anyway and explain your budget restrictions. They should be able to offer a modified treatment plan or payment plan to accomodate your situation. Your box turtle is young and has several more decades of potential lifespan left.


http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptile-health/turtle-and-tortoise-health/turtle-e...


http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/Terrapene_Ear_Infection.htm