My turtle

Question
QUESTION: My turtle has a lump on her butt. I do not know what to do. I asked my mom but she did not know. So I do not know

ANSWER: Hi Erin,

It could be an abscess (infection) or a tumour or some tissue coming out of her vent (the opening in her tail) but only a vet will be able to tell for certain. Reptile pus is more solid then liquid so infections in reptiles can feel like hard lumps. If it is an infection you can help her fight it by making sure she has a proper temperature to bask in. That will help her immune system. You didn't happen to mention what type of turtle she is but most species need a basking area (an area under a light where they can warm up) that is around 90 - 95F. If she is a water turtle then she should have this warm spot in an area where she can get out of the water.
Making sure her water is kept clean can also help.

Where exactly on her body is the lump? Is it on the skin around her back legs or on her tail?  Does the bump look like it is coming out of the opening in her tail?  What colour is it?  Is it round like a bubble or another shape?

Turtles quickly learn to beg for food and can become overweight. When they are, you often see bulges of skin on either side of their back legs protruding from under their shell. If the bump you see seems to come and go as she moves her back legs and looks similar on both legs then it may just be fat deposits.     



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Well, she is a box turtle. Also, she is about 20 to 30 years old. The lump is coming out of the opening of her tail. The color of the lump is kind of like a black, brown, gray, and red color.

Answer
Hi Erin,

The condition she has is called a prolapse and it really should be seen by a vet as soon as possible if you hope to save her. A prolapse is tissue that normally resides  inside the body being forced out and protruding from the vent (opening in her tail). It is considered a veterinary emergency.  

There are several types of tissue that it can be and several causes. This article covers that quite well.

http://www.boxturtlefacts.org/When_The_End_Is_In_Sight.pdf

This article has a few photos of cloacal prolapes. If your turtle's tissue is cloacal and has turned black then that suggests that the tissue has died. It is really important that you get her to a vet very quickly in that case.

http://www.chelonia.org/articles/Cloacal_prolapse.htm

Are you quite sure that your turtle is female? Males can also prolapse their penis. In some cases males will "fan" their penis by pushing it out and then retracting it. If it stays out all the time then that would be abnormal and would be considered a prolapse.
Box turtle penises are dark and quite oddly and variously shaped. Not at all what you might expect! : )

There's a few example of box turtle penises here to give you an idea. Box turtles do not urinate through their penis like mammals so it can be amputated with less complication then the other tissues types in the case of a prolapse.

The third photo on the right in this link.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jmays/page51/

http://www.anapsid.org/hemipenes.html

http://scienceblogs.com/tetrapodzoology/2007/04/terrifying_sex_organs_of_male.ph

Your box turtle may sound old but she has many, many years of potential life ahead of her and your future children should be able to enjoy her company. They can easily live past 50 years. I really hope that everything turns out O.K.

You can find a vet in your area that will treat reptiles by checking  this site:

http://herpvetconnection.com/