Abstract

Aural abscesses are a common clinical finding in wild eastern box turtles (Terrapene carolina carolina). This study, utilizing current and retrospective data, was initiated to further characterize this disease syndrome. Thirty free ranging eastern box turtles were admitted over a four-year period to the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine's Turtle Rescue Team for aural abscesses. These patients presented for either unilateral or bilateral bulging of the tympanic membrane (Table 1). Overall body condition ranged from poor to excellent. Bony changes resulting from the aural swelling were seen grossly and radio-graphically in a few turtles. Cultures taken revealed multiple microbial agents and the isolates varied between turtles. Of the twenty-three cultures obtained, the most commonly isolated organisms were Proteus vulgaris(5), Escherichia coli(5) and Aeromonas hydrophila(5). In general, the isolates were gram-negative opportunistic bacteria. Sensitivity results showed resistance to multiple antimicrobial therapeutics (Table 2). Many of the turtles presented with clinical signs (ocular and respiratory infections) in addition to the aural abscesses or developed similar signs after admission. The results of this study will help direct a management plan for future cases of aural abscesses in eastern box turtles.

Table 1. Abscess location by sex of 30 eastern box turtles

Table 2. The six most common isolates and antimicrobial resistance

Acknowledgements

We thank the staff of the NCSU College of Veterinary Medicine's Microbiology Department for their cooperation and help with this project. Special thanks to Maureen Trogdon, Beth Case, and the NCSU-CVM Turtle Rescue Team for all of their support and assistance.