Urgent Care :: Eye infection questions?

[Starchick]

I took Napoleon to the vet about a week ago for treatment of a respiratory infection, and the vet said it also looked like he had a bit of conjunctivits, and that the meds for the RI should clear that up also. I've noticed that his eyes are much less puffy and red since then. But this morning when I gave him his last shot, he fought me the whole way. I think he finally caught on what was about to happen, and he got really really mad, hissing and trying to bite, and if I set him down either sucking his legs in so I couldn't get to them or running away. When I was finally able to give him the shot, he was furious, and his eyes got red and puffy again. I literally seconds before was noting how much better they looked then when he got mad they went not quite bloodshot but almost blushed looking (the eyelids, that is) It went away after a few minutes. I thought maybe he had scratched himself, because at first it was just the one eye, but the other one did the same thing a few seconds later, and it isn't red anymore. I'm giving this story as background to what just happened, which is that I let him out of the tank so I could vacuum it a little, and when I went to put him back in, one of his eyes looked funny. It looked almost like there was a space between his eyeball and the eyelid, like there was a membrane missing or something. I looked at the other eye, and I realized that it was just that the eye that looked funny to me was really dry. So my question (after all this) is, do turtles eyes tear up? And if that one eye wasn't tearing, does that mean something's wrong? And what should I do about it? I tried to get a picture but (stupidly) set him on the basking dock and he jumped back in, and once his eyes were wet again they looked exactly the same. I'm also wondering what effect UVB lights might have on his eyes? He has a reptisun 5.0 bulb, and I know some people had trouble with the 10.0 ones. I'm just concerned because he never had an eye problem until the day after he started basking under that. If I can get a pic I'll edit this post and add it.

How big is your turtle? 5.5 inches
How long have you had it? 6 months, he's at least 7 yrs old

What is the water temperature? 82
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 15 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? reptisafe
Are you using any filtration? fluval 2 plus

What is the basking temperature? 96
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? ESU rock bridge, soon to be supported by plexiglass braces so the tank water can be deeper
Is there a UVB light? reptisun 5.0

What have you been trying to feed it? romaine, green leaf lettuce, carrots, tuna, strawberry, reptomin
When was the last time your turtle ate? 20 mins ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? tank is 30 gal
Is the tank near a window? under a large skylight
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? recovering from pnemonia

[steve]

When my RES had a bit of conjunctivitis, the eyelid would be swollen and a little moist. Some of it would be trapped under the eyelid. Not sure if I would classify it as tears. At it's worst, the eyelid appeared very sensitive and there would be a small amount of red film in the corner of the eye. It would retract within seconds and only reappear when the eyelid was badly swollen again. I remember it happening 2 or 3 times.

You can turn off the 5.0 for a couple of days and see how he responds.

[Starchick]

I've been leaving the uvb lamp off since I first noticed the puffiness, and although he did seem to improve with the antibiotics, it still looks a little swollen/red. Assuming the lamp can be ruled out as the cause, are there other things I should be considering that could be an irritant? I'm struggling to get his ph down to a normal range. I haven't yet bought ammonia or nitrate/nitrite test kits because I need to do some reading first...I wouldn't know what to do with the results, but those will be forthcoming.

[steve]

The test kits made for testing aquarium water will explain what the readings mean. How long are you suppose to apply the medication?

[Starchick]

It was a Baytril injection for 10 days, I finished it 2 weeks ago.

[steve]

Are you supposed to have a follow up visit? If you don't, then you might want to schedule one (and it should be cheaper than a regular visit.) You can also try the Zoo Med Turtle eye drops and maybe ask about a prescription antibiotic from your vet (if the drops don't work).

[Starchick]

Ok, thanks for the advice! The vet actually did call to follow up, which impressed me, but at that point I hadn't even finished the course of meds yet so it was too soon to tell. Looks like I have some shopping to do tomorrow.

[grey goose]

You could try the eye drops also. It might speed up his recovery. I've settled on keeping my UVB light (5.0 compact) on for 2 hours in the morning, and two hours in the afternoon. This seems to be working for Big Daddy, who always gets the worst of the eye swelling but he is a very aggressive basker. He would bask all day if left alone.

[scripta_elegans]

After my turtles had RIs, thier eyes were still very puffy and shut even after the antibiotic shots. I used the zoo med eye drops for about a week, and they got better.

[Starchick]

Good to hear! I bought them tonight (as well as an arsenal of test kits and filter media).

[Evelyn]

Hi,
I can't believe you had the courage to give your turtle shots, that's great.
I would have had to leave the turtle at the Vets. for 10 days.
I never know turtle had all these health problems just like other pets until I joined Turtle Talk.
You can said the Vet. if a vitamin shot would help.
Evelyn

[Starchick]

I still shudder when I think about it, it was pretty awful. It was really hard to do anything that hurt my baby, even if it's important for his health. After doing that, I was very relieved at how easy the eye drops are, he didn't even seem to notice them.

[Starchick]

Oddly, tonight his eyes looked perfect when I first pulled him out of the tank, but after about 5 minutes of running around, his right eye (the one that looked better before) was very red and appeared to have some pus. I'm continuing the eye drops but I'm afraid he'll have to go back to the vet.

[scripta_elegans]

Yes! Giving them shots was awful. I still shudder, and it's been a few months.