Urgent Care :: turtle with puffy eyes, i'm so very worried

[octpusgirl8]

Hi, i'm new here, i found this forum a couple months ago and it has been a tremendous help but i never felt the need to regester and post untill now. I hope somebody can help me with this.

How big is your turtle? 4.5-5 in
How long have you had it? i've known him since he was a terribly neglected hatchling (he used to belong to a friend's little sister) but i have been caring for him for about 2 years, he's about 5 years old i think

What is the water temperature? 73 degrees
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 25-30 gallons in a 40 gal breeder tank
Are you using a water conditioner? yes, API tap water conditioner
Are you using any filtration? yes, a fluval 205 MSF

What is the basking temperature? 95 degrees or so
Is there a basking light? yes, a basking spot lamp for heat and a repti-sun 10 for UVB, but this is new, i had a smaller compact flourescent before
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? a large size turtle dock
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? nutrafin max turtle pellets, lettuce, carrots
When was the last time your turtle ate? this afternoon

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 40 gal
Is the tank near a window? not really
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? moderate activity

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? yes, i'll tell you about them:

This morning i noticed that his eyes looked kinda puffy, but i had to go to work so i thought maybe i'm just worrying too much as i always do, but when i came home from work today i looked at him real good and decided that there is certainly a problem. He can open them but he keeps them closed more than normal, and he seems to be basking more than he usually does. He has even been sitting on his dock even though his basking light isn't on, which is very unusual for him. His appetite for pellets is as voracious as it always is, but he hasnt touched his lettuce or carrots today. He also seems a bit less active, right now he's just sitting on the bottom not moving. I know eye puffyness can be caused by a vitamin k deficiency, but i don't think that's what it is because i've been feeding him plenty of veggies. I keep his tank really clean, i use a siphon vaccum to clean out the rocks at the bottom and change out some of the water about every other day, but recently the goldfish that were living with him got sick so i'm worried that maybe this is realted somehow? (i moved them into a separate tank for treatment) When i was searching for similar problems i noticed that some people were having issues with eye problems when they got the repti-sun 10, and i just put one in about 4 days ago, so i'm hoping that's it, i unplugged it today. I also got some zoo-med eyedrops and put them in tonight. I also did a 50% water change. I'm really worried about Turtley, i love him so very much. If it isn't showing improvement by the weekend i'm calling a vet, but i wanted to see if some of the knowledgable folks on here could offer any thoughts advice or reassurance. I'm a poor college student so i dont want to take him to the vet if i don't have to, but if i think i have to i will. Thank you in advance for your help!

[Kallistos]

Well, we've been seeing an abundance of problems related to the Reptisun compacts and puffy eyes. Zoo-med makes commercial eye drops that open up and heal the eyes, If I were you I'd look into that. Also, the basking temperature is a touch on the hot side, it should be dropped down about 5 degrees to 88-90 degrees. If this problem started right after you got the Reptisun, then this may be the cause.

[octpusgirl8]

I got the eye drops and put them in tonight, it was tricky because he didnt want to stick his head out of his shell for it, i had to sneak up on him and squirt it in. I'll take that advice on the basking temp. Do you know how long i should wait to see if it starts to clear up before i take him to a vet? I'm sooo worried about him, he had such a rough start in life, i've been trying so hard to do everything right for him now.

[steve]

Is the bulb the only change in the way you have been keeping your turtle? How close is the lamp to your turtle? Where was this bulb purchased? Do you remember the brand of the previous bulb?

Vitamin A deficiency is linked to swollen eyes but there are a lot of possible situations that can cause it since the eyelids are fairly sensitive.

[octpusgirl8]

The bulb is the only change, other than for the last few months i have been feeding him more veggies and less pellets. It's about 6 inches at the closest point from his dock. The old bulb was an ESU 7% coil lamp, i got a new one because the old one was at least 6 months old. The other thing that worries me is the sick fish, i don't know if the bacteria that's affecting them could be what's hurting his eyes, i moved them into another tank to treat them because i wasnt sure if the medication was safe for the turtle.

[steve]

OK, the bulb was too close. Time will tell if it was the primary reason. Did you clean the tank after you removed the fish?

[octpusgirl8]

I did a big water change but not 100%, i'm thinking i should maybe do that in the morning.

[steve]

You can also add some carbon media to your filter. The main thing is not use use the Reptisun and see the response.

[octpusgirl8]

There's carbon in there but it's not fresh, i'll put fresh carbon in tomorrow morning. Waiting is so hard to do! Thank you both so much for you help though, it's really reassuring to know that there are people out there that are willing to offer advice and suggestions.

[steve]

Carbon needs to be replaced about once a month for it to be effective. It's still useful for beneficial bacteria to colonize on, but thats what bio media is for

In the meanwhile, you could look for/research vets in your area. Just in case his condition worsens or for future reference.

Let us know how he does!

[marisa]

Lowering that basking temp as was mentioned would be good. If the Reptisun 10.0 was only 6 inches from your basking turtle, increasing the distance by 3-4 inches would be good as well. (How do you have it positioned?)

If your turtle has been basking alot under high heat, the eye irritation could be from dehydration as well.

[octpusgirl8]

I turned off the Reptisun to see if that would improve his eyes, so now he's just basking under his spot lamp, which i moved a little farther away to lower the temp. (Both of the lamps are the kind that clip to the edge of the aquarium) I also cleaned the filter and changed the carbon. I'm continuing to give him the eye drops. He hasnt seemed interested in eating today so if he's still not eating tomorrow i'm calling a vet.

[octpusgirl8]

Okay so he's his usual hungry self now when it comes to the pellets but he's still not interested in his veggies (they were always a last resort for him anyway). I feel a little better that he's eating but i'm still calling a vet if he doesnt seem to be improving tomorrow.

[steve]

It might take a few days to notice improvement (assuming this is a UVB light problem). You could probably wait if there are no other symptoms. Is he able to open his eyes easily?

[octpusgirl8]

His eyes look a little less puffy today, so i'm hoping the problem was with the light. I'm keeping up with the eye drops and keeping an eye out for any other symptoms.