Urgent Care :: Eye injury suggestions?

[Monarch]

Hi there. My large RES has injured her eye. I have taken her to the vet where she got an antibiotic shot, and I had two more to give her at home...which I did. She's got antibiotic ointment which I'm using...BUT...she keeps re-injuring it! I don't know how, but I've suspected she was originally scratched, the eye lid swelled and NOW...she's hitting it on the top edge of her shell when she tucks her head in. I tried putting a band-aid over the edge and it seemed to help, but of course, the minute it falls off...she re-injures it. Any suggestions?

[missibsu]

I would keep some careful observations on what she might have injured it on, and call the vet back and see what he recommends. If the reinjury is from the shell only he might have a better solution.

[sonyj]

Do you just have the one RES? If so, I'd watch for how she's injuring it. If you have more than the one, could another turtle be hurting her? Just a thought.

The poor thing... I hope she feels better soon. Contact the vet to see how to keep her from doing this again.

[Monarch]

Well, she WAS in with a res that was about 1/3 her size, which is how I THINK she was originally scratched (probably during feeding). I removed the smaller girl and I changed her rock configuration in her tank on the chance that she was banging it while trying to climb up, though she's never had that problem before. I was told that I could use an emery board to file down JUST the sharp part of her shell over her eye, but I don't want to do that until I speak to an actual vet, ya know? I'll let you know how it goes! Thanks everyone!

[steve]

If it's swollen to the point where she cannot easily go back into the shell then I would have the vet re-examine her. You must keep your water extra clean to prevent infection. If this is a reoccurring problem, you definitely need to see what is causing this, whether it's water quality or any accessories/decorations in the tank.

I would also wait to file down the sharp edge unless you can see that it is making her situation worse.

[marisa]

I'm wondering why the part of the shell is so sharp. Has it been broken in some way or does the scute need to shed?

You said she keeps reinjuring herself when she put her head into her shell. Is she doing this because you're fussing with the shell and alarming her? If so, I'd clean the wound, put her in a cleaned-set up (clean water) and leave her alone so she's not pulling herself into her shell.

Let us know what the vet says.

[Monarch]

Well, I think she DOES need to shed. She's shedding her bottom scutes like mad, but that top edge isn't loose or anything. For the past two days, her eye has been relatively uninjured. It's still bad but it hasn't been RE-injured. The vet just told me to continue with the ointment, but that's SUCH a pain because the second I touch her eye with it, she tucks in like I'm killing her. I'm doing it as gently as I can. I've been changing her water daily to keep in as clean as possible, and when I put it on her...I try to let her run around and dry out a little because I think it's just basically washing right off if I put her back in her tank right away. I've taken everything out of her tank too, so the only thing in there is a basking rock. I hope it starts to improve soon because it's stressing me out...and I KNOW she's not happy. If this doesn't start improving in the next day or two, it's back to the vet!

[Monarch]

Okay guys, it's been WEEKS but, I just wanted you to know that my turtle Socrates is all better. Her eye injury has cleared up completely and she's a new turtle. I took her back to the vet and we came to the conclusion that it had been originally scratched during feeding by another turtle, and once swollen up...it was hitting her shell and being re-injured.

The 'fix' for this, was .. let her hang out on the porch for an hour until she was dry, put the anti-biotic ointment on her eye (it wouldn't stick if she was wet), then put (literally) one of those little square 'spot' bandaids over the shell above her eye so it wouldn't be such a sharp edge, and then put her back in her tank. Now, she's good as new. Thanks for all of your support!

[sonyj]

That's so good to hear. Thanks for giving us an update.