redearslider.com

i was looking at my turtle today and noticed he wasnt his normal active self. upon closer inspection i noticed his eyes were closed. normally as soon as i step close to his home he goes buck wild thinking its feeding time. i picked him up, and opened his left eye without little to no problem, but his right eye remained closed. he would try to open it, but it looked like it was hurting him a bit.

i ruled out that the new uvb lamp was the newest addition to his tank, and have been noticing strange behavior from him since it was added. i turned off the lamp, and put him back into his tank. i did some searching and found some info on swollen eyes. im wondering if it's just an infection because not much from his diet has changed from the day i had him, and that was nearly 10 years ago.

i took him back out of his tank to take some pictures, and his right eye opened again. but he still didnt seem too normal.


Please help me, what should i do? could it be a lack of vitamin A? i find it strange that it would be because my turtle has been eating the same floating stick food from the very beginning. the closest vet is around 45 mins away from me.








How big is your turtle?
around 5 inches

How long have you had it?
soon to be 10 years


What is the water temperature?
75-80 degrees

Are you using a water heater?
yes

How much water is in there?
roughly 45 gallons

Are you using a water conditioner?
no. i never have since the day ive owned him

Are you using any filtration?
no, again never have

What is the basking temperature?
unsure

Is there a basking light?
yes a 50 watt house light as heat and a reptisun full sprectrum light.
this is new, normally i use something else.


Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?
yes

What kind is it or what is it made out of?
plastic

Is there a UVB light?
yes the reptisun light from bigals. i recently added this, and noticed the turtle hasnt basked for awhile.


What have you been trying to feed it?
those floating sticks

When was the last time your turtle ate?
two days ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
a 50 gallon rubbermaid tank

Is the tank near a window?
yes

Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?
somewhat

Have you read the Basic Care section?
yes

Have you searched the forums for similar situations?
somewhat

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?
lack of basking. has been hiding alot.



many thanks in advanced!

A new UVB bulb? Can I ask... is it the compact fluorescent 10.0 ?

My male turtles eye was also like that too, I went to the Animal Jungle (Pet Store) and got him some Zoo Med Repti Turtle Eye Drops, you put one to two drops daily for a week and if it doesnt improve then take him to the vet immediatley, my turtle has been doing great since I started him on the drops, also I went out and got alot more things for their set-up since I didnt have alot of the things that they needed and now they are both doing great, trying them on different foods now and also I measured them and found out that they are both actually only 1 1/2 to 2 inches in size when I originally guessed they were about 4 inches a piece so the New 80 gallon tank is more than enough room now lol...hope your turtle feels better soon!

steve wrote:A new UVB bulb? Can I ask... is it the compact fluorescent 10.0 ?

why yes, yes it is. is there a problem with it? or am i using it wrong?


FloridaBabyGirl - much thanks! looks like ill have to take a trip to the pet store tomorrow.

How close is the bulb?

I had a problem with swollen eyes the day after I put in a new reptisun 10. There was also another poster who had a problem after a new UVB bulb (I don't know the brand) was put it. I'm not ready to say that it was the cause, but the issue deserves investigating.

Anyway you might have to dry dock your turtle if he can't open his eyes. A bright light, like sunlight, would help my open up they eyes.

If the drops don't help, then you can try the vit a/cod liver oil route but if it doesn't help then I would consider taking him to a vet and see what they have to say.

this is the one i have. looks like our turtles do not seem to like this light much.
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ct ... uvb100lamp

dry docking, what exactly is done for that? do you you just put him in a dry container?

For now, I would not use it or use it at a distance (12" or so).

For my dry dock area, its about the size as a twin bed. Its carpeted and has a MVB bulb at one end. Room temp is about 75F. They also have areas they can hide under.

oh for sure, the light has been off for a few hours already.

so no water at all?

You will want to re-hydrate him every few hours and give him a chance to eat. He can sleep out of the tank at those temperatures.

Also, there should be variety when it comes to an RESs diet. Read the nutrition section. The pellets you give him do not have all the nutritional vitamins they need. They need a variety of foods, including veggies, and occasional fruits.

Most, but not all eye problems are related to water quality issues. I have a feeling it's not the UVB lamp, unless it's too close to the basking area. You also need to figure out what your basking temp is, then adjust it until they are basking regularly. Start out at 90F, then adjust it a degree or two up or down till you find their "sweet spot".
Since you don't use water conditioner or filtration, those would be the main suspects, IMO. Too much chlorine or a build up of ammonia in the water would cause irritated eyes. My three turts just went thru the same thing and at first I was blaming it on the new conditioner I was using, but now I'm not so sure that was the cause....it's all still a mystery. At any rate I used the eye drops, then dry docked them for anywhere from 1/2 to 2 hours. All began improving on the second day and completely recovered in a week.....

i finally found the eyedrops. does the eye need to be closed to apply it?

I dont think that it matters whether opened or closed, I try to do it when they are closed but theres been a few times that he opened his eye after it started to get better and it didnt seem to bother him, he blinked a little thats it!! Good Luck and hope your turtle gets better soon!!

much thanks! his left eye is always open, but i worry that it may get infected, so i want to drop some in that eye too.

he doesnt seem to like the drops too much. haha

The other turtle with eye problems had been exposed to a Reptisun compact flourescent 5.0. Is anyone using Reptisun compact flourescents who is not having problems? How far from the basking turtle is the bulb?