Urgent Care :: Health Changes After a New Tank Set-up

[penelope]

How big is your turtle? 6”
How long have you had it? 6 months

What is the water temperature? 76.1
Did you use a thermometer? Yes. Digital @ both-ends of tank
Are you using a water heater? Yes.
How much water is in there? 60 gallon+/- (75 gal tank)
Are you using a water conditioner? No
Are you using any filtration? Yes

What is the basking temperature? 80-ish
Is there a basking light? Yes, Incandescent. 10 inches from basking area.
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Zoo Med Floater
Is there a UVB light? Yes. Zoo Med ReptiSun 10%/30% – 19” above basking area (it’s brand new; currently accounting for the burn-in period)


What have you been trying to feed it? Red leaf lettuce, carrots, very few pellets
When was the last time your turtle ate? Last night – ate red leaf lettuce
How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 75
Is the tank near a window? Yes. Not a problem with algae
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, yes, and yes again

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

Got a new set up last week. While setting up, I found out the “UVB” light the store sold me 6 months ago wasn’t UVB at all. She’s been UVB-less for 6 months, now she won’t come off the dock.

Basks nearly all day, and started “basking at night.” Her eyes are closed and swollen most of the
Day and start to look dried out after awhile. However, they start to look much, though not completely, better on those rare occasions when she takes a dip that lasts more than 10-15 minutes.

I have eye drops the vet gave me when we first got Penelope (Neomycin/Polymyxin B/Dexamethasone Suspension drops ~ they don’t expire until 01/09). I wonder if I should try them on her…
She’s not listing, bubbling, or coughing, but she does spit out water after she takes a bite of food (odd)
I just don’t know what’s up. This all started (except shedding) when we set her up in her new tank a week ago.

[octpusgirl8]

Sounds to me like a problem with the UVB. Is it a compact flourescent? The reptisun 10.0 CFs have caused a ton of problems with swollen eyes and unhappy turtles.

[SpotsMama]

What sort of UVB bulb are you using now - specifically the brand, percent UVB (like 5.0 or 10.0) and wattage? How far away is the bulb from the basking platform?

Why did the vet give you eye drops when you first got your turtle? Was she having eye problems then?

By the way, you ought to check the temp on the basking platform with a thermometer - it's impossible to tell just by feel. Usually the basking area has to be in the upper 80s or low 90s to motivate a turtle to bask.

[penelope]

Uhhhg! It is a Zoo Med ReptiSun 10%/30% Compact Flourescent. 19” above basking area (currently accounting for the burn-in period)


I'm not specifically sure what the eye drops were for. She came from the wild and had "bug-eyes," so the vet had us give her the dropsi n her nose for one week & continued with the eye drops for an additional week.

Her basking area is 83 degrees at present.

[SpotsMama]

My apologies - I see you answered my question about the UVB bulb in the very first post. A lot of eye irritation has been reported with that bulb. Try turning the it off for a couple of days and see if your turtle's eyes improve. Leave the heat bulb on.

If turning off the bulb does the trick, come back on here and let us know.

On the other hand, if Penelope's eyes don't improve, let us know and maybe we can help further.

Also, can you get some Zoo Med Turtle Eye Drops at the pet store? Use them according to the directions. They are soothing and may help a turtle's irritated eyes. I'd be afraid to use the drops from the vet because they were intended for something specific that's different from what's wrong now.

The temp on her basking platform is really low. Most turtles won't bask at 83 degrees. However, different turtles have different preferences and is she likes it like that, then more power to her. The important thing is that she keep basking.

[penelope]

Thank you for the advice. Sounds like the correlation between the compact bulb and swollen eyes is increasing...I'll try the Zoo Med drops and then I'll check-in in a few days and let you know how things are going.
Thanks Again!!

[SpotsMama]

If it turns out that the UVB bulb is the culprit, we can give you a number to call about getting your money back if that's what you want to do. Those bulbs aren't cheap.

[octpusgirl8]

When this happened to Turtley it took several days for things to start looking better after i got rid of the light. It was over a week before he was back to normal. Don't worry if it doesn't start getting better right away.

[mikee]

p-lop -- After you get the uvb corrected, get the basking area to 90 degrees. These guys like to get warm after a while at the 75/76 degrees in the water. If the lighting is okay, make sure that your filter is working correctly. The water exchange should be 5 times or better. Very clean water helps the swollen eyes. Good Luck

[penelope]

well, the light is off...but she is looking worse. She has only come off the basking doc twice since yesterday afternoon.

When she did, she plopped right in the water head-first until she bumped into something. We did an appetite check by giving her 5-6 pellets; she seemed hungry, but couldn't find them. She kept chomping at nothing until she finally 'caught' one with the help of a baby spoon (it's almost like she can't see at all).

She seemed weak versus lethargic. This morning she has been lying on her dock like a rag-doll. My husband and I are taking turns watching her in case she goes in the water and can't get out.

Maybe one thing (UVB) led to another...who knows...all things considered, we have a vet appointment in two hours.

I'll post an update when we get back.

[octpusgirl8]

Good luck! It sounds just like how my turtle was acting, hopefully it's just the lighting problem and nothing else.

[mikee]

P-lop -- It may be vet time. He may be constipated! Have you seen him poop lately? When they get stopped up they sometime get lethargic like you have described. If you think that is the problem, take a good look at his rear end see if you can see anything hanging out. If there is, he is probably constipated. If he is I have a remedy for that.

[penelope]

He may be constipated! Have you seen him poop lately?

She was kind enough to poop on the way to the vet (not a good time to do it). Though, it did come in handy for a fecal sample.

The swelling in her eyes subsided a bit, but one was oozing and her nose was running a bit. The vet prescribed drops for her eyes and nose (2x a day for 2-3 weeks).

She did not have an RI or other signs of an infection.

As for the compact flourescent bulb ~ I definately had it way, way too close. The vet couldn't say if that is what caused the eye problem...but the eye problem has caused the all around cruddy feeling.

Just as Octpusgirl told me ~ The vet told me to give Penelope at least a week or so to see if there is improvement before I worry myself again- unless something really bizarre happens.

Thanks to all, once again! I'll give an update in a week or so.
Happy Holidays

[SpotsMama]

If your compact fluorescent bulb was too close then I'd say it was definitely causing a problem.

Good luck. I hope Penelope is her old self in a week. Please let us know how it goes.

[penelope]

Bottom line - I contacted ZooMed. The Customer Service rep did say the "old" version of the compact UVB lamp has caused symptoms just as I described (swollen eyes. listless, etc.) for many turtles ~ They have since re-moved & re-vamped that version. The new version was officially released in the last week or so.

They were very pleasant and more than happy to replace it with a new one (new version) direct from their company (avoids the chance of getting an old one that has been sitting in stock at a store for awhile). All that is needed is a means to show that you purchased one recently.

Whew! who would have thought? If it weren't for this forum (or others like it), would ZooMed and Turtle owners have ever put it all together? (a rhetorical question).





Here's the wrap-up. Other than her slightly buggy eyes, Penelope is showing signs of life again (swimming around and spunky enough to take a nip at me when i take her out of her tank). The next place you'll see us is in the Habitat section once we get our new tank all set-up

I'll say it again....Thanks to all of you!