Urgent Care :: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

This is not a substitute for qualified and relevant veterinarian care.
Read this before you post a new topic here.

Post Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2022 10:06 am   Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

Background info:

20 gallon tank

30 gallon filter

UVB/heat lights (90 degrees)

Water Heater (82 degrees)

My hatchling musk turtle is sleeping a lot on her basking dock, no signs of lopsided swimming, no signs of mucus etc, but she tends to sleep a lot and when on the rock for a long time, when she wakes up, it’s like her eyes are too dried out to open unless she goes for a swim…

… she’s eating though not a lot (dried shrimp) but doesn’t like to eat her pellets yet.

I’ve included pictures of her eyes so you guys can help me figure this out.

Btw, last night I treated both her eyes with drops of pure cod liver oil. She seems a *little* bit more active, as in she’s opening her eyes more on the basking dock but still her eyes look a little strange.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.
Attachments
B42FC807-7A66-420E-B716-E643EBAC31C1.jpeg
5E699FFB-6F8C-4F2E-BA4E-EDCE39B7E340.jpeg
9C2E1832-463C-490F-B60E-ECCD47413C4E.jpeg
AlchemyBlend
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 27, 2022

Post Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2022 8:48 pm   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

What kind of UVB lights are you using and how long does she bask for, for this to happen?
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2022 10:30 pm   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

Hi, after about 20 minutes it happens… and this is the link to the lights I have. Thank you

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostor ... lsrc=aw.ds
AlchemyBlend
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 27, 2022

Post Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 7:38 am   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

I'd keep the lights further away from her basking area. Even leave the uvb off for a couple of days to see if that helps. Try other things to see if she will eat more and try not to stress her out, like from excessive handling.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 9:21 am   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

Got it. Woke up this morning and she was swimming! I’ll take that as a good sign? And yes, I will readjust the lights. Thank you for your help.
AlchemyBlend
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 27, 2022

Post Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 11:15 am   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

Swimming is a good sign, but make sure she's eating too. It can be hard to tell especially since pellets can break apart in water.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2022 8:22 pm   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

Hi Steve, she’s continuing to be active, she just done basking for 4 hours but woke up quicker, opened her eyes faster is overall more active. She only eats shrimp, she’s ignoring the pellets unfortunately. I have taken your advice and not handled her anymore… seems to be working. Also, the lights have been moved a little further away.
AlchemyBlend
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 27, 2022

Post Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2022 11:43 am   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

What else have you tried feeding her? Shrimp should only be seen as a treat as there is little nutritional value for a hatchling.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 1:39 am   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

Hey, I am updating this post for anyone else in need of help like I was...

so I took her to the vet and he was unwilling to treat her due to her being a hatchling. He pretty much just said go home and wait it out, make her comfortable etc.

I was able to heal her at home doing these things:

bumped the water temp to 84 degrees

treated the water with API turtle fix (supposed to help bacterial infections)

and bought a product called Reptaid which is designed for reptiles (i got the "baby version") - and it's basically a combo of plant-based ingredients, and the creators claim that it's helped plenty of reptiles overcome RI, parasites, and other illnesses... I gave it to her once a day via a syringe... I basically pissed her off to the point where she'd open her mouth and bite down on the plastic syringe, then I would shoot a drop into her mouth, make sure it didn't come out of her nose, etc. and just repeated this process for 10 days. It sucked giving it to her because she hated it, but on day 4 I noticed her lethargy went away, she began to eat and started exploring her tank. She then slowly got better and better, and by day 10 I felt comfortable taking her off the Reptaid.

She's grown since then and has healthy clear eyes, eats ANY pellet brand I give her, plus all her live foods, etc. She even begs for food, and like a true musk turtle is always foraging at the bottom of the tank.

I'm not making any direct claims, just my observation of this product based on my experience with it, and the circumstance that no vets around my area wanted to treat my hatchling, but there's hope! Upon doing research on Reptaid, though not much info is available for turtles, it seems to have helped plenty of bearded dragons and chameleons, so it's worth looking into.

I'm gonna post pictures of my Musk turtle Blue a little later. Just wanted to update this for anyone looking for info.
AlchemyBlend
 
Posts: 6
Joined: Jun 27, 2022

Post Posted: Tue Sep 13, 2022 12:06 pm   Re: Musk Turtles Eyes Look Swollen

Awesome to know she's doing better. I have not heard of Reptaid before, and some of the marketing around that looks pretty gimmicky, but I'm glad it worked for you. Looking forward to seeing Blue again!
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male


Return to Urgent Care

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 27 guests