General Care Discussion :: my RES closes one of his eyes

[pilechian]

Dear all,
Hello

It is 2-3 days that my RES closes one of his eyes. Once before, about a year ago, he had the same problem because his eye was infected. That time we kept him in a very small vessel so the vet told me to refresh his water daily (for a week) and each time pour content of a capsule (which I can’t remember its name) in the water. It did work at that time, but now my RES lives in an aquarium so it’s really hard to refresh aquarium’s water daily for a week:

1.Is it really needed to refresh aquarium’s water daily or I can just pour content of the capsule in the water without refreshing it?

2.Is it really a matter of infection that my RES closes his eye? If no what should I do?

3.Is there any more effective way to cure the infection of eyes than pouring a capsule’s content in water?

4.We used to boil the water and then let it cool and then use it to fill aquarium (to avoid Chlorine being in the water). But in the previous week for the first time we filled aquarium with water which was not boiled. Does it have anything to do with the eye’s infection?

* MY RES is about the size of a mature person’s palm and is 2.5 years old.

I’m waiting to hear your useful advices.
Thank you.

[erinemcgreevy]

I just got back from the vet because my res had the same problem. We were given prescription eye drops. You should add a water conditioner to the tank to remove the chlorine; I use Zoomed reptisafe it's pretty cheap only about $5.00/bottle. The vet also informed me today that I should let the water sit a while before putting the turts back in the tank. I wouldn't put the capsules in the water without talking to a vet first, the concentration level might be too low in the new tank to help also the meds could have expired. Hope your turtle feels better!

[megcornell]

I'm thinking maybe the capsules were some form of vitamin A, most likely cod liver oil. If you can get cod liver oil or zoomed eye drops that is usually a good first step in reducing irritation in the eye until you can see a herp vet.
Water quality can affect a RES's eyes so that may be the issue. How large of a tank is the turtle in? If the tank is too small, the water will be too dirty and can lead to all sorts of infections. Also, like Erin said, it's always good to treat the water before adding it to the tank.

[marisa]

You didn't say where you are, but if you can't find a dechlorinator and were boiling the water only to get rid of the chlorine, you don't have to do that---if you let the water stand uncovered for 24 hours, the chorine will dissipate from the water. (If, however, you were sterilizing the water, that's a different story.)

What size aquarium is your turtle in, and what kind of filter are you using in it? If you don't have a filter, the water is going to get dirty very quickly and eye infections are one result of a turtle's living in dirty water. You need to keep the aquarium water very clean.

You have some of the capsules that you used the last time your RES had an eye infection? If so, can you use another container/tank to clean out your turtle's eye daily with the capsules?

[steve]

I believe Pilechian is from Iran. I wonder what is in those capsules... but cod liver oil is an option if the closed eye is due to a vitamin A deficiency. Chlorine could temporarily irritate the eye and I don't recall any significant problems for anyone using chlorinated water.

If there was no change to the way you have been keeping your turtle and this developed rather suddenly, then it's possible the eye could have been injured.

[pilechian]

Dear All,
Hello

Thank you for you advises. I have something more to ask. Today I noticed that there is a brown layer, at the front corner of the RES’s eye which he closes. It was not like that before (it was so small and thin that I couldn’t notice and it existed in both eyes). Is it any sign of infection or it is just an organ? (To me it seems to be a part of the eye not a sign of infection).

And Dear Steve,
I guess too that may be it’s an injury because 2 days ago my RES was trying to penetrate his head into a hole on the rocks in his aquarium! If it’s so, what can I do?
And about capsule, I can’t remember its name. I bought it from drugstore. But if it’s name can be of help I can ask from the vet tomorrow (since in Iran its weekend today).

Thank you.

[Bascomb]

pilechian -- From what you have said about the brown layer in the corner I would say it has been injured. I woukd suggest that the water be clean, clean and eye drops. To make sure that the drops get to where it is supposed to you may want to dry dock him while you are putting the drops in to make sure the area really get medicated. Again very clean water and make sure the filter is up and working properly.