General Care Discussion :: Time it Takes for eye drops to work?

[TurtleHelp]

I've been using these eye drops for 2 days, and it seems to be no improvement, it says to wait 1 week and your turtle will be FULLY recovered, yet shouldn't there be a slow process of opening and less swelling?

My turtle eyes have been bulging red after and before, no difference what so ever.

I am using Zoo Med Eye drops which I bought at petsmart....

It doesn't seem to be helping, my turtle won't eat because it can't see what it is eating, I need help to get my turtle back to eatting!

I got the eye drops like someone recommended, and no improvement whatsoever.

[BullDog]

What is the setup like?
Swollen eyes may be caused by UVB bulb that is too strong or poor water quality. If the problem stems from one of these, and you haven't changed the setup, then the eyedrops won't help.

[TurtleHelp]

My UVB light is broken actually, I need to get another. I clean my water every week, so its not the water, I just never thought of feeding my turtle carrots, I'm kinda new to the turtle thing.

MY turtle never basked, is that normal?
And I'm positive its the lack of vitamin A, but just how long until it can open its eyes?

[yomama]

hey bulldog, i have the same prob too i just got the eye drops today and used it, a little imporvement but doesnt seem to 'work' and my turtle naps...like 2 times a day whenever no ones watching...?

and i have a 5.0 UVB light but its having it for like a month now and thre werent any problems before, why is it doing that now?

anywaays turtlehelp, maybe you should try water conditioner? Your turtle never basks? First, you need a UVB light, which you have but you need to replace it and then a UVA light, which is a normal household bulb. You should feed it veggies too on the list at redearslider.com (this website -.-')

[TurtleHelp]

It has a UVA light, it uses my lamp 24 / 7...

it won't eat because it can't see.

[yomama]

what about the water temperature? Do you use filteration? The water can often irritate the eyes because there mightnot be any filteration

[marisa]

Turtlehelp, perhaps your turtle needs to be seen by a herp vet if the Zoo-Med drops aren't working and your turtle has "red, bulging eyes." I'd give them a few more days, though.

How big is the tank and how much water is in it? If it's a small tank with not much water (filtration?), perhaps the water needs to be changed more often than weekly.

What are the temps?

If your turtle can't see the food you're offering, he's not going to want to eat it (especially carrots). Try to get him to eat something---hold something with a strong smell (bits of tuna, sardines) in front of his nose in the water. If he's able to smell it, he might try to grab it to eat.

[TurtleHelp]

Turtlehelp, perhaps your turtle needs to be seen by a herp vet if the Zoo-Med drops aren't working and your turtle has "red, bulging eyes." I'd give them a few more days, though.

How big is the tank and how much water is in it? If it's a small tank with not much water (filtration?), perhaps the water needs to be changed more often than weekly.

What are the temps?

If your turtle can't see the food you're offering, he's not going to want to eat it (especially carrots). Try to get him to eat something---hold something with a strong smell (bits of tuna, sardines) in front of his nose in the water. If he's able to smell it, he might try to grab it to eat.

Tuna? >.>?

lol... um, whatelse has a strong smell? how how many days are these few days?

If it is from dirty water, how long until it is gone?

[yomama]

hey just give it a try for a few more days, i just got the eye drops two days ago like about when you got urs and my turtle is absolutely fine now, it might just been an irritating eye for my turtle. But just give it a few more days

[megcornell]

Have you told us how big your turtle is and how big the tank is? What is the set up like? Can you post pictures? It may be something in the tank causing the irritation and if so you need to remedy that otherwise the eye problem will continue.
If the problem is from dirty water, it depends on how the condition of the water was, and how clean it is now. Once the water is cleaned, it will still take probably 3-4 days for all irritation to go away.
If it were my turtle, I'd bribe him to eat with smelly fishy foods and apply the drops for the rest of the week. Make a vet appointment for Saturday or Monday. If the eyes are find by then you can cancel, no harm no foul. But it's better to get them checked out if after a few days of drops you're not seeing any improvement.
From my experience, if the drops are going to work, they work relatively fast.