General Care Discussion :: RES are keeping eyes closed - help

[scstill]

I have 3 RES, 2 male and 1 female. They are about 4". I have had them for about a year. They appear healthy except recently they have been keeping their eyes closed alot of the time.

They are in 30gal tank with 78deg water and a 85-90deg basking area. I have a charcoal filter system. I change water & clean the tank every 3-4 weeks. The water I use is bottled spring.

They eat every other day, turtle pellets and lettuce on the off days. They also munch on white turtle blocks and cuttlebone. I do not use vitamins.

They still swim around and bask and are still eating (in a separate bowl for cleanliness), but they have their eyes closed alot of the time. I thought there was something up with the water so I changed it a couple of days after the last change but still with the eyes closed. In the first change I used soap to clean the tank, but rinsed thoughly and then rechanged the water after noticing the eye closed.

Is eyes closing a symptom of hibernation? Or of a sickness? Something else?
You advice is appreciated.

[marisa]

It can be a symptom of illness, especially if the behavior is something new. It would not be a symptom of hibernation given the water temp you say they have.

Each turtle has a straight carapace length (the length of the shell from the scute at the back of the neck down the spine to the ones above the tail not including the curve of the shell)? If so, the tank is grossly undersized for them---as it would be for any but very small hatchlings (or a while).

Three fairly-sized turtles in a too-small tank with what kind of filter? There are several types of filters that use charcoal...How much water is in the tank?

Given the size of the turtles and tank, I'd say a 3 - 4 week cleaning isn't enough and it's possible the dirty water is irritating they're eyes. It sould be good to start thinking of an upgrade.

DO NOT use soap to clean a tank or objects in the tank. It leaves a residue even with a good rinsing, and depending on the chemicals in it, it can do worse. It's also possible that the eyes are being irritated from any residue.

I'd try to get some more vit A in the diet with foods like carrots, red peppers, sweet potato, dandelions, etc., just in case they're deficient in Vit A (unlikely).

Cuttlebone is OK, the turtle blocks are a waste.

They need a (much) bigger tank.

[scstill]

is there any product that would remove the residue?

[marisa]

The next time I changed the water, I would clean the tank (and any objects) with diluted white vinegar (and rinse well). If there is any residue, it should remove it.

You still need to address the size of the tank and the fact that dirty water, or at the least the ammonia level (can build up and get high) with several turtles urinating and debris decaying in a smaller tank that isn't cleaned that often) is irritating they're eyes. You can check the ammonia level with a test for it, which you can get at any petstore. (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Ammonia Test is one.)

[scstill]

Thanks, they seemed fine in the tank for many months. Just during this last water change when I used soap did the problem occurred. This tank was upgraded about 3 months ago. The tank footprint is about 36" x 12" and I have at least 8 gal of clean water in it currently about half full. What would be the right size tank?

[marisa]

Well, you never did say if each was 4" as measured above...Assuming they are, the guideline is to ideally have 10 gallons of tank per inch of shell length; ideally each would have a 40 gallon tank. Triple that for 3 turtles and you're looking at a 120-gallon tank. You could get away with 80 gallons for a while, but as they grow (and I'm assuming they are going to), ultimately, the tank should be bigger.

The tank is to small and there's not enough water. With so little water, the tank should be cleaned and water should be changed more often than the schedule you have.