General Care Discussion :: New Turtle--Problem

[Cim*Forever]

Hey all,

My boyfriend fell in love with my turtle... so when I upgraded my tank from a starter tank to my 40 gallon one, I gave him all my stuff for the little tank. Anyways, today he bought himself a turtle.

The pet store we bought him from is very reputable and seems to take pretty good care of their turtles compared to other pet stores. His shell is nice and clear and he seems pretty curious. The only problem is, he won't open one eye. When he purchased him the turtles were hanging around with their eyes closed basking. I looked at every turtle and decided on the one that was the healthiest looking.

Tango(thats what he named him) has a very nice shell, and his eyes aren't puffy or anything when closed. Now he is hanging around in his tank with only one eye open... The eye is clear and healthy looking. So he has one eye closed and one eye open...

Is this normal? If not, what should we do? Could he just be adjusting to his new habitat?

Thanks guys!

[marisa]

If the other turtles in the petstore all had their eyes closed, I'm thinking something could be going on. Perhaps something from the water was irritating them (even if the water looked clean, maybe it was wasn't, since it was being shared by a number of turtles). Does the eye that's closed look like it has a cottony cover over it or starting to form over it?

You might try some Zoo Med Turtle Eye Drops (available at stores like Petco and Petsmart) and apply some to the eye. It is for irritated eyes and contains a small amount of Vit A, which, if he's deficient in (a sign of a Vit A deficiency is swollen, closed eyes) will help.

Is the water treated? If so, are you using a dechlorinator?

[Vtolds]

has he ever had the eye open? is it possible that maybe he doesn't have one?

[Cim*Forever]

Hey guys,

Thank you for your replies. I would have liked to reply sooner, but I have been in the hospital with kidney stones No fun there, but good news about Tango.

He has opened both eyes and has explored his new home, eaten pellets and even climbed up and basked on his dock. He still is timid, and stays hidden in the plants a lot, sometimes with both eyes closed. Major improvement since 2 days a go though.

The water in his tank is treated with a dechlorinator, I tend to think it may have been the water from his old tank effecting his eyes. I will of course go pick up some eye drops, and maybe mention to the store that they should check the water quality of their own tank, id hate for someone else (who hasn't found this site yet) to buy a turtle with issues.

Thanks again for the replies guys! I love that I can always ask questions on this site, it saves me a lot of stress!

[mikee]

Where your turtle came from is history however, it could have been an excessive uvb light. Make sure that yours is whats they need. If he is okay that is fine. If he's still having trouble opening his eyes, you may want to try medicated eye drops.

[Cim*Forever]

Thanks for the reply mikee He is doing loads better, and I bought a 5.0 uvb light, I think its 26 watts or something, I can check the box if its really important to know. But he seems to be okay.

Do you think I should buy some eye drops anyways? I suppose it is probably good to have on hand anyways. Will it bother him if we apply it to the eye that is healthier then the other?

Im always looking for a good excuse to go to the pet store

[marisa]

I wouldn't go out and buy eye drops just to have them, but if you think he still may need a little help, try the Zoo-Med ones suggested above. I think it says on the package that they can be used weekly as a preventive measure.

[Cim*Forever]

Wonderful, thank you for the reply. I went to the pet store and bought the zoo med eye drops. It was only like $6. It says to use on infected eyes twice a day for a week, and once a week as a preventative.

Thanks guys