Feeding and Nutrition :: Please help!

[mother of two]

I just got 2 red ear sliders 2 days ago. The man I bought them from had them in his pond and I live in Arizona. I state that because I read temperature plays a big role in feeding habbits. I haven't been able to get them to eat. Have tried iceberg lettuce (I know, I should use romaine but it's what I had), tomatos and Tetrafauna brand ReptoMin floating food sticks. Should I be trying to feed them by hand? Am I panicking to much and they will eat when ready? HElP! One of them had a swollen eye and now both eyes are swollen so I also need help on fixing that.

[steve]

How big are they? What kind of setup are they in? What are the water temperatures?

[mother of two]

They are two and a half to three inches long, not certain how old they are. We have them in water. Not sure on water temperature since I haven't been able to locate a thermometer as of yet. The basking area is a stand made of pvc made in the form of a square that sits above water. In the middle of the pvc is a bowl filled with rocks, with holes drilled and electrical ties are used to secure it to the pvc. The one with the swollen eyes is mostly in the water. The other LOVES to bask. I was able to feed the basker last night after several attempts (about an hour) of rub the food on mouth and saying please eat! lol It finally started to get the food on it's own, hard boiled egg whites and tuna. The one with swollen eyes wasn't falling for it and I will work with it today. Is it able to see? Worried that it won't be able to see the food because of the eyes. He also does a slight head twitching.....is this bad?

[steve]

The water should ideally be 78-80F. If it's too cold, that could inhibit their appetite. If it cannot see, it will not likely eat. If it's a vitamin deficiency, you can apply cod liver oil to the eyes, or pick up Zoo Med Turtle Eye Drops.

The twitching might just be from the basking, does it happen in the water?