Urgent Care :: White buildup on turtle's eyes

[Eronamanthius]

I've noticed a milky color film building up on my turtle's left eye over the last 2 days. I thought she was just shedding, as she had some shedding skin on her neck, but this turned a different color. It looks like what dough would look like if you soaked it in water. She seems to be acting fine otherwise, though, so I'm not immediately worried that it's lethal. I thought it might be a fungus but I would appreciate some other advice as well.

How big is your turtle? about 7 inches long
How long have you had it? 2 months

What is the water temperature? around 75 F
Did you use a thermometer? no (I'm going to get one this weekend)
Are you using a water heater? A heating bulb for basking
How much water is in there? 20 gallon tank, about 6 gallons water
Are you using a water conditioner? No
Are you using any filtration? Yes, a Fluval 2

What is the basking temperature? Not sure
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes, but the platform is slightly submerged (not completely dry - should this be raised?)
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Stones from my backyard that I cleaned and boiled
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Reptomin pellets and the occasional Rosy guppy
When was the last time your turtle ate? I feed her a small handful in the morning and a small handful at night

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 20 gallons
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? yes, but the tank is off to the corner

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Other than the film on the eye, no


I'd like to add that the film is on the skin around the eye, not on the eye itself.

And comments or suggestions are welcome!

[octpusgirl8]

Can you post a picture of it? Are the eyes swollen? It could be something related to her habitat/diet. 20 gallons is way too small for a 7 inch turtle, especially if a lot of the space is taken up by rocks as it sounds like. In addition to being stressful for the turtle, not having a big enough tank means water quality will suffer greatly. The basking area should also be raised above the water so that she can dry off completely top and bottom.

Eye irritaion can also be caused by improper UVB setup. What kind of UVB bulb are you using and how far away from the basking area is it?

[Eronamanthius]

Sorry I can't post a pic of it right now, I'm at work, but the eyes themselves aren't swollen. The rocks are only on one side of the tank, with some smaller rocks making a "stairway" up to the basking area. She has plenty of room to swim around in from what I've seen.

To make a small correction, my turtle is more around 5 inches (I was saying 7 from sizing with my hand, not the best way to do it )

I will definitely try to raise up the basking area so she has room completely above the water to dry off in. Now that I think of it, that probably is the cause of this, since I didn't know that they needed a completely dry area to bask in.

The UVB and heating lamps are clamped about a 8 inches above the top of the tank, making it about 14 inches total to the water level. I have the heating lamp above where the basking area is, and the filter is on the other side.

I will try to get a picture of the tank tonight when I get home.

[TheComputerGremlin]

20 gallons is still too small for a 5 inch turtle, you should have at least a 50 gallon tank, and it should continue growing.

I don't think an improper basking area would cause cloudiness in the eye. I know that's what cataracts look like in other animals, so maybe the turtle has a cataract developing. I'd recommend a vet, since the turtle could lose the eye or become blind from the cataract.

[Eronamanthius]

Here's a picture of the tank. The heating lamp is on the left, and the UVB is on the right. The basking area is set up under the heat lamp

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd35 ... CT0657.jpg


Here's a close up of her head. The camera isn't that great, so it's a little blurry, but you can see that the left eye is biffer than the right. It's the white film over the eye. I didn't think about a cataract...but I don't think so, I've seen cataracts in other animals, and it doesn't seem like one.

http://i530.photobucket.com/albums/dd35 ... CT0661.jpg





I looked at her this morning, and the film has turned kinda crusty and is starting to break off. Her skin looks fine underneath, so I'm going to give her until the weekend to see if maybe it'll all just blow over.[/img]

[octpusgirl8]

It's pretty tough to tell from the picture, but it looks like her eyes are swollen and irritated. Not the eyes themsleves, but the "eyelid" area. Does that sound like it? Try tesing your water for tihngs like ammonia. It could be irritated from bad water quality.

[Azfar]

The picture so blurr.. I can't even see your turtles eyes..

[TheComputerGremlin]

From your picture of the tank setup, the basking area looks rather unreachable. You should slope the rocks to allow for easier access.

Also, both lights should be focused on the basking area. UVB is useless when the turtle is in the water. The rays are blocked. Also, with that type of mesh lid on the tank, a good percentage of the UVB is blocked. You want a mesh that has at least 1/2" holes in it.

Lastly, fill that baby up! Your turtle is aquatic and will appreciate the extra swimming space.

[steve]

Has there been any swelling around the eyes? What brand UVB bulb are you using?

Your setup looks like it is some of the requirements, but can use a bit of tweaking. Basking light temps, UVB distance, basking area accessibility, substrate, heating and filtration should be addressed.

[Eronamanthius]

Thanks for all you people's help. I moved the basking area around a bit to make it easier for her to climb up on, and I put in some more water. I also moved both lamps so they're facing the basking area. octpusgrl, you are right in that it's the eyelid and not the eye itself. Since she's been in the basking area more, the buildup around the eye has dried up and flaked off.

Thanks again for everyone's help!