Urgent Care :: HELP: white speck on my turt's swollen eye

[smilingjots]

one of my 4 res eyes are swollen. recently, it occurred to me that i just have to change the water in the tank or perhaps this particular turtle (named Eli) is just sensitive than the others. after changing the water, and basking on sunlight, she got better. but these past few days, her eyes are swollen again and this time there's a white speck on the left eye, and she's having a hard time opening it. she's not eating either.

now i am confused and bothered. i don't know what's really wrong with her since the other 3 res on the same tank are so hyper and healthy. it's rainy season here so the sun is not up most of the time. and if lack of exposure to sunlight is the reason of the swelling, then how come the other res are just as healthy as they were during the sunny season?

HELP! i dunno what to do. Eli is getting weaker each day..

[Raphulk]

could you possible get some pictures?
to me it sounds like your turtle has swollen eyes (obviously), but may also have a bruise

since you have 4 RES in the same container/tank, aggression is highly possible and your turtle could have been bitten.

I suggest that if you aren't going to separate them all individually, at least separate the sick one from the heard asap, because if your turtle is sick he can easily spread the illness to another one of your 3 remaining healthy turtles.

[turtles are wicked]

i totally agree with Raphulk, also, if you canget your turt to a vet, i had allmost the same problem, your turt wont eat until its eyes are better, it wont eat what it cant see, the vet will most likely give you vit A supplements for food which is what they gave me, my turt was fine in like 1 day, but serioustly seperate your turt for a while, so it wont spread, try send us some pics....

[TurtleLover_S&B]

You should probably post a picture.The reason she's probably not eating is because of the eye.You should try cod oil pill and cut some off and rub it on the affected area.The liver pill is a gel,so you can just rub it on.I've heard it works really well.If it doesn't work,you might need to get some eyedrops.For those,you might end up at the vet's office.Or if it's not that serious you might be able to get them at a local pet store.Hope this helps!

[marisa]

Yes, the tank water has to be changed (depending on the tank size, full or partial changes), and the smaller the tank,nthe more often it should be done. If this happened in the past and your turtle improved with clean water, perhaps this is telling you something...If all four are in the same tank, how big is it?

It would be good to separate the sick one and give her her own set-up, with the water temp a bit warmer than usual (81 - 82F) and the basking area 90-91F). Rub a little cod liver oil on the eyelids once or twice a day for several days and see if this helps. If a Vit A defiency is involved, there should be some improvement. Try to get the turtle to eat something, even if it means holding a bit of something smelly under her nose in the water so she can smell and and take it. If the condition remains the same or worsens, find someone who knows about turtles and have the turtle checked out.