Urgent Care :: Hatchling eyes swollen shut-please help

[ashipyor]

I just discovered that my RES' eyes look like they're swollen shut...or shut and swollen. I only had the turtle since last Friday but yesterday I added a UVB light (one of the 25 watt coil ones), some fresh water plants, a filter, and I upgraded to a stronger heater. What should I do? What do you think is causing this? I just turned all the lights off for the night.

[steve]

What brand light and how close was it to your turtle? Have you observed it basking under it? New bulbs need a "burn in" period, so I would not use this bulb for a few days to see if there is any improvement. A basking light should still be used.

[ashipyor]

Hi Steve,

Of couse I can't find the package for the light but I'm almost positive that it was a Zilla Tropical 25 UVB Fluorescent 20 Watt Coil Bulb. It was positioned at least a foot from the water. What do you mean by "burn in" period? The clamp lamp I purchased for it is 10 inches so the light expanded over a good portion of the tank. Tilly wouldn't necessarily bask under, but she would lay in the plants under it. The last time I saw her basking this evening she was basking under her uva light. I'm so worried I can't sleep It's amazing how attached I've become in just a few days...

[Kemul]

@ashipyor

If I may, "burn in" means the bulb is emitting more UVB than its rating, so the
intensity might be too much for the turtle's eyes. Move it farther away from the
normal position. UVB can't penetrate water, so it should be positioned above the
basking area. UVB doesn't give heat, that's why UVA is also needed. UVA is
what Steve meant by basking light.

I hope this helps

[ashipyor]

I just turned tilly's UVA lamp on and it looks like her eyes are still swollen shut (or at least the left one) because I can't see her right at the moment. I'm going to leave the UVB light off for now. What do I need to do? I also want to try as much as possible to not have to hold Tilly right now because she is still pretty stressed from moving recently. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[TupacTheTurle]

try dabbing some cod liver oil on his/her eyes and letting it set for about 15 mins before you put back in the water....also zilla (correct me if im wrong here someone) doesnt make that great of a UVB light, i had the same problems with a Zilla that i got in a kit....go with the repti-glo, much better bulb IMO.

[ashipyor]

Does anyone know hwere I can find cod liver oil? the only pet store we have here is Petco and I already checked there. I purchased some zoo med repti turtle eye drops that I used. Tilly kept taking her fin to wipe her eyes off and I'm not sure if it was because of the drops or the discomfort. She's basking right now. Please help!

[TupacTheTurle]

any pharmacy will have them in a gel-tab form. you just poke the pill with something to put a big enough to put a hole in it where you can squeeze it out. put the liquid on a q-tip and dab gentle on the eyes.

I had those drops to and they seemed like they only helped for like 10 mintues. The cod oil had jules cleared up after about a week, maube week and a half.....Only do it once a day...too much can be poisonious i've heard...

[Kemul]

Cod liver oil might help. It contains vitamin A, which is good for eyes. And yes,
too much vitamin A can be bad or even kill a turtle. Once a day is good enough,
like Corey said.

I think it depends on the cause of the swollen eyes. Cod liver oil will help for
vitamin A deficiency or general discomfort, turning off the UVB will help for light
irritation. If the eyes are still swollen after you do those two, the cause is
something else. Respiratory infection (RI) can cause swollen eyes too.

If RI is suspected, you need to take your turtle to a vet quickly. Only a vet can
give you the exact dosage of the antibiotic to cure RI. Meanwhile, make sure your
water temperature is 78 F - 80 F and basking temperature about 10 F above
the water temperature. That'll bump up your turtle's metabolism that can help
combat illness. And try to get your turtle to eat, it needs the calories.

For more RI information, search the forum

Good luck!

[ashipyor]

Thank you all very much. I got the cod liver oil and it seems to have already made a slight difference. If anyone has any suggestions on the amount I should use please let me know? I've just been cutting open the capsule and letting it drop on Tilly's eyes so let me know if this is not correct. Thanks again!

[Kemul]

@ashipyor

Usually, we put the oil to a cotton bud (q-tip) first, then we use that to dab on the
eyes. Then, keep the turtle off the water for about 15 minutes.

[ashipyor]

Since my guess is that the swollen eyes is due to the UVB lamp, when should I start using a new one? I'm not sure what recovery time is needed. Any help is greatly appreciated. Tilly is on day two of the cod liver oil. She's still attempting to eat despite her limited sight so that's good. If anyone else has any suggestions on making her as comfortable as possible please let me know.

[Kemul]

I think you can just use the UVB lamp now, just move it farther from the dock.
If the distance now is 12", try moving it back to 15" and see if the eyes get better.

Comfortable environment for a hatchling is water temp at around 78 F, basking
temp around 90 F (10 F above water temp). Also, less handling and not watch
the hatchling from above as much as possible.

I hope your Tilly gets better soon. Eating is a good sign.

[ashipyor]

any advice on how long long I should treat the eyes with the cod liver oil for? Also...Tilly isn't extremely active. Could this also be from the UVB light incident? She is doing a good job eating...both her pellets and tearing apart her plant.

[Kemul]

I'm guessing one week for the cod liver oil treatment, then just wait. My hatchling
Ramen wasn't very active as well. Ramen started to get more active after about
one week since it started eating. Give Tilly some time. Turtles have much slower
metabolism compared to warm-blooded creatures. In other words, we need to
be in turtle pace sometimes.