Urgent Care :: OMG Help!! turtles eyes badly swollen!!!! PLZ im worried

[turtles are wicked]

urm hi im not new to this site i used it years ago, urm i have a mississipi map turtle and she is a female roughly 4 years old and 8inches big!
her eyes are huge and swollen, i am so worried, the temps are fine for the tank and i am using the correct lamps and lighting, i have a basking area, but since just now i have noticed that the turtles eyes are gloopy and verry big, i picked her out of the water and still no opening of the eyes!!
i am in desperate neeeed of help, any help would be greatfully appreciated!! x

[SpotsMama]

Many things can causes swollen turtle eyes: infection, injury, respiratory illness, vitamin deficiency, irritation due to dirty water, irritation due to chemicals such as chlorine or water conditioner, exposure to certain UVB light bulbs.

How otherwise is she behaving? Is she lively or quiet? How's her appetite?

Have you recently changed UVB bulbs?

Have you checked water quality lately? Do you use water conditioners?

Does she share the tank with any other turtles?

Please answer the questions on the sticky at the front of the Urgent Care section.

[turtles are wicked]

she is allways active but since she has this problem, she is just in the water just lying in the corner confused, she sometimes goes up to the surface but then goes back down, i havnt changed the bulbs becuase i didnt think there was a need for it, they work fine and the shop keeper said they were the best in there, water quality is good, a few bits floating around, not realy dirty though, i dont use water conditioners, she shares a tank with her boyfiend Rocky and he is a yellow bellied slider, everything in the tank is fine, i am takin in to the vet tomorrow asap and im gunna get sum stuff for them...will she be ok until then i would send pics but i dont know how to no here.

[SpotsMama]

Good for you for taking her to see a vet. That's the best way.

I seem to recall that maps are more sensitive to water quality than other aquatic turtles. In other words, water that would be ok for a RES might not be clean enough for a map.

Until you get to the vets, treat her like a sick turtle. Keep her warm (82 degrees or so), avoid drafts, keep her very clean and avoid stress (ie, don't pick her up unless you have to). If you can get some cod liver oil, put a little on a q tip and dab it on her eyelids. Better yet, if you can get some Zoo Med Turtle Eye Drops (sold at pet stores), use them according to directions. Keep her separated from the slider.

When you're at the vet, if the vet offers to give a shot of vitamin a, ask if it would be just as well to give her vitamin food supplements instead. Too much vitamin a is toxic and we've learned on here (from sad experience) that it's hard to judge the right amount in a shot. Some vets seem to want to give a vitamin a shot to a turtle as a matter of routine, not because it's actually needed.

Keep us posted. And good luck.

[turtles are wicked]

How big is your turtle? about 8 inches
How long have you had it? 3years old

What is the water temperature? 28degrees
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 200litre 2/4 filled up
Are you using a water conditioner? nope
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 30degrees
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Rock
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Dried Shrimps and crestacia
When was the last time your turtle ate? lastnight

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 200liter
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? nope

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes most of it
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes quite a few

[turtles are wicked]

thank you so much i will do that now, thank you again, i realy dont know where i will be without you, i am not going to sleep tonight though, i want her to be ok again, urm problem i only have salmon oil and its in capsules, wich is realy annoying who buys salmon oil and not cod!!!!! i hate myself!! lol thank you for your time again xxxxx

[turtles are wicked]

[turtles are wicked]

[SpotsMama]

Poor thing. The pictures are pretty blury but even so, I can tell how swollen they are. Let us know what the vet says. I'll bet he's going to give her antibiotics.

[Caphits]

Maybe you could use a water conditioner? Just to make things easier in the water.

[turtles are wicked]

well the vets said that, it may be the lights, so i changed that and now there are new lights and she gave me vit a drops and i am to put three drops on her food a day, i have done this and now my little baby can see again, over the moon, but she still has shopping bags under her eyes lol but they are going, i love her to pieces, i cudnt live without my little turts....well thank you everyone for your help.....verry appreciated and have an awesome weeeek!!
oooh and i have a little story aswell, my mum drove us miles to the vets and we had only 1 hour to get there, my little babys eyes were still swollen shut, and as we just made it in time after my mum was shouting at all the stupid slow slow drivers, when we got to the vet, i looked at squirt and her eyes were just open, i was like....mum look at her eyes.........she said omg dont do this to me.i didnt come all that way for no reason lol haha im gunna change her name to something else now, maby something to do with eyes??? anyone want to help pick a name for her??

[SpotsMama]

I'm very glad to hear she's doing better.

In your earlier post you said you hadn't changed out your light bulbs recently. How long has it been since they were changed? What kind of UVB bulb had you been using (brand and strength) and what have you changed to now that seems to have helped?

[turtles are wicked]

well i have been using two bulbs, one is like a blue colour, and one is just a light, i had them for about 2 years and then i changed them to the exact same ones from the same place,,,,,,,,urm 98cm and 20W AQUA GLO is what one of the lights are urm the other duznt say anything....personally i dont think it was the lights, only the vit A because they never realy had Vit A for like 4 years, i feel so bad but from now on, cabbage and carrot is the main salad of the day then dried shrimps yummy....well her eyes are nearly back to normal, she was only ill for like 2 days, but i still feel realy bad for my baby.

[Caphits]

I think pellets would be better than dried shrimps.

[turtles are wicked]

naaa pellets ive used before, urm........the pellets usually float behind the rocks and then just absorb all the water, and when the turtle bites it, it explodes lol and makes water smelly and dirty, i use dried christacea and shrimps they love em