Urgent Care :: Johnny Sick?

[AllisonChains]

I tried to give her some pellets and a few small pieces of chicken. I think she would have eaten them had she been able to see them. Once she got the smell she was looking everywhere for it, but really wouldn't try to open her eyes - or couldn't.

I tried every which way possible to get her to eat the chicken - I thought she would eat that for sure, but she didn't.

She has been off and on basking. She is fairly active, but I think she gets frustrated at not being able to see and just lies still in the tank.

[VanishingReality]

Aww poor baby.

You could try to put the pellets in tuna juice to give them a stronger smell so they are easier to find.

[jacqui]

Sounds like she is a bit happier now - doing the superman, I hope she is
OK and I'm sure with all you care she will be. Kepp us posted.

[AllisonChains]

Izzy is still not opening her eyes all the time today. She had them open long enough to eat this morning - there is nothing wrong with the appetite! She will open them every once in awhile while basking, but not long at all and I haven't seen her open them underwater except for this morning. She is still pretty lazy.

Which leads me to a question - I think it was SpotsMama who said that some UVB lamps cause eye irritation? I have the R-Zilla 20/25 tropical watt coil lamp for her and the ZooMed Turtle Tuff Halogen for basking, 75 watt, I think.

Otherwise, she is the same. boo. I was really hoping to see more improvement today.

[RESnTX]

At least she has a good appetite still. My sister's tortoise had the eye thing happen with her uva lamp. It was cold and her husband thought he was doing the right thing by lowering what he thought was the heat lamp. It took a couple of days for her eyes to get better. Not sure if this would be the cause for yours to have eye problems. How close is your lamp and is it higher than a 5% or 10%? The 10% is the one that can cause the eye problems.

[AllisonChains]

I have no idea what %, and of course I didn't keep the package it came in. I looked on the website, but it doesn't say anything about %. I ran it through google, but of course, everything else's description was copied from the R-Zilla website.

Until.... I found this through google posted by someone on allexperts.com under reptiles. Mine is the first listed in the second box after the paragraph.


http://www.zilla-rules.com/assets/006/13278.pdf


SON OF A!!! Why in the hell are they still on shelves? I am printing that and taking it to Petco with my redheaded attitude.

No wonder she is better in the mornings - it hasn't been on all damn night.

I feel SO bad. I have been turning her around on her platform because she was right up against the glass and I am thinking she just didn't 'know' where she was because her eyes were closed... all the while, she was probably trying to hide her eyes, but bask at the same time.

[RESnTX]

At least maybe you found what the problem is. Don't feel bad, you didn't know. It usually is a process of elimination with most turtles illness and it sometimes takes a while to isolate the cause. I would present this information to Petco and try to find out how or who you need to contact to make sure this information goes further than just this one store.

Until you get to the vet Wednesday she will be fine without a lamp. Take the information about that bulb with you when you go and any other information or treatment the first dr. gave you.

[SpotsMama]

At one time zoo med, which makes reptisun bulbs (another of the brands that was causing eye problems last year), was giving refunds for the problem bulbs. I'd seek a refund for any bulb that was harming my turtle's eyes - we shouldn't have to pay for something like that.

[AllisonChains]

She was sleeping on her platform this morning and after about 30 minutes she opened her eyes and they don't seem as swollen as yesterday.

I can't imagine how happy she is to be able to see again, poor baby. She was all excited to see her anacharis and red leaf lettuce in the tank with her.

I will be going home at lunch to make sure they are still open and looking better. I felt horrible this morning explaining to my daughter, who is 11, what is probably the cause of her eyes..... she just started crying, and of course then I had to!!

jeez.

[steve]

I'm glad there is progress! Don't feel bad... this situation happened to me and lasted MONTHS before I figured it out. My turtles were probably one of the very first victims of this condition and I went through the full range of emotions too.

[AllisonChains]

You know I read the note that is in the Equipment forum regarding that problem, but I had the R-Zilla not ZooMed so I didn't think twice about it. DUH.

She was better today. Not quite open all the way all the time, but she opens them more under water, but the swelling has gone down considerably. She has eaten some of the red leaf lettuce and the anacharis, so that is good.

She will 'paw' at them every once in awhile, maybe they are still a little sore? I wonder if having the Vitamin A/D shot will hurt her if it wasn't necessary? I also bought some cod oil, would that help her eyes any at this point?

[steve]

If it is the UVB that was the problem, then the cod liver oil won't really help. Just keep things stress-free as possible and she should get better.

[camaudio]

glad to hear yours is getting better, mine is also getting much better
was hunting down some guppies a couple mins ago, i was happy to see that

hopefully the zoomed bulb i got works better

[marisa]

If she's had a Vit A shot, I wouldn't use the cod liver oil on the eyes.

[AllisonChains]

Izzi is SO much better! Not just her eyes, but she is back to her old frisky, inquisitive self!

Her eyes are completely healed and back to normal. She is LOVING the red leaf lettuce and the anacharis, so YAY!

Thank you guys so much for all of the help and support.