Urgent Care :: Basking a lot(pics attached) URGENT UPDATE! ANY ADVICE.

[Muirner]

Hopefully goose the eye situation is going better...

But here is my question now. I came home today, and both of them are now at the bottom of their tank with their eyes closed, like i had in that picture. Even the one that always eats is being wierd... she hasnt even came up to beg for anything, and she always does... is this normal? or should i worry?

EDIT: Ok, so i showed them some love and paed attention to them, and what happens? Low and behold they both both eat infront of me. It seems the shy one probably wants something live, because she takes a bite, waits a second, ripps of the part not in her mouth and lets it sink. Swollows the rest. The picky one will eat anything pellets, krill, shrimp. So mayb esome ghost shrimp are in order?? As well as some guppies?

And i assume it is normal for turtles to close their eyes under water. But always closed? I dont get it, today i wake up to the one with the eye problem having the skin over the eye while swimming around... idk i'm overly nervous (i hope) does anyone elses RES not "open their eyes" underwater??

[grey goose]

Back to grey goose's pics...How are those eyes doing?

Well, They all have swollen eyes now at varying degrees, with Big Daddy having the worst of it. I've been treating them with the Zoo-Med eye drops and dry docking all three for a few hours a day...I think ("think" being the operative word) they are slowly improving. I had to scramble to set up an isolation tank w/water temps at 80F, and I'm leaving the basking light on 24/7 (they have all been basking over night, or at least sleeping on the basking ramp with the water being so warm). Also I'm changing out 20% of the water every day. But all are eating and staying relatively active.
But here's the kicker: I called my vet, and found out she relocated to upstate NY! Arrrg! But I have a line in to another herp vet who takes care of all the reptiles at the NYC zoos. I explained the circumstances/symptoms and he thinks it could "maybe" be the conditioner, but it could be a vit. A thing. "Hypo" something he called it. But he agreed with my treatment (as long as they continue to eat), and I have to call him on Mon. morning.....

[grey goose]

Muirner, are their eyes closed when swimming/eating? It couldn't hurt to give them the eye drops. Most pet stores carry it. The pet stores around here carry the Zoo-Med turtle eye drops, but not Repti-safe. Very odd.... Later tonight I'll post some pics before I put them back in their iso tank.

[marisa]

Hypovitaminosis A = vitamin A deficiency

Do they not get enough Vit A in the diet? If you do take them to the vet, you might inquire about having the eyes swabbed and tested (I don't know if this is expensive or not).

[grey goose]

The only veggies they are really interested in are romaine and carrots. They'll nibble on mustard, red leaf, turnips, squash, etc. but they devour romaine and carrots. I've also gone back to giving them pellets every day...if only to make sure all are eating. I alternate Reptomin, Nutrifin Max and Zoo-Med aquatic diet (favorite).
I'm still leaning towards irritation. It seems after a dry dock session, the eyes don't look as swollen to me. In fact I'm now seeing some shedding on the upper eyelids on B.D. once he gets back in the water. The swelling looks a little less profound, and he's managing to keep his eyes open. I'll post pics a bit later.

[grey goose]

Here's Big Daddy on Tues.....



And here's B.D. today in the iso tank after eye drops and 3 hrs dry dock. This isn't the best pic but he wouldn't sit still in my hand. Swelling seems to have subsided and he's keeping his eyes open.



Here's Gomez. His symptoms came on a day later. He's still having a tough time of it....



Here's Beaker...I think I caught him in time.



I did not intend to hijack your thread Muirner, i just wanted to illustrate the various degree of swelling that can appear. It's a tough call when they are as young as your little guy is, but I'd give the drops a try. It can't hurt.
If the mods want to use these pics let me know, I have them in large format.....

[Muirner]

goose no i thank you, these pictures have helped out a lot.. Now what kind of eye drops did you use? I think my lil guy needs some...

[grey goose]

Zoo-Med Turtle Eye Drops
http://www.zoomed.com/html/eye_drops.php

If you can't find them in the pet store look here:

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW ... mdy00.aspx

[Muirner]

I think i can find those at Petsmart... I'll deff need to look into that, speaking of which, i wanna call and see if i can get that sand.

Thanks grey! Hopefully the lil bugger will come around, other then that, she's eating which was a plus, though i havent seen it again sense. So today i went out got 8 guppies, 4 ghost shrimp, a background, and 3 more plants... hopfully she'll start to relax more.

[grey goose]

My pleasure. Good luck.

[Muirner]

Thanks!! I just called that place to see if i could pick up 4 bags of that sand, but they are out of stock for at least a week. I'll figure it out for sure now...

[marisa]

grey goose, from what you wrote about their diet, it doesn't sound like a Vit A deficiency to me either...

[grey goose]

Good news....all are doing much better. Beaker and Gomez are pretty much back to normal, just a little white skin on the upper eyelids that looks like it's about to fall off. B.D., who got the worst of it, is also recovering nicely, all are begging.
Now I've got another problem. I'm getting ammonia spikes in the iso tank, despite daily water changes. (I decided to clean the media with tap water, attempting to get rid of any residual stuff left by that conditioner. ) So now Ive been scrambling to get the new habit cleaned out, everything that made contact with the water. Tank, filters hoses, rocks, that stupid pipe, genuine imitation plants, everything!
I'm on the tail end of this endeavour, moving the new water to the tank.....5 gallons at a time. Up a flight of stairs. Ugh.....

[cam722]

Wow, you have been busy. No way you can use a python to do all that water transfer??

[steve]

Glad to hear it as well! What are you using for the water /treatment source now?