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My false map turtle Brownie is basking, then when i see him he is sleeping up there with his eyes closed. Then one day, he was up on the dock with his eyes closed and I took him out for feeding. It was really weird. He couldnt open his eyes. He was like moving all around with his eyes closed. So as soon as he got into water, he was able to open his eyes again. I am worried. I don't know if this is normal or not so I would like opinions from you guys. I will fill out the thing below in case it helps.


How big is your turtle? 1.4 inches
How long have you had it? around 2-3 months

What is the water temperature? 77.5 degrees
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 3/4 filled in a 20 gallon
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 96 degrees
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? zoo med dock
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? ReptoMin hatchling pellets, lettuce.
When was the last time your turtle ate? today. He ate 3 pellets. He is eating perfectly fine.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 20 gallons
Is the tank near a window? right under one
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? sometimes. The tank is in my room right next to the computer. My brother and I are the only ones that usually come into the room. Monday- Friday --- they have from 6:00AM- 3:00PM undisturbed.

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Well, when the lights are on in the tank, he does fall asleep in there a lot too.

Here are some pictures if they help or not- You can see his eyes through them which is kinda creepy.

Are they swollen at all? It's hard to tell from the pictures because i'm not used to seeing turtles with thier eyes closed like that. If they're not swollen, and it just happened this one time, i wouldn't worry about it. They probably just got dried shut when he was basking.

This has happended multiple times. And no, they don't really look swollen to me either.

Hmm thats weird. I guess just keep an eye out for any other symptoms, especially eye related. How far away from the dock is the UVB? Maybe it's too strong and is irritating his eyes? You could also try the zoo-med eye drops, they won't hurt anything even if they don't help.

UVB is maybe 6-8 inches away from the dock. I have other turtles which don't seem affected by anything. Brownie seems to stay on the dock for pretty long periods of time.

What kind of UVB bulb do you have specifically - brand and percent UVB (like 5.0 or 10.0) and wattage.

I have a 5.0 26 watt UVB. It's exo-terra. About a month ago I had the 2.0 with 13 watts.

Keep in mind that eye irritation is a symptom of some serious diseases. If Brownie starts showing any other symptoms - lethargy, poor appetite, breathing through his mouth or frequent yawning, swimming lopsided, mucus around the nose or mouth - any of these on the list, better get him to a vet ASAP.

There haven't been problems reported with that UVB light bulb like there have with some of the others, but it is awfully close to the basking dock. Try turning it off for a couple of days and see if Brownie improves. A map turtle's eyes may be more sensitive than a RES's.

In addition, get some Turtle Eye Drops from the pet store. They are made by Zoo Med. Follow the instructions on the package and see if that helps.