Urgent Care :: can a turtle go blind???

[sarah f]

I have 3 female red ear turtles. They are all very good eaters and even chase your finger if you put it up to the glass.
lately I have noticed my oldest turtle jackster dosent respond to well to food in the tank,she seems to struggle to find it, even when she is in her feeding bowl.
Her eyes are not swollen or funny colours. She devours the food once she finds it but she has just never had the problem finding it? is there something wrong or is she being fussy perhaps?

[jenaero]

My cat went blind in her old age, so I assume any animal can. Not sure how you'd check that for a turtle tho. Have you tried to see if she follows your hand back and forth? Does it seem like she sees you when you come with food?

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

I believe that just about all turtles are nearsighted, I have come across the same problem with my turtles I will put their food in the tank and if they have their heads out of the water, they won't see it, I will have to push their heads into the water so that they can see it coming back up, it usually works, but the more stubborn one, I have to actually hold him under water looking up at the food , he is very skiddish.

[jenaero]

I have to actually hold him under water looking up at the food

I've had to do that too. Sometimes they're so busy watching me, and splashing around that they don't look in the water

[steve]

If they're fixated on you or your fingers, then they'll miss whats around them. However, blindness is a serious issue and most RES may refuse to eat if they cannot see what they are eating.

[marisa]

They do tend toward nearsightedness, as opposed to having excellent far vision. My RES is quite good at getting food most of the time, but some of the painteds are pretty much what you've described. I have to put my finger in the water to point to the food--and they usually will still go for the finger.

[steve]

I occasionally use a white plastic spoon to stick food to when I hand feed. Between my 2 turts, the beggar always looks high and goes for the fingers. Surprisingly, my other RES is not much of a beggar.