My new baby turtle looks as if it has and eye problem, Help!

Posted:
Mon May 25, 2009 9:43 pm
by Bluuu

Posted:
Mon May 25, 2009 10:06 pm
by papoopeepoo
Is there any way you can shrink the pictures down? I have to scroll all over the place just to catch a glimpse.

Posted:
Mon May 25, 2009 11:39 pm
by Azfar
Aww.. cute turtle. I think he/she has white spot or fungus infection on the skin and eyes. How the setup of your turtle? He/she need UVA n UVB light also good temperature water.

Posted:
Tue May 26, 2009 1:48 am
by SpotsMama
Definitely your sweet turtle can use some help.
One possibility is vitamin a deficiency. It affects eyes and also skin. You have to be careful with vitamin a - too much is toxic. Try this. Go to your pet store tomorrow and get some Turtle Eye Drops by Zoo Med. Use them according to the directions. If you can't get the eye drops right away, get some cod liver oil and put some on a q tip and dab it on your turtle's eyes.
He may also have a skin infection. Skin problems usually means the turtle has had to live in dirty water. Skin problems also occur when a turtle doesn't bask enough and doesn't dry out completely when he basks - both top and bottom must dry off completely at frequent intervals.
I'd get him to a herp vet for treatment for the skin, which may also be related to the eye problem. There are some home remedies for skin infections - salt water soaks and Acryflavin treatment - but if he were mine I'd get advice from a herp vet.
CAUTION: If the vet wants to give your turtle a vitamin a shot, be sure he/she is sure that vitamin a deficiency is the problem and that a shot is the best treatment. Too often vets want to give vitamin a shots as a matter of routine and, as I said above, too much is toxic, and so if the dosage isn't just right, the shot can do more harm than good.
Over the long run the way to be sure a turtle has plenty of vitamin a is to be sure he has foods containing vitamin a - carrots, cantelope, steamed sweet potato for instance - as a regular (about a serving a week) part of his diet.
Good luck. Keep us posted.

Posted:
Mon Jun 01, 2009 2:13 am
by scottpkura
Also recommend a water conditioner to remove chlorine, it can be very irritating for them.