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Eye scratching

PostPosted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 9:18 pm
by Starchick
Napoleon has been basking for most of the day, and in the last hour or so has begun scratching at his left eye. He was recently treated for conjunctivitis in that eye, and it has been fine since. Now it's very red and slightly swollen - I'm not certain whether the scratching caused the initial irritation. He would not leave it alone on the basking platform, so I nudged him into the water hoping that would soothe it, and he completely panicked in the water. He was bouncing off the walls, rubbing at his face the whole time. I haven't changed his water in over a week, so there's nothing new there, although the temp is running high today - 82 rather than the normal 78. Right now I have him out of the tank and roaming around, he seems somewhat better now that he's distracted, but is still scratching. I have access to an emergency vet if need be (although not necessarily a herp vet). The absolute soonest I could get him to a herp vet would be Tuesday morning, if necessary. Any thoughts on what could be going on, or what I can do to soothe the area and keep him from making it worse?

How big is your turtle? 4.5 inches
How long have you had it? 5 years

What is the water temperature? 82
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 30 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? Reptisafe
Are you using any filtration? Fluval 4

What is the basking temperature? ranges from 72-92
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? slate with a turtle dock for a ramp
Is there a UVB light? reptisun 5.0

What have you been trying to feed it? Reptomin, romaine, blueberries (wouldn't eat them), squash
When was the last time your turtle ate? yesterday

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 30 gallons
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Re: Eye scratching

PostPosted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 10:01 pm
by Starchick
Update: On closer inspection, he appears to have a scrape on the side of his face/neck. I'm not sure whether the scrape caused the scratching or the other way around. Someone suggested that maybe a dab of vaseline would protect the spot; what do you guys think?

Re: Eye scratching

PostPosted: Sun Sep 26, 2010 8:16 pm
by steve
I suppose it's worth a try... did you receive any antibiotic ointment for the conjunctivitis? Would you have any left?

Re: Eye scratching

PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 7:08 pm
by marisa
Neosporin would work as well on the scrape.

Re: Eye scratching

PostPosted: Mon Sep 27, 2010 8:46 pm
by Starchick
Thanks everyone! I did not know that neosporin would be okay. I tried the neomycin drops, which really seemed to upset him (maybe they burned on the scrape?) I can't say whether the vaseline really helped. I ended up putting him back into his tank and shutting off all the lights in the room so he would go to sleep. The eye looks significantly better, and he's rubbing at it less frequently, but I'm going to do the neosporin. Thank you!

Re: Eye scratching

PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2010 1:30 pm
by marisa
Just a bit (so he doesn't smear it in his eye) applied with a q-tip should do the trick.