Urgent Care :: Puffy eyes and less active

[novroz]

Someone asks me this problem on her turtle, unfortunately i can't help her because my knowledge on turtles is still limited. i hope you guys can help her.

Her RES's eyes always close and a bit puffy.
He doesn't want to eat and sleeps a lot on his basking area.
He used to be very active

Here are her answers on the questions given by RES.com Forum

How big is your turtle? about 6 cm
How long have you had it? 4 month

What is the water temperature? 29 oC
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? no
How much water is in there? 60x30x36 aquarium full of water
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? ?
Is there a basking light? no
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Styrofoam
Is there a UVB light? no

What have you been trying to feed it? yes
When was the last time your turtle ate? about 2 weeks

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 60x30x36cm
Is the tank near a window? yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

[steve]

If there is no UVB light, the other common causes of swollen eyes are a Vit A deficiency, chlorine or injury. Does it help the eyes if the turtle is taken out of water?

[marisa]

When you said your turtle is near a window, is the window open so that your turtle is exposed to breezes?

[novroz]

Steve and Marissa, I will ask your questions to her and get back here again soon. Thx

About UVB light, it is very difficult to find it in my country, I don't use it either (no surprise she doesn't use it too)..and if we do find it, it's really expensive. But I let my turtles under the sun as often as possible

[novroz]

She replied me today, she said that her turtle closes his eyes when he is basking, and he basks most of the time. When he is in the water, he tries to open his eyes by rubbing it with his hands.

She said she doesn't open the window.

I really can't help her

[Kemul]

Make sure water is clean because dirty water can irritate the eyes.

What's the turtle's food? Puffy eyes can be caused by Vitamin A deficiency. Try rubbing cod liver oil on the eyelids with a q-tip (cotton bud). You can get cod liver oil from a pharmacy. Do this twice a day.

If symptom doesn't go away after two weeks, probably something else is wrong.

[novroz]

I will tell her. Thank you kemul

[marisa]

If it's truly a Vit A deficiency, there should be some improvement in 3 or 4 days.

[meher]

the same thing is happening with my turtles but the problem is they are not eating, so how can i give them vitamin A?

[steve]

You can break a cod liver oil gel capsule and apply the oil to the eyelids. What's your setup like? Do you have a UVB light?

[meher]

ummm....actually i have given the aquarium to be made, it will come with a light, heater, basking area n all things needed, but for now its a huge tub, with a corner of balanced stones(basking area) and a water area and a small cave to hide in, is that enough?(the aquarium will take a few months)

its not going in the water(stay's in the basking area), there's no light but i put him in the sun for 1 hour daily
plus, my turtles eye's are not puffy or swelled, they are 100% closed, its a 1.5 inches big baby turtle
and it feels very nice to be out of the water.water kind of irritates it, there is a water heater and the temp. is 28'c

[steve]

If they can't see, they likely won't eat either. Is your turtle active? Has it eaten? How long have you had it?

[meher]

i have 2, one is active, happy and is eating, but this one wont eat, just stays on its basking area and is not at all going in the water, i have them for 3-2 weeks wat 2 do to make it feel better

[steve]

Where are you located? Can you fill out the link for urgent care thats in my signature?

[marisa]

It might be good to separate the inactive turtle and give him his own set-up with a warmer water temp (82F) and basking area temp (90 - 91F).

There are no other symptoms?