Urgent Care :: Red Eared Slider has a severe eye infection, what can I do?

[sidzzz]

I live in India, Hyderabad.

My turtle, has some kind of sever eye infection. Both her eyes are very swollen up. She can't even open her eyes. Its like her eye lids are sealed or something. I can see her eyes are open within. But yet her eye is swollen and sealed.

She can't open them. And is unable to see anything. And its not even eating anything.

The vet's here dont have any idea about this species. The one I met earlier thought it was an eye infection and now the vet belives its a viral. And the turtles immune system needs to develop further. But the vet isn't sure. No reptile specialist are available.

Currently, we are giving her B complex, Vitamin A, and some anti-biotic injection.

Could someone who knows about it please advise?

Thanks

Link to my turtles pictures: I just uploaded them.

MY TURTLES PICTURES

http://ballz.info/Turtles/Daisy.htm


Addition Information:

1) My turtle has lost her diet and eats very little once in 2-3 days.
2) Her shell color is fading fast.
3) She is about 11 months old.
4) And I feed, her on dry worm cubes, Green Leafy veggies, Turtle food which contrain the required vitamin and protein.
5) She is with another male red ear slider. But currently I have kept them both separately for fear, that the other one might also get this infection.

[missibsu]

The vitamin A is good for your turt in terms of the eye infection. What form is it being given in?

What antibiotic is being given, and for how long?

What is the set up like? Size, water temp, and basking temp?

ZooMed is a brand that makes a variety of products for turtles. They have eye drops that are widely available in the USA, but I'm not sure about India.

[missibsu]

Check this post as well.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... highlight=

[steve]

The medication you are giving, is it under the guidance of the vet? It would be in their best interest if you separate them and offer very clean water. If your turtle cannot see, it will probably refuse to eat though you can try a smelly food to get her attention. If you cannot contact a vet or reach a reptile organization, I would even try asking the Hyderabad Zoo. Have you ask any other type of vet for referrals?

[sidzzz]

Hi! I am really delighted for such prompt replies, they lighten my worries a bit..

1. the vit A is being given in the form on 0.1 ml injections by the vet on alternate days along with b complex.

2. the antibiotic my vet is giving is called OXY again given in 0.1 ml dosage.

3. the water temperature is usually between 27C to 34 C

4. the aquarium size is 24/18 inches, I also try to replace half the aquarium water everyday, I have some fairly big pieces of drift wood, and an inverted mud pot in the tank to provide them with the basking area.

5. I feed them in a separate plastic tub everyday, I mostly feed them shrimps, tubiflex worms, toto range of turtle food, green leafs such as amazon etc.. and now, whenever possible to get past their stubbornness to open their mouths, I try to give them a 0.5 ml dose of nutricoat that contains other essential vitamins.

6. I don’t currently have a basking light.. was wondering if a halogen bulb would do? As the aquarium uvb lights are extremely expensive out here in India.

My sick turtle simply refuses, to eat anything she last ate once in four days during this infection and now is been another 3 days since her last feed. I am very worried that she might not survive this, although she seems to be a little active yet.


sidzzz

[steve]

You still need to get him the appropriate help. 34C is VERY HIGH and should not be higher than 27C under normal circumstances. You obviously care about your turtles but you need to go further to provide them a suitable habitat and veterinary care.

[missibsu]

UVB bulbs are expensive here too, but it is essential. Until you can get a UVB bulb your turtle needs to seek an alternative light source...outside basking. This requires nice weather, a shady spot, and supervision.

[marisa]

I would really be careful about Vit A injections, especially repeated ones. How many has your turtle had?

I wouldn't feed the worm cubes/tubifex worms on a regular basis.

[sidzzz]

hi marisa,

my turtle has had about 6 injections of 0.1ml, thats approx .6 ml of Vit A so far on alternate days. And whats wrong with tubiflex worms? are they unsuitable? any suggestions on other variety in feed?

sidzzz

[marisa]

Tubifex worms have a reputation for being unclean and carrying parasites. Some claim to have been "cleaned/sterilized,"; I don't know if the kind you're using is or not. They're also not nutritious. They shouldn't be a staple in the diet. I used to live in Japan, and they used to feed turtles cubes of freeze-dried worms (which I think were tubifex worms). They had virtually no nutrition and were more like a turtle's version of candy. You could also see some little worm-like things moving about in the water after they were put in the tank as well.

It can be very hard to determine the correct dosage of Vit A, and Vit A can be toxic if overdone. How many injections is your vet planning to give your turtle? I'm not trying to second guess him, but it may take a little while for the Vit A to work. If he's getting an injection every other day, how does the vet determine that he's had enough (and not too much)?

[missibsu]

For a list of foods that are good to feed, visit the feeding and nutrition section, there is a sticky called what to feed.

I'm not sure how many of those items are available there, but a good range of water plants are good too!

[sidzzz]

I am really happy to inform you all, that my turtle is doing well now:)

Her eye infection is now gone and she is eating healthy.

The anti biotics and vitamin A shots worked

Now i make it a point, to give them a lil sun everyday


Cheers,
SIdz

P.S: Once again, thank you all for all the help provided

[marisa]

Good to hear she's doing better. Try to add more foods that contain beta carotene in her diet (carrots, squash, pumpkin, red peppers, etc.) so she doesn't develop a Vit A deficiency again.