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My RES is about 2 inches, had him for a year. He was doing well, but we left him with a neighbor for our 2 week vacation. One eye does not open. No swelling or infection noted. He has not eaten for the 2 days we are back. He is still active. Any suggestions on helping his eye to open. Thanks.

Zoo Med makes turtle eye drops that can be found at most larger pet stores. It can be used for infection.

For closed irritated eyes there is cod liver oil can can be applied with a q-tip. It's found in most pharmacies.

Can you post a pic of what the eye looks like? For feeding, you might want to try to smelly foods, or try dipping his pellets in some tuna juice.

Thanks Missi. I'm running to the store now for the drops. I have cod liver oil in the house. It's Lemon lime flavor ( we take it for health reasons) . Do you think its okay to put it on his eye or will the lemon lime make it too acidic? I'm not able to take a picture, but his eye does not look infected, he just won't open it. Actually he opened it once last night for a few seconds but he hasn't done it again since.
You've been very helpful. Thank you so much.
Anne

I wouldn't use the lemon lime flavor...I had no idea that it came in flavors. I don't know that it would hurt, but better safe than sorry.

The cod liver oil is for Vit A deficiencies, not for closed, irritated eyes. Don't use the flavored kind. Go get some plain cod liver oil in capsules--pop one, put the oil on a q-tip and rub a little on the closed lid. Do this once or twice a day for several days. If it is a Vit A deficiency, it should help.

If you're using the Zoo-Med eye drops, hold off on the cod liver oil (don't use both).

Too late. I already did both. Its been 2 days and both his eyes look normal. How long should I keep the zoomed drops up after this. I figured maybe another 2 days or so to make sure he's okay. Also, is there a way I can figure out if it were a Vit A deficiency. Would there be any harm in giving him a drop of fish oil orally once a week or so? Thankyou for your help.

I think it tells on the box how long to use the Zoo-Med drops for eye problems. And I think the box says you can put a drop in the eyes weekly to help prevent infections.

As for the cod liver oil, you could dab a bit on a pellet occasionally. But to be really safe, try to get your turtle eating foods that contain beta carotene, which he will then convert to Vit A as needed (no chance of getting too much). This includes foods like bits of carrots, squash, pumpkin, dandelions, red peppers.

my turtle has the same problem now.. her eye doesnt open and it is swelling... i change her water already and applied some water conditioner to it... an some methynine blue to disinfect the water... right now i placed her in a small plastic contanet with a light bulb on top to keep her warm.. (i live in the Philippines we have tropical weather so light bulb will do...)

im really worried i had her for 5 years now... she hasnt acted like this since she was still a baby turtle.. im going to try the cod liver oil thing.... can i just drop some of it directly to my turt's eye?

and also tried feeding her carrots she didnt like it.. she mostly likes to eat krill and fish pellets and some occational insects than accidently falls into her tank

I don't know about applying water conditioner right to the eye. Water conditioner is meant to be mixed with a certain quantity of water, so the mix directly would be very concentrated.

The cod liver oil can be applied with a q tip, for sterilization purposes.

Can you get ahold of zoo med eye drops?

Does you turtle get any veggies in her diet? krill is ok as a treat, but it's high in protein. There are some tricks you can try for getting her to eat her veggies, such as soaking it in tuna juice or mixing it with some canned cat food. Veggies are important to the overall heath and well being of your turtle. So, keep trying!

Is it possible the eye is injured? Is your turtle rubbing at it?

I'm not familiar with methynine blue---do you mean methlyene blue? If so, this is used to treat fungus in fish. I'm not sure how that's going to help your turtle's eye...I'd keep your turtle in very clean water.

Apply the cod liver oil to the lid. If this is happening to just one eye, it sounds like something else could be going on, though.

methylene blue.. yep i use it on fish.... and i dont apply water conditioner direct to turtle's eye.. i just mix with her water.... both of her eyes are closed... not much appetite... and I see "snot" bubbling out her nose...

I cant find zoo med...
can i use eye drops intended for humans?

and yes i feed her mostly krill... and fish pellets alternately...
she really wont eat veggies... but i'll try the tuna thing.. maybe if i can make the veggies smell good enough that she would eat but I dont thin that she could smell it.. her nose seems stuffy.. I also applied some cod liver oil on her shell.. then i dropped some in her mouth..

Bubbles from the nose could mean a respiratory infections. You should try to get to a vet soon. In the meantime, up the water temperature to about 80F.

Wow... have you read anything on the forum regarding turtle care?
What are fish pellets? And why would you give your turt codliver oil, when she's clearly sick w/RI? Or put it on her shell? Your turt needs medical attention ASAP, and then you need to do some serious reading on this board!

fish pellets are made form fish meal.. they are used to feed cultured fish... then i also feed her krill because of the cacium and some vit A... igave her cod liver oil because its very rich in vitamin A about 60,000 IUD.. it also strenghthens vitality, protects health, resists sickness etc... I put some on her shell because I read somewhere in this thread about a vitamin dip... so I think what i did is somewhat similar... the shell might absorb some of the cod liver oil's vitamins...

I never encountered RI before... so im doing my best here....
VETS HERE IN THE PHIL only specializes in DOGS and CATS! so putting her in a vet here would be like killing her already.. because vets here dont normaly treat turtles... and I think it would be safe to say that they won't put enough attention to them.. thus being negligent making the turtle sicker.. so i think it is best for me to care for my turtle personally... so im doing as much research as I can

and yes im turning the heat up.. I hand feed her... im giving her enough sun basking etc....

maybe she got RI latley because of the frequent tropical typhoons....

so back to my questions again... can i use human eye drops? maybe theres someone here who has background in veterenary medicine.... what is the active ingredient of zoomed eye drops or it's generic name??? thats all I need

for RI.. ill raise the temp.. and give her a boost of vitamins

hope she gets better thats all..