Urgent Care :: Turtle Eye Drops

[Spiritualjoy]

Hello. I just bought the Turtle Eye Drops yesterday and put them on my girls eyes. Today I put them on again, and noticed now that she is having issues with BOTH eyes instead of just one. When I put the drops in her eyes, should I keep her out of the water for a bit to make sure they soak in good? Both times I have put them in her eyes, she has jumped right back in the water. Did that wash the stuff right off? If I put them on her eyes again today and keep her out - will that be too much for one day?
Thanks for your help!

[megcornell]

I usually don't keep my turtle out after giving the eye drops and I still get good results so its a personal preference I guess.
What kind of UVB light do you have and how far is it from the basking area?

[Spiritualjoy]

I have the T-REX Active UV heat /UVB producing heat lamp that is 100 watt flood. It is 12 inches from the basking area.

[Spiritualjoy]

She is having trouble opening both of her eyes now while under water and out of the water. She keeps using her front paws to try to open them, but only one eye opens a little bit every now and then. Her name is Weezy - her boyfriend George is being her "seeing eye turtle" and helping her around the tank. There are no symptoms of RI at this time - breathing fine, nothing coming out of her nose and mouth. Just sleeping alot under water and not eating. She has always been a picky eater, and some days she just chooses not to eat at all. She has been that way for a year now! Both of them are that way!

[SpotsMama]

You can keep her out for few minutes after you've put the drops in.

You should know that three of the key symptoms of RI are irritated eyes, lethargy and poor appetite. A turtle doesn't have to have all the symptoms of RI to have it. Early on, they will have just a few symptoms and then will show more and more as time goes by and the disease gets more severe. Just a warning. The other symptoms most commonly mentioned are breathing with the mouth open or yawning a lot, mucus from the mouth or nose (these two symptoms you mentioned) and swimming lopsided or difficulty submerging. If it were me, I'd take my turtle to see the vet right now on the theory that illnesses are easier to treat early on.

Here's a standard caution for anyone taking their turtle to see a vet. If the vet offers to give a vitamin A shot, first make sure the vet is positive your turtle really needs vitamin A and then discuss other alternatives to shots with the vet like eye drops with vitamin A, cod liver oil or food supplements. Several turtles have recently had very bad reactions to vitamin A shots and I think it's best that if vitamin A is needed (and often it's not) the safer methods be used instead.

[mikee]

Sual -Joy -- RI is a good possibility, however, I would check the uvb lighting and see if it is a 5 or a 10 uvb rated bulb. At any rate, I would cut back on the uvb put eye drops in he eyes and keep them wet with the drops for several hours. That would require dry docking him in a warm area. If you just sit him out he will get chilled and that will not help him. If he does not clear up in a day or so, it will be vet time.

[Spiritualjoy]

Sounds good - I will try that and see how it goes. I appreciate your help. From all of the readings I have done on the uvb/heat lamp I have - its the highest recommended and used in many zoos, etc. I have been using this lamp for 6 months with no problems - hopefully I can get this worked out. If not, I will take her to the vet.

[Spiritualjoy]

Ok - I have her dry docked in a bin with towels and a ceramic heat lamp above her. I put the drops on her eyes and will let her sit out for a while. Hopefully this will help! I will keep you posted!

[steve]

Has George been fluttering (waving/vibrating his claws in her face)? My male RES would do that non-stop, and it could be a cause for Weezy's eye irritation.

[Spiritualjoy]

I haven't seen him do that yet, but will definitely keep an eye on him and see if he is doing it! Thanks for the heads up!

[Spiritualjoy]

I just checked on her and she is sound asleep under the heat lamp in the towels. I put drops on her eyes when I first put her in there, should I reapply or would that be too much? Is the sleeping a sign of something bad, or is that a good thing?

[mikee]

S-Joy -- Make sure that it is not too hot. About 85 or 90 degrees max. He has no place to run if he too hot.

[Spiritualjoy]

I will. Its a pretty big bin with the heater at one end. The other end is pretty cool if she needed to get out of the heat. She is still sleeping directly under the heater. I just checked her to see if she was alive or not, she has been still for so long! What do you think about more drops on her eyes now?

[mikee]

S-Joy -- I would suggest that you check the temperature where the turtle is. Yes, on the eye drops. The point I was trying to make was that if the drops don't work in the water they may work better if out of the water and kept damp.

[Spiritualjoy]

Got it. Thanks!