Day #2 , since Exo-terra repti-GLO 10.0 florecent Tube was removed...

Fredrick slept 1/2 in 1/2 out of his hide last night, closest he's ever been near to it since we got him a couple weeks ago.

He's back to opening his right eye partially when we pick him up.. left eye still remains "sealed" shut until we soak him or apply the eye drops.

Still better then both eyes being sealed in the mornings.

He's still quick slow to get roused awake.. but once both eyes are well moistened he perks up and roams around and eats. ( Im weening him off lettuce right now so he's not eating as much grass as he would be lettuce in comparrison but im not worried bout that .. its to be expected ).

Within a couple minutes of being placed back in his enclosure he finds a place thats comfy and stretches out and back to sleep.

Improvements while minor.. are still improvements.

Can only hope im on the right track with it.

1 more day of no UV lights then i'll re-introduce a Repti-sun 5.0 into his enclosure for a couple hours 1st day, then 1/2 day on the 2nd.. and back to full 12 - 13 hour day by the 3rd.

Will continue with updates just so anyone else whos had this issue can see how mines going.

fingers crossed that ive found the solution to the poor guys ailments.

good luck!
keep up posted.

Thank you Blair for being long winded.
I have not noticed a problem with my tortoises or turtles having issues with thier eyes yet. But now what are we suppose to do for UVB light now that this info is out? Dont remember reading anything about that. Guess I will be moving my bulbs closer to the substrate on both tables for the time being.

Don't we get UVA from the heat lights we use for basking? Seems to me I read that. And what are we suppose to do for the important uvB now since the lights we are using are not emitting enough to do good only emitting other UVC and weak UVA that do harm?

Not all bulbs are bad for your torts. Sunlight of course is the best sourse of uvb and uva. Uva as I understand it is like the grow bulb for plants. Not in the Heat bulbs those are Infared and would put out an insignificant amount of Uva.

Here is some info on lighting and heating,
http://www.anapsid.org/liteheat.html

and different bulbs types,
http://www.uvguide.co.uk/mercuryvapourlamps.htm
http://www.russiantortoise.org/uvb.htm

Another Update!

today Fredrick opened his right eye without issue, however the left was still not openeing, administered an eyedrop to the left.. it opened... during his bath he was scratching at it, and a large dried bit of skin that was making his left eye look like it had a double eye lid.. began to flake off, now only being held by a small section at the front of his left eye.

He seemed even releived by getting it that far off, be proceeded to eat and walked around my whole livingroom for at least an hour and a half before getting sleepy and losing interest in things.

Placed him back in his enclosure, where he wandered for another 20 minutes or so before settling on a spot to sleep.. on top of a large pile of hay right in the middle of the enclosure. Yet again not in his basking spot like he used to do!.


few hours later I woke him for his 2nd eyedrop of the day, upon administering the eyedrop, he successfully gfot rid of the remaining dry /damaged skin.

Now both the left and the right eyes look "normal" and symmetrical as they should.

Nice glossy black eyes once more.


Another steady day of what i would consider imrpovements.

Tomorrow will be his last day without any UV bulb.

then Thursday we start with a reptisun 5.0 bulb at 10" with a reflector for 5 hours, friday will double that time. and then back to normal lighting.


*fingers crossed that this keeps improving*

wonderfull news!
congratulations.

I am so happy for Fredrick and you Blair.

Another update

A few days ago i started giving Fredrick codliver oil drops in his eyes once a day... as they were now healing with alot of dry skin and getting stuck...

I cleaned out his enclosure, got the new UVB light working with a custom made ballast.

and for the last 2 or 3 days, he wakes up within 20 min of the lights coming on in the morning, both eyes open without need for eyedrops , he roams for a long while , eats some, nakes a nap and repeats... He's picking a variety of places to hang out in his enclosure now.. and he even uses his hide!

So.. I'm confident we found and solved the problem. ExoTerra Repti-Glo 10.0 florecent tubes are baaad for mr tortoise !

Well,

Its with sad news that I have to report that my poor freddy has yet again taken a turn for the worse..

after introducing his new UV light to his enclosure, and with eyedrops his eyes cleared up and became healthy looking.. his activity level went up considerably for 2 - 3 days afterwards..

but in the last 2 days his health has declined to worse then it was prior.

He is no longer waking up, will not open his eyes even during a bath.
He is limp to be held.. has no reaction when we tug on his legs.

He just gives a slight head bob now and again.

Does not move from where he is placed.

His first sign of decline was when we took him out for a bath and a feeding
he was unable to hold his weight up as he walked.. and would stumble down onto his front as he attempt to walk toward his food.. "acting drunk" as my fiance called it.

very distressing to see him in such a way.

the very next day he was limp and unresponsive.

Last trip to the vet came back with healthy test results.. no paracites or the like.

He has gained a gram or two of weight since we got him.. his appetite was strong even throughout his eye issues...

now he seems to just barely be clinging to life.

I'm so upset about this. So much time and effort put into our attempts to rehabilitate him and just when things were looking up.. he's crashed to a new low.

All we can do is wait and see now. I will attempt to rouse him awake to tempt him to eat and give him a bath 2x a day..

but im at the limits of my efforts for this guy. Im at a loss as to what else I could possibly do.

poor freddy. Its amazing how much he's become a part of our family in the month we've had him. Right from the start he was not a strong little guy , we have only tried our best to make him well.

perhapse it just isnt meant to be.

Im just not sure what else can be done.

I hope he pulls through, but ive never seen an animal look so weak and disoriented in my time with keeping various reptiles.

Here's a video of him attempting to walk when we first realized he was slipping back into his ailment.. 2 days ago before he declined to the total inactive state that he's currently in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jg9jvHALcM

I am so so sorry to hear Freddy has made a turn for the worst. My thoughts and prayers are with you and Freddy at this time. Are you planning another trip to the Vet?