Hi everyone,
I've got a Stigmochelys (Geochleone) pardalis for about two months now. His size is about 6.5 centimeters. He seemed to do allright, but the last few days it looks like he is having trouble opening his eyes.
His eyes are constantly closed, I have put him in a bath, sprayed his eyes with water but it doesn't help.
Except for opening his eyes he is acting normal, he reacts when I touch him and tries to walk away. I've also seen him drinking water. But he denies to open his eyes or eat for that mather.

His home is a 60*40*40 terarium with a UV B 10.0 lamp and a heat lamp. The temperatur on the hot side is 36 Celcius, on the cold side 25 Celcius. He receives 14 Hours light a day.

Here is a picture of his home, and the littel fella.


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This post was last modified: 02-06-2008 11:57 AM by mzilla.

It has been my experience that closed eyes are USUALLY due to the little tortoise baby being too dry. If you put him into a little bowl of water ...water that comes only halfway up his side to the bridge (the area where the top meets the bottom)...and leave him there for at least 15 minutes, do his eyes open?

Yvonne

Nope, I tried that. Well maybe bot for 15 minutes, but 10 minutes for sure. The air humidity is between the 70% and 90% , and I always keep a wet spot.

Hi Mzilla,
There are probably a few things wrong with your Leopard tortoise. The first one is it's way to humid. A humid hide is fine, but having the whole enclosure that humid isn't good.
The substrate should also be dry. A wet substrate will cause shell rot in Leopard tortoises.
It's possible that your Leopard either has a vitamin A deficiency or a respiratory infection. If at all possible you should bring the tortoise to a vet that has tortoise experience.
Are you giving any supplements?

Danny

Which UVB bulb are you using? If it is ReptiGlo 10, turn it off now. It has a history of causing eye problems as well as other health problems. The ReptiSun 10 and the ReptiGlo 8 are OK. Do you have a temp gun or digital thermometer with a probe? If not you need one to get accurate temps. He may be too hot. And yes, an exotics vet is needed for medication for those eyes. Good luck.
Patsy

I found the site on the Bearded Dragon forum that has the info about the UVB lights: http://uvguide.co.uk
Patsy

i am having the same problem with my baby leopard he sleeps all day a hardly opens his eyes he doesn't have much of an appetite will only eat leafy lettuce and maybe some mazuri he doesn't even come out when the lights come on i have to get him under the basking light.

i have added mulch to the warm side and spray it and that seems to have made a big difference his eyes are open he is eating and moving everything seems fine now they do drink quit a bit of water.