# Wont open his eyes! Time for the vet?



## Hoagy (Mar 25, 2012)

Hoagy won't open his eyes still...worried about him. He's a Russian who is only about a year old. I've soaked him the last couple days, had him outside walking through the yard and tried giving him his favorite- turnip greens! Poor guy just walks around running into things and won't eat or open his eyes! Anyone have suggestions or is it time for the vet?


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## Yvonne G (Mar 25, 2012)

There is something wrong with your habitat and you need to start from the beginning and go over the whole thing, making changes as necessary.

Its not that the tortoise *won't* open his eyes, its that they are stuck shut.

So take a small-ish tub, like a dish pan, something that he can't climb out of, and put in warm water. The water should come up to the middle of his side, where the top meets the bottom (this is called the bridge). If you want, you can stir in a jar of Gerber strained carrots or a few drops of liquid bird vitamins. Leave him in this water for at LEAST a half hour. If he doesn't like it, too bad. Don't worry that the water gets cold. Your house isn't that cold. But you can position a lamp over one end of the tub for warmth if you want to.

My gut feeling is that the tortoise's habitat isn't warm enough and he stopped eating because of it. Turtles and tortoises can't digest their food unless they can get their core body temperature up past 80F degrees. That means he needs a spot in his habitat where he can sit (under the light) and warm up more than 80F degrees. Then when he gets warm enough, he'll move off away from the heat spot.

Because your tortoise is only a year old, that means he's still pretty small and he cools down quickly. So if you've been allowing him out of his habitat to roam around the house, this isn't a good idea. 

I'm sure you'll see some good results in about 3 days if you do the soak every day for a half hour. And please keep us in the loop.


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## Laura (Mar 25, 2012)

what kind of lights do you use? coil bulbs? they can irratate the eyes.. substrate? is it too dusty? 
Can you get Terramycin eye ointment? you can usually get this at a feed store. try putting that across his eyelids and that should help.


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## GeoTerraTestudo (Mar 25, 2012)

Like a runny nose, there can be several reasons why a turtle's eyes may swell shut, and the posts above cover a couple of those reasons. Another common reason is vitamin A deficiency.

If all your tortoise gets is lettuce, then his eyes might not be getting enough vitamin A, which can make them dry, puffy, and difficult to open. In the short run, your tortoise may need moisture in the form of a bath, and emergency vitamin A in the form of vitamin A eye drops. You can get them at most reptile shops, and at many general pet stores:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11311

In the long run, your tortoise needs a diet rich in vitamin A. This can come from greens like dandelions, which are rich in vitamin A. It can also come from the occasional carrot for a treat. Carrots are rich in beta-carotene, which breaks down to vitamin A in the body. You can also apply those eye drops directly to the food as a vitamin supplement.

See these threads also:
"Swollen eyes after hibernation"
"Eye caps on Russian tortoise"
"Russian excessive eye-blinking"
"Baby Russian hatchling eyes swollen"
"Again? Sore Eyes week after A+ vet visit"
"Russian Tortoise acting a bit slow and not eating much?"
"Tortoise has stopped Eating, Pooping and Sluggish"


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## ascott (Mar 25, 2012)

All good stuff here....realize that the tortoise needs you to intervene here, you need to assist him in getting the solid crusted seal off/out of his eyelid and the methods here and in the threads the Geo attached are full of ways to help you do this....then you need to evaluate your enclosure and equipment set up and determine where you can make the needed changes to help maintain a good environment for your little one....hey, you can dooooo iiiiiiittttt 

But you really need to do something now and not continue to wait....


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