White thing in eye

Alex Prolucs

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Yesterday, I found this white thing in the tortoises eye after it woke up. Some said it’s just a gummy eye cause it was sleeping and I tried placing a hot humid cotton on its eye and it’s sleeping now, can someone tell me what this is?

Yesterday:
IMG_1518534355.941704.jpg


Today:

IMG_1518534442.793863.jpg
 

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Bee62

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Hi, that is not a "thing", it is the third eylid that tortoises like other animals have.
Is your tortoise sick ? Maybe a early beginning of a RI ? When you can see the third eylid there is something wrong with the tortoise.
Can you tell us more ?


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Eye problems in tortoises and turtles






Eye problems in tortoises and turtles are fairly common and not usually too difficult to treat. Turtles are often treated with an injection if antibiotics are required simply because it is impossible to keep ointments or drops on the eye for long enough to take effect, but as a rule it is not necessary to use any other treatment but cleanliness and attention to the healing process.



Healthy Chelonian Eyes
Turtles and tortoises usually have bright black eyes and they are a lot of the charm of the animal. If they appear cloudy or if the lids are puffy this is obvious more quickly than in some other reptiles where the eyes are far more hooded and do not have the brightness you see in shelled animals. The lids are fairly hard looking and the upper lid is hardly mobile at all, although the lower lid moves much more. If you look carefully you will probably just see the third eyelid in the inner corner of the eye. This is hardly visible at all when the animal is well. Turtles and tortoises have no tear duct to drain away the tears as most other animals do, so any secretions which bathe the eye must spill down the face and in reasonable quantities this is perfectly normal.



What is the problem?
A bit of detective work and common-sense will soon sort out whether the eye problem that your tortoise or turtle is suffering from is because of an infection or an injury. To begin with, it is unlikely to be an infection if it is only on one side. If there are signs like a swollen lid or one eye is closed, it is likely to be because of a scratch or possibly a small burn if there is a heat lamp in the habitat. If the tortoise is out in the garden, it could be a sting or a thorn has affected the eye. If the eye is closed and is gummy, it may help to try and get it open with a cotton wool ball soaked in boiled water that has been allowed to cool almost to room temperature. If this doesn’t work, then a visit to the vet is in order.



If both eyes are affected or the animal keeps rubbing its eyes although they look normal, it could be that there is an infection or it might be environmental such as dust or another irritant. If the eyes are open, look for small ulcers on the cornea, or clouding. Drops or ointments for humans can be used as a short term measure to make the tortoise or turtle more comfortable, but they should be taken to the vet as soon as it is convenient. If your tortoise wakes from hibernation with an eye problem, look for any foreign bodies which may have got into its eye from the bedding.



Treatment of eye problems
Many eye problems in turtles and tortoises are quite easy to sort out because they are because of mechanical damage, a scratch or a grass seed or something similar. If they are because of an infection, antibiotic creams or an injection will usually do the trick. Sometimes a tortoise will develop cataracts and these are left to take their course.



A blind tortoise will manage very well as long as its environment is risk free and of course if it is used to roaming in the garden it will need an enclosure to stop it getting itself lost, but other than that it will be fine. Sometimes, cataracts can form if the tortoise’s eyes freeze over in hibernation. This is rare but is a very good reason for making sure it is bedded down safely. These cases can resolve but in the meantime the tortoise will need more care and can behave rather erratically, as the blindness will not have been gradual. More rarely, the eye problem is caused by Vitamin A deficiency but this is something which only a vet can discover, by blood tests and also possibly a food diary.



Prevention of eye problems in chelonians
Although there are two main reasons for turtles and tortoises developing eye problems, the preventative measures are much the same and that is to be very careful with habitat and bedding. Infections and injury are both normally caused by either dirty or inappropriate bedding so by giving a lot of thought to this, most eye problems can be prevented. In the case of turtles, the water in the habitat should not only be clean but also the right temperature, as if it is too cold the animal will become stressed and will be more prone to infection. Any heat lamps in the area should be well away from sleeping and eating areas and should ideally be high up in the habitat to prevent accidental burns.



Vitamin deficiencies and also stress can be prevented very easily by feeding a nutritious and appropriate diet. This is simpler if species are kept together making them easier to feed, with the added advantage that there will be less risk of fighting. When cleaning out the environment you are doing two important tasks towards keeping the animals healthy. Firstly, you will be keeping an eye on food intake, making sure that the diet is adequate and healthy and secondly, you will be making sure that there is no rotting food left lying about to attract flies and bacteria and fungi.



Ask a Vet a Question
If you have any questions you would like answered, simply fill in the box below and receive a rapid response from one of the online veterinary surgeons.
 

Alex Prolucs

Member
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Messages
52
Location (City and/or State)
Egypt
What is the problem?
A bit of detective work and common-sense will soon sort out whether the eye problem that your tortoise or turtle is suffering from is because of an infection or an injury. To begin with, it is unlikely to be an infection if it is only on one side. If there are signs like a swollen lid or one eye is closed, it is likely to be because of a scratch or possibly a small burn if there is a heat lamp in the habitat. If the tortoise is out in the garden, it could be a sting or a thorn has affected the eye. If the eye is closed and is gummy, it may help to try and get it open with a cotton wool ball soaked in boiled water that has been allowed to cool almost to room temperature. If this doesn’t work, then a visit to the vet is in order.


Sir.. you sure that’s not just gummy eye? Third eyelid? It’s only in one eye, the other one is good, so.. from the text above it’s not an infection, I think. And I see that the eye was pure white yesterday but today it’s going less.

More info:

It keeps the eye closed most of time then opens it for like a minute. Sometimes it doesn’t fully open it, leaving a very small part visible to me.

What do you suggest, sir?
 
Last edited:

Yvonne G

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To me it looks like hardened pus - what we call an eye cap. It should come off the eyeball easily. Try to grab it with tweezers, being very careful of the eye itself. Be very gentle in case I'm wrong and it IS the third eyelid.

You'll have to hold the head out of the shell by grasping it behind the jaws.

If you can't do that, then buy (if your petshop doesn't have it, you can buy it online) this product:
eye ointment b.jpg

Apply it to the eye several times a day.

The third eyelid looks more like this:

pic193.jpg


I don't think your picture is showing the third eyelid.
 

Alex Prolucs

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To me it looks like hardened pus - what we call an eye cap. It should come off the eyeball easily. Try to grab it with tweezers, being very careful of the eye itself. Be very gentle in case I'm wrong and it IS the third eyelid.

You'll have to hold the head out of the shell by grasping it behind the jaws.

If you can't do that, then buy (if your petshop doesn't have it, you can buy it online) this product:
View attachment 230553

Apply it to the eye several times a day.

The third eyelid looks more like this:

pic193.jpg


I don't think your picture is showing the third eyelid.

What about terramycin? I just bought it today. Will it work?
 

Yvonne G

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If that white glob is hardened pus, all the medication in the world won't make it go away. It has to be removed. If there is an infection in the eye your medication will be helpful, but will do nothing to remove that hardened pus.
 

Alex Prolucs

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If that white glob is hardened pus, all the medication in the world won't make it go away. It has to be removed. If there is an infection in the eye your medication will be helpful, but will do nothing to remove that hardened pus.

If it’s a hardened pus, how can I open his eye? He closes it almost all time he’s awake.
 

Alex Prolucs

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If that white glob is hardened pus, all the medication in the world won't make it go away. It has to be removed. If there is an infection in the eye your medication will be helpful, but will do nothing to remove that hardened pus.

Well?
 

Yvonne G

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Sounds like a pretty sick tortoise. Should be on antibiotics prescribed by a vet. I think you need to try to find someone there in your area to help you.
 

Alex Prolucs

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Sounds like a pretty sick tortoise. Should be on antibiotics prescribed by a vet. I think you need to try to find someone there in your area to help you.

I don’t think there are reptile vets.. there are only cats and dogs vets.. but I can do a check on some vet I saw before in a few days.
 

Bee62

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I don’t think there are reptile vets.. there are only cats and dogs vets.. but I can do a check on some vet I saw before in a few days.
I hope it is not too late. I suspected a RI with my very first post.
A sick tortoise shows the third eylid. That is what I saw.
To help your tortoise:
Bump up the temp in the enclosure of 30 C ( 86 F ) day and night. Basking spot 40 C ( 104 F ).
Bump up the humidity too. 80 - 85 %.
Soak your tort every day for 30 min. in warm water, 100 F.
Is the tort still eating and active ?
 

ascott

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Yesterday, I found this white thing in the tortoises eye after it woke up. Some said it’s just a gummy eye cause it was sleeping and I tried placing a hot humid cotton on its eye and it’s sleeping now, can someone tell me what this is?

Yesterday:
View attachment 230247


Today:

View attachment 230248

Where did you acquire the tort? How long have you had the tort? What size is the tort? What type of foods are you offering the tort? Yes, there is such a thing as a third inner eyelid, but usually a third eyelid protrudes due to some type of pressure...perhaps a RI...so it matters how you are housing the tort and please give details on what you mean by blue uv bulb :)
 

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