Baby has a closed eye

[Wendy Proulx]

I have noticed the past two days that my baby’s left eye is shut in the morning. Seems that after he soaks that it opens up again. There may be a little white mucus around that eye, but not very noticeable. 2 things changed recently that I’m not sure contributed or not and I’m looking for thoughts. We had lost power the one night and his tank got a little colder than I was happy with. After that his red heat bulb had burned out due to the power surge so with the the recommendations here, I replaced it with the ceramic type. Not sure if it was the night of cold or the new night drying out and effecting his eye. Wondering if I need to take him to the Vet. It’s very cold outside, and I don’t want to take him unless it is necessary. Any help would be great appreciated.

 

[Gillian M]

Sorry to hear about the mucus around your tort's eye.

Can't help: am no tort expert. But will tag experts here who could help:

@Yvonne G
@Tom

your help is needed here. Thank you both.

@Wendy Proulx , hope your tort recovers soon. Please keep us updated.

 

[Bee62]

I have noticed the past two days that my baby’s left eye is shut in the morning. Seems that after he soaks that it opens up again. There may be a little white mucus around that eye, but not very noticeable. 2 things changed recently that I’m not sure contributed or not and I’m looking for thoughts. We had lost power the one night and his tank got a little colder than I was happy with. After that his red heat bulb had burned out due to the power surge so with the the recommendations here, I replaced it with the ceramic type. Not sure if it was the night of cold or the new night drying out and effecting his eye. Wondering if I need to take him to the Vet. It’s very cold outside, and I don’t want to take him unless it is necessary. Any help would be great appreciated.

Hello, how cold was it in the enclosure of your baby tort when you lost power ? Mucos and a close eye can be the early signs of a respiration infect.
Can you show us some pics of your tort and the enclosure ?
For the first aid push the temps overall in the enclosure to 88 F day and night ( basking spot should be 100 F ). Run a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat for the night. No light at night, only warmth, and keep humidity high at 85 %. When your baby is not getting better after a week or when he completely stopps eating, take him to a VET.
Please don`t forget to soak the baby tort daily for 30 minutes in warm water that stays warm during the soak.
Good luck that he is not really bad sick.

 

[Tom]

What species and size tortoise are we talking about?
How cold did it get when the heat lamp burned out?
What is your overnight low with the CHE in place?
What is the humidity in the enclosure?

 

[Redstrike]

If you think there is an eye infection you can pick up terramycin ophthalmic ointment at tractor supply and apply it lightly to the troublesome eye.

This could simply be a humidity issue. If it’s too dry the trots eyes will be sticky. What is your overall humidity in the enclosure? You want to shoot for 70% (+/- 5) for Redfoots. I had a similar issue years ago when i received my first two cherryheads. Once i addressed the humidity, things cleared up rapidly.

Lastly, as Tom said, what are you temps and what substrate are you using?
Shoot for a warm end ~85 and a cool end no lower than 80. Basking spots are debatable for redfoots but mine get them as an option (and they use it).

Don’t let your night temperature drop below 80ish. Use ceramic heat emitters and thermostats.

 

[Wendy Proulx]

He is a 5 month old yellow foot. He is doing much better. Yesterday he didn’t hold his eye closed at all. 1 out of his 3 heat bulbs were out for about a day till I could replace it, but with the power out the tank did get down to 65. Normally his tank is between 85-95 with the humidity right around 60. I just purchased a reptile humidifier that I hooked up last night, so I am interested in how that will adjust everything. He is still eating and is active. Thanks for all the help.

 

[Wendy Proulx]

Forgot to answer...His substrate is cypress mulch and soil and his night temp is 80

 

[Redstrike]

I’m a big fan of CHE’s and thermostats. I have one 50watt flood lamp about 12 inches above some slate as a basking location but my enclosure is heated with CHE’s. It keeps the temperature more stable in my situation.

I’d up the humidity to 70% minimum for a yellow foot, i hope your humidifier helps with this!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

No offense to the lovely @Bee62 but 100 degrees is entirely too hot for a Redfoot tortoise.
Bright lights and/or too much heat can cause stress to them.
Avoid a basking area and try to get the entire enclosure to between 81 and 84 degrees. This is IDEAL.
The wrong type of UVB lighting or mounting it incorrectly can also injure eyes.

 

[Bee62]

No offense to the lovely @Bee62 but 100 degrees is entirely too hot for a Redfoot tortoise.
Bright lights and/or too much heat can cause stress to them.
Avoid a basking area and try to get the entire enclosure to between 81 and 84 degrees. This is IDEAL.
The wrong type of UVB lighting or mounting it incorrectly can also injure eyes.

Sorry Ed @ZEROPILOT , but I thought a sick baby needs more warmth, and thank you for the "lovely".

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Sorry Ed @ZEROPILOT , but I thought a sick baby needs more warmth, and thank you for the "lovely".

Redfoot overheat very easily.
They're one of the shade loving species.
....And you ARE lovely.

 

[Bee62]

Redfoot overheat very easily.
They're one of the shade loving species.
....And you ARE lovely.

Thank you ...

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Hows that eye?

 

[Wendy Proulx]

Doing well. Only found it closed a few times in the morning before soaking. The humidifier is really helping to keep it right at 70 degrees. My house is really hard to heat in the winter, so I think I a going to be playing with the temps and the humidity a lot n the next few months.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Doing well. Only found it closed a few times in the morning before soaking. The humidifier is really helping to keep it right at 70 degrees. My house is really hard to heat in the winter, so I think I a going to be playing with the temps and the humidity a lot n the next few months.

You mean 70% and not 70 degrees, right?
Because 70 degrees and humid is not warm enough.
You'll see. Things will get easier soon.

 

[Wendy Proulx]

Yes, sorry 70% humidity and 80-85 degrees

 

[TammyJ]

So glad you are getting some good help! All the best.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

It sounds like you're getting it all squared away.
Nice job.