Baby tortoise won't open her eyes.

AZTorts

Active Member
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
139
Location (City and/or State)
Arizona
Hello. I have a baby tortoise with swollen eyes.She does not eat for almost 3 weeks now.I read that swollen eyes are a sign of vitamin A deficiency and I give her vitamin A in drops for almost 2 weeks but i don't see any changes in her condition.Can anyone help me please because I don't know what to do.Thank you

When I got my baby tortoises one of them would not open his eyes or eat or walk. I started soaking him in half baby food carrots and half water. I used Gerber 2nd foods all natural carrots. Make sure the water/carrots are not too warm or too cold. The level should come to where her top and bottom shell meet. Soak about 3 times a day for 20 to 30 minutes each time. I put Zoo Med Repti Turtle eye drops in his eyes once a day. I also force feed him. That does not mean I shoved food down his throat. I made a little "spoon" out of a straw that enabled me to gently pry his mouth open just enough to where I could get some baby food pureed carrots and green beans into his mouth. You have to be careful not to get the food in the nose. If you want to know what the straw/spoon looks like, let me know and I will show you a picture of it. I don't know how long my baby had been in that condition because he was like that when I got him. He was 8 months old at the time. I hope this helps. Keep us updated.
 

Tyanna

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2014
Messages
1,077
Location (City and/or State)
Wisconsin
Hello. I have a baby tortoise with swollen eyes.She does not eat for almost 3 weeks now.I read that swollen eyes are a sign of vitamin A deficiency and I give her vitamin A in drops for almost 2 weeks but i don't see any changes in her condition.Can anyone help me please because I don't know what to do.Thank you


You should start a new thread in the correct place where we can answer all your questions separately. It depends, what kind of bulb are you using?
 

Helena1990

New Member
Joined
Oct 9, 2014
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
Chisinau, Moldova
When I got my baby tortoises one of them would not open his eyes or eat or walk. I started soaking him in half baby food carrots and half water. I used Gerber 2nd foods all natural carrots. Make sure the water/carrots are not too warm or too cold. The level should come to where her top and bottom shell meet. Soak about 3 times a day for 20 to 30 minutes each time. I put Zoo Med Repti Turtle eye drops in his eyes once a day. I also force feed him. That does not mean I shoved food down his throat. I made a little "spoon" out of a straw that enabled me to gently pry his mouth open just enough to where I could get some baby food pureed carrots and green beans into his mouth. You have to be careful not to get the food in the nose. If you want to know what the straw/spoon looks like, let me know and I will show you a picture of it. I don't know how long my baby had been in that condition because he was like that when I got him. He was 8 months old at the time. I hope this helps. Keep us updated.
I will try to soak her in baby food carrots and see if she gets better.Thank you for the advice.
 

tortdad

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 3, 2014
Messages
5,567
Location (City and/or State)
NW Houston TX
I will try to soak her in baby food carrots and see if she gets better.Thank you for the advice.

You could also be keeping the tort too hot. What are the temps and humidity level of your tort?


0.0.1 Redfoot (Spike)
0.0.1 Cherryhead Redfoot (Bruce Wayne)
1.0 Sulcata (Hal Jordan)
 

Star_devina

New Member
Joined
Jan 23, 2021
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
Hesperia
Hello, Iv recently bought a young tortoise just under 1 year old, we think it's a she but obviously too young to tell yet. She seems healthy and happy except she sleeps a lot and we have noticed she likes to walk around with her eyes closed, feeling her way with her nose. Thinking she had substrate in them we have been given her regular baths each day in warm water and used a cotton bud to very gently clean her eyes which she is happy to let you do, she will then open them, has no probs opening them fully, and they seem fine, slightly watery but I'm guessing that's from the bath. She has a small appetite so I'm ensuring she is getting plenty of water.
Substrate used is top soil, diet of wild flowers and weeds cleared by tortoise trust. UVA and UVB Spotlight, nice large open tort table and she roams around the garden in good weather, monitored obviously as she is so small.

We have another horsfield pebbles, he lives separately outside and have been quarantineing her just incase.
Do you think a trip to the vets is needed if there was an infection there would be bubbly nose probs breathing ect surely?, I'm wondering if torts can be blind?
 
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