Box turtle hatchling eye problems

[EppsDynasty]

@mhamilton0911 .....

DON"T GIVE UP !!

Yes sick, Yes it looks bad, Yes it's a mess of emotions BUT imagine saving him/her and having a lifetime of Love and a real relationship with a creature you saved ..... it's definitely worth it.

 

[EppsDynasty]

You have to keep the eyes open ....Humidity is key. If you have to soak for 10 minutes 5 times a day to accomplish this then that's what you do. Having Moss is a bad sign for the level of understanding by the seller ... Moss is DEATH. 1 Hour at a Time, then 1 day at a time and then the vet appt. will be here and maybe some help. I wish I could I was closer to you .....

 

[mhamilton0911]

You have to keep the eyes open ....Humidity is key. If you have to soak for 10 minutes 5 times a day to accomplish this then that's what you do. Having Moss is a bad sign for the level of understanding by the seller ... Moss is DEATH. 1 Hour at a Time, then 1 day at a time and then the vet appt. will be here and maybe some help. I wish I could I was closer to you .....

Should I switch back to the tub with water and paper towels?

I have a 15L storage tub with latching lid, breeder style. I can go back to that if that will be better than moss and rocks right now.

Unfortunately we just got a big dose of winter weather so hopefully the live foods will still arrive tomorrow..

Hopefully the vet can test for what bacteria we might be dealing with, I want to know for sure if it's austwickia chelonae before I mention the seller specifically. Because my guy certainly didn't get it from me, first turtle with all new equipment.

Seller goes to expos and has a large collection so if it's really this bacteria it's gonna got him hard too.

 

[Ink]

Why did you start with the fungal bath drops? I never heard of that stuff. However I'm not an expert. Also, my box turtle has moss in his enclosure. I do not have moss with my tortoise.

 

[mhamilton0911]

Why did you start with the fungal bath drops? I never heard of that stuff. However I'm not an expert. Also, my box turtle has moss in his enclosure. I do not have moss with my tortoise.

From the beginning one eye was worse and looked off. The product came up searching for eye drops so I got that too.

I initially tried to do the coir/chips/moss substrate mix but after realizing the eyes were a problem I've tried to minimize. I'm thinking I should go back to tub during treatment for the time being.

 

[Ink]

From the beginning one eye was worse and looked off. The product came up searching for eye drops so I got that too.

I initially tried to do the coir/chips/moss substrate mix but after realizing the eyes were a problem I've tried to minimize. I'm thinking I should go back to tub during treatment for the time being.

How often do you use the fungal bath? When your turtle feels better I use forest floor coco coir, coir on the bottom. I personally would stop the fungal bath for now. I would go to the tub too. Make sure he has places to hide, food and proper lighting to stay warm. My opinion.

 

[turtlesteve]

To confirm what this is, you will need to have your vet send a sample of one of the bacterial? lesions to UF for biopsy (they are probably most experienced with this disease).

We really don’t see many symptomatic Austwickia cases in adults, and it also has some incubation period before babies become symptomatic. So what usually happens is breeders inadvertently infect the fresh hatchlings due to lack of biosecurity, but then sell them all before they show symptoms. This can lead to people spreading it for years…

I’m still not 100% sure this is Austwickia HOWEVER there does seem to be a major outbreak of it right now. A lot of active threads have been started seemingly all at once. I also have been having an off-line discussion about a likely case in a group of aquatic turtles (sadly I don’t have permission to post photos).

 

[EppsDynasty]

Should I switch back to the tub with water and paper towels?

Whatever you need to do to keep the humidity at or above 80% In a situation like this what we do is ...
Put animal in a Tote with lid in an area that never drops below 85 Degrees, a bathroom with space heater works great. You are never going to make progress if the Humidity drops or the Heat drops, consistency is key to this. We have even had people that do not have a lid put a Humidifier and Heater in a Bathroom to accomplish this. I am no vet or expert on disease so the Vet may be a good thing to do but don't count on answers coming from that visit. Since the issue is still continuing I would think your Fungal drops are pointless and not worth using, definitely something to ask the vet.

 

[jeff kushner]

MH, you have heard from some real talent.


Now however I am going to suggest some "magic". This advice was suggested by one of the most talented members here when my baby box turtle was having a bad time--- a "carrot soak"! Between you and me, I thought she was nuts.....but in mere days my baby Eastern box turtle got better. Buy some Gerbers strained carrots for kids.....warm to 85- 90F and place turtle in it. I used a small Tupperware to keep him from crawling out. I kept it warm by placing the tub in a sink with 2" of warm water. 20min at a time 3x a day for a week.

Sometimes people just know things...

Little Matilda made a miraculous recovery and that was 3 yrs or so ago. Thanks again Y!!

 

[EppsDynasty]

Thanks again Y!!

A True Treasure this world has in you ..... Our family owes you so much and our lives and those of the ones we save would never be, without YOU !

This advice was suggested by one of the most talented members here

Talented? Yes without any questions but also Loving, Compassionate, Intelligent and 1 Hell of a Friend as well. Some of us are Blessed to have a Genuine Loving Soul as a friend, we know we are blessed.

 

[mhamilton0911]

I scored an earlier appt yesterday because of a cancellation.

Vet didn't think it was the Austwickia chelonae bacteria since there were no visible spots or boils. She also didn't want to do any antibiotics due to his small size. I showed all pictures from the time I got him and she thinks the toes looked worse a week ago and now look better. Obviously suspecting a bacteria or fungal situation but not the above mentioned. Unfortunately no testing to confirm.

She recommend supportive treatment as I was doing, as many soaks as I can, keep using vit A eye drops, add more oral vitamins, specifically A and B12, treat toes with diluted betadine 3x daily, change to dry tub with high humidity.

Tub is now just food and soaking tub, no standing water but misted and humidity says 99% and 80f.

I did get the live foods but my guy is not all at all interested.

 

[turtlesteve]

I mean no offense by this but the supportive soaks and care regime recommended by your vet is essentially hospice care. The chances of the hatchling surviving without antibacterial or anti fungal meds (depending on what it needs) are low.

With the uncertainty here, personally, I would treat with antibiotics anyways…

 

[mhamilton0911]

I mean no offense by this but the supportive soaks and care regime recommended by your vet is essentially hospice care. The chances of the hatchling surviving without antibacterial or anti fungal meds (depending on what it needs) are low.

With the uncertainty here, personally, I would treat with antibiotics anyways…

Correct, she didn't give the best outlook for him.

And unfortunately, he's passed.

Not sure what to do at this point..

 

[Ink]

Sorry for your loss.

 

[Daffodil]

I am so sorry. You did everything you could.

 

[turtlesteve]

I am very sorry to hear.

 

[laura2good]

Correct, she didn't give the best outlook for him.

And unfortunately, he's passed.

Not sure what to do at this point..

really hope you try again. Also happy that ur turtle got someone who took such good care of him as you did. Heartbroken for you and your little guy and thinking of you

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Correct, she didn't give the best outlook for him.

And unfortunately, he's passed.

Not sure what to do at this point..

I am so sorry for your loss

 

[EppsDynasty]

Not sure what to do at this point..

Well ...
You do what should be done, you let anyone and everyone know what happened and 'WHO' you obtained the Turtle from. As has been mentioned they may not even know there is an issue, keeping quiet only guarantees more suffer.

1 question ..... What is more important
That no other Turtle suffers like this or that the Breeder sells some more?

Not sure what to do at this point..

Obvious isn't it.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Well ...
You do what should be done, you let anyone and everyone know what happened and 'WHO' you obtained the Turtle from. As has been mentioned they may not even know there is an issue, keeping quiet only guarantees more suffer.

1 question ..... What is more important
That no other Turtle suffers like this or that the Breeder sells some more?

Obvious isn't it.

If you decide to go that way, we have a section for it:

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