Hi All!
Sorry this is long.
Happy to finally find an active Star forum. I have 3 Indian Star's, Lyra F 3.5 yrs, Orion M 3.5 yrs & Ringo M 7 yrs. This post concerns Ringo.
I recently adopted Ringo and am his 3rd caretaker. I was told that he was blind in his left eye from an infection he had gotten a year prior and that he frequently had an inflamed right eye. (pic 1) He was not eating and his female companion had recently died. He was kept with a Russian tort. The last owner's vet treated him with Baytril injections and Baytril spray (never have heard of spray) into his good eye just prior to me picking him up in the beginning of Dec.
When I took him out of his traveling box I noticed that he had what looked like pine wood shavings (confirmed after receiving email reply from the former owner) crammed down into his neck and leg areas. His left eye was extremely swollen, inflamed and he had a good size hole that was filled with dried over puss. (pic 2 & 3) His right eye was slightly red.
I immediately got advice from two long time tort keeper friends and started treating him with teramycin powder/water soaks for several days, flushed his eyes with saline and applied teramycin ointment twice a day. I got him into my reptile vet within a few days. By this time the puss scab had fallen off from the ointment and he had an open hole which looked to be where the eye had bin. The vet scrapped out the remaining puss, thought that the eye was gone and recommended that I continue with my treatment and schedule an appointment to cut out the remaining infected tissue and stitch his lid shut. This would have required sedation. Home we went where I kept him on a sterile substrate of paper towels to help keep anything form getting into the wound.
Within a week Ringo began eating again and one morning I had a wonderful surprise of an eye peaking out from a now functioning lower lid. Within 2 weeks there was noticeable improvement in the inflammation and swelling. We returned for our follow up vet appointment and the Doc was pleasantly surprised with Ringo's improvement and the fact he had an eye after all. He noted that the retina looked to be in good shape when viewed.
It is now 2 months later and I still treat him twice a day. His upper eye lid is healing over, the redness is down but he still has a much larger than normal eye area. His lids function. He still does not seem to see out of the eye. He is a good eater and is very active. He is now with the other Star's and on coconut bark. I may try aspen bedding as it's less expensive. (pic 4)
Have any of you seen something like this before? How did you treat?
I am assuming that the upper lid will scab, eventually fall off and that he will have new skin growth underneath?
What are your thoughts concerning his regaining site in the eye?
Do you think this could have been caused by long term exposure to pine shavings or just improper husbandry.
Thanks,
Misty
Sorry this is long.
Happy to finally find an active Star forum. I have 3 Indian Star's, Lyra F 3.5 yrs, Orion M 3.5 yrs & Ringo M 7 yrs. This post concerns Ringo.
I recently adopted Ringo and am his 3rd caretaker. I was told that he was blind in his left eye from an infection he had gotten a year prior and that he frequently had an inflamed right eye. (pic 1) He was not eating and his female companion had recently died. He was kept with a Russian tort. The last owner's vet treated him with Baytril injections and Baytril spray (never have heard of spray) into his good eye just prior to me picking him up in the beginning of Dec.
When I took him out of his traveling box I noticed that he had what looked like pine wood shavings (confirmed after receiving email reply from the former owner) crammed down into his neck and leg areas. His left eye was extremely swollen, inflamed and he had a good size hole that was filled with dried over puss. (pic 2 & 3) His right eye was slightly red.
I immediately got advice from two long time tort keeper friends and started treating him with teramycin powder/water soaks for several days, flushed his eyes with saline and applied teramycin ointment twice a day. I got him into my reptile vet within a few days. By this time the puss scab had fallen off from the ointment and he had an open hole which looked to be where the eye had bin. The vet scrapped out the remaining puss, thought that the eye was gone and recommended that I continue with my treatment and schedule an appointment to cut out the remaining infected tissue and stitch his lid shut. This would have required sedation. Home we went where I kept him on a sterile substrate of paper towels to help keep anything form getting into the wound.
Within a week Ringo began eating again and one morning I had a wonderful surprise of an eye peaking out from a now functioning lower lid. Within 2 weeks there was noticeable improvement in the inflammation and swelling. We returned for our follow up vet appointment and the Doc was pleasantly surprised with Ringo's improvement and the fact he had an eye after all. He noted that the retina looked to be in good shape when viewed.
It is now 2 months later and I still treat him twice a day. His upper eye lid is healing over, the redness is down but he still has a much larger than normal eye area. His lids function. He still does not seem to see out of the eye. He is a good eater and is very active. He is now with the other Star's and on coconut bark. I may try aspen bedding as it's less expensive. (pic 4)
Have any of you seen something like this before? How did you treat?
I am assuming that the upper lid will scab, eventually fall off and that he will have new skin growth underneath?
What are your thoughts concerning his regaining site in the eye?
Do you think this could have been caused by long term exposure to pine shavings or just improper husbandry.
Thanks,
Misty