I SCARED MY BABYS GOING TO DIE :'(

[diamondbp]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

Soak it in warm water often, maybe 3 times a day for roughly 15 minutes, do that for the next several days, make sure his enclosure has a high humidity level, you don't want it bone dry for sure

 

[looneybug]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

Are there any oinments? I soak him 3 tyms a day in a carrot juice/babyfood water mix and his humidity is high

 

[sibi]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

Loonybug may want to add that her baby has a somewhat swollen plastron. Does anyone have advice for
her?

 

[ascott]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9674

You can use this ointment. Have you started doing the bathroom sauna yet?

 

[Candy]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

I have been putting Terramycin on the baby sully that I'm watching right now and it's helping. The only thing is that people tell me that it's hard to get but I don't know why. I've had mine for a year now. I hear that you've been soaking your baby in carrot mixture. Is it a 30 minute soak? What kind of lighting do you have on him? I put a cover over my enclosure to keep the humidity in, but tell me about yours. I think that I remember reading that you had a heat emitter on your little guy. What are the temps in the enclosure? Yvonne had mentioned using something else on the eyes, maybe you could pm her and ask.

 

[looneybug]

I will and I will keep you posted thanks for the help
Sally- I'm gunna try some fruit but I might take you up on that offer if he doesn't take the fruit

 

[ascott]

I would not be freaking out just yet about a URI....a tortoise will extend his neck for stretching..and opening their mouth does not automatically equal a URI

Tortoise extend their limbs/extremities often...they also yawn. If your tort has not pooped for some time and has now passed poop that is a good thing....I would keep soaking, I would do the bathroom sauna as part of his treatment and I would also try to encourage him to move about....such as in his bath perhaps leave him in the warm water a bit longer until he begins to move about trying to get out--make sure the water remains warm....also, try to offer just a plain warm water bath at least once a day--he may not like the flavor of the treated water with the vitamins (ick, they likely taste gross) and this will allow him an opportunity for plain yummy water....

 

[sibi]

Angela, what about the swollen plastron? I recommend that she take him back to the vet to further explore any problems with URI and the swollen plastron? Better to catch these things earlier rather than later.

 

[ascott]

If the plastron is indeed swollen, I would suspect an impaction issue along with water retention....these would be the first thing I would think if there is an issue of a swollen plastron....now, I always wonder if someone who is so very inthralled with an ailing tort begins to see with eyes much more sensitive to anything and everything that "may" be the problem---and with good cause for that, I totally understand.

However, I wonder if the tort was already a little round and perhaps the eyes are seeing as a bit more round now since so much focus is on the tort, do you know what I mean?

To me, a trip to the vet is only beneficial if the vet you are going to is a proven tortoise vet---and has treated many--as well as many species to know some variations....a car ride and then being pulled on and probed and handled in a new/different environment when the tort is already still new to the environment he is in...to me can be dangerous and can cause stress---stress is a real issue for a torts health...

So, while I do not have all of the answers in this little torts situation, a trip to an unexperienced/unversed vet can be very harmful...

 

[looneybug]

Trust me I might just be seeing things I am scared out of my mind right now. And I'm trying to figure out what the heck is wrong.
My vet does deal with a lot off torts but I don't want to take him back if I don't need to because he's so fragile rite now I'm scared to transport him and like you said proded by a random stranger

 

[looneybug]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

Thank you sibi for adding that

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Yes I did the sauna today and he seemed more active then when I picked him up he peed in my hand
And yes I soak him in carrot water mix 3/day and for about 25-30 min
Hot spot 95-100
Warm side high 80s - 90s range
Cool side high 70s to low 80s
Night 75-80
Hotspot night is ~85
Uva/uvb florescent heat bulb

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The humidity is usually mid-high 70s

 

[shelloise]

I'm os sorry you are going through this with your baby. When shelloise was very sick and would not eat, we tried everything and she finally ate some finely minced up cactus pad, Can u try that?

 

[looneybug]

I will try that tomorrow morning thank you

 

[sibi]

I agree with both you and Angela. What I'm saying is that for your own piece of mind, and for the potential health threat to your baby (since no one really knows what's ailing the baby), I still recommend he goes to the vet. This is why: so many babies have some of the same issues that yours is going through. Right on this forum, the stories of those whose babies died are heart-breaking. In some cases, the babies had parasites or worms that the owner had no idea was there. Other stories of babies sticking out their necks and opening their mouths ended up dying because of an obstruction in the throat (we're not talking about yawning). Others still weren't eating. No doubt that some of it was caused by stress of a new environment, but when there is something really wrong, and you cannot fix it or don't know what to do, it's better for both owner and baby to see a qualified vet. Believe me, the trip may be easier then what's actually ailing the baby. I, for my part, don't want to discourage a visit to the vet only to find that the tort died because he didn't get professional help in time. But this is your baby and this is your call. I've expressed how I feel about your baby's situation, and I totally understand what hell your are going thorough. In your gut, you'll know what to do. In the meantime, many here have given you great ideas to try on the baby i.e., sauna, various types of food, keeping the baby moving... Keep doing those things and I hope and pray for the best. Please keep us posted, though, because now we are too involved and love your baby too.

Trust me I might just be seeing things I am scared out of my mind right now. And I'm trying to figure out what the heck is wrong.
My vet does deal with a lot off torts but I don't want to take him back if I don't need to because he's so fragile rite now I'm scared to transport him and like you said proded by a random stranger

 

[Yvonne G]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

Your baby isn't blind, his eyes are just stuck/swollen shut. You have to soak daily in warm water mixed with Gerber strained carrots and leave the baby in there for at least a half hour. Put a light over the soak. But keep going back and looking at him to be sure he hasn't tipped over upside down.

I have two hatchling ornate box turtles with swollen eyes. Yesterday I put them under a light in carrot water. The first time I went back to check them they were just sitting there with their eyes closed. A few minutes later one of them was drinking. I actually ended up leaving them in the carrot water all day long because every time I looked at them one or the other was drinking. At the end of the day when I rinsed them off and put them back in their habitat both of them had their eyes open.

A tortoise with swollen shut eyes won't eat. You have to get those eyes open before you can even think about feeding him.

 

[sibi]

RE: what to do if baby wont open eyes

That's great advice, looneybug. Since one eye is shut, this method should be done to see if the eye will open. If it does, the baby may start to eat some yummies. That may be the only way we'll know for sure what's going on with his eyes. I hope you find your baby better off than yesterday, and better off tomorrow than today. We'll just have to see. Please keep us posted on this.

Your baby isn't blind, his eyes are just stuck/swollen shut. You have to soak daily in warm water mixed with Gerber strained carrots and leave the baby in there for at least a half hour. Put a light over the soak. But keep going back and looking at him to be sure he hasn't tipped over upside down.

I have two hatchling ornate box turtles with swollen eyes. Yesterday I put them under a light in carrot water. The first time I went back to check them they were just sitting there with their eyes closed. A few minutes later one of them was drinking. I actually ended up leaving them in the carrot water all day long because every time I looked at them one or the other was drinking. At the end of the day when I rinsed them off and put them back in their habitat both of them had their eyes open.

A tortoise with swollen shut eyes won't eat. You have to get those eyes open before you can even think about feeding him.

 

[looneybug]

He made it another night
I did take hime to the vet on the 3rd she said vitamin A that's why I've been doing the carrot soaks and multi-vitamin soaks
The vet gave me the food to give him she force fed and told me to continue .2cc 2/day
I'm happy to announce he seems to b getting better both eyes are still closed but didn't look as bad
He was also moving around quite a bit durning his feeding this morning
I did the sauna yesterday (he peed in my hand when I picked him up to put him away)

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The reason I thot he mighte be blind in his left eye was because he has only opened it a few times since I got him

 

[stinax182]

Thank you sibi for adding that

---

Yes I did the sauna today and he seemed more active then when I picked him up he peed in my hand
And yes I soak him in carrot water mix 3/day and for about 25-30 min
Hot spot 95-100
Warm side high 80s - 90s range
Cool side high 70s to low 80s
Night 75-80
Hotspot night is ~85
Uva/uvb florescent heat bulb

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The humidity is usually mid-high 70s

---

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if i were you, I'd put him in a plastic tub, like the under the bed ones, lined with paper towels. better to take out some variables. (now you don't have to worry about him ingesting anything) and also it should be easier to maintain heat/humidity. (use the top to keep it in) put his hide, water dish and food in as well. and i also wouldn't let the enclosure drop below 78-80F at anytime.

and you can buy the eye ointment online here
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...prays-and-cleaners/-/terramycin-eye-ointment/

these are eyedrops, I've never used them but they sound like they may help.
http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...eaners/-/nature-zone-turtle-eye-vitamins-2oz/

 

[looneybug]

How do I heat the tub

 

[Yvonne G]

The same way you are heating the baby's habitat now.

You need two fixtures; one to hold a MVB, I like the 100 watt, and one to hold some sort of night time heat. You can use a CHE for night time.