More eye problems

[mikey meyer]

Another one of my turtles has eye problems. Both of his eyes have like skin over them and he cant see. My uncle said he thinks its an eye infection. And there is stuff coming out of his nose. It looks and feels like a blister on his eyes. My uncle also said to rub peroxide on his eyes. Is that what I should do?? Please help

 

[Yvonne G]

No, don't use peroxide. First of all, place the box turtle in a baby food bath. Use Gerber strained carrots and mix a whole jar in warm water. Leave the turtle in the water/baby food solution for at least a half hour.

This usually happens because the turtle has stopped eating.

Next, buy a tube of Terramycin Opthalmic ointment. You can buy it at the vet or at a feed store or online. Put a dab on each eye after the soak and then two more times throughout the day.

These measures are to help get the eyes open, but you must try to discover why it happened in the first place. Go over your husbandry with a fine toothed comb and see if you have been making some mistakes.

Good luck and please let us know what happens.

(Incidentally, its the eye lids you're seeing. They eyes are swollen shut)

 

[mikey meyer]

Okay thank you and I will do that. But when i put peroxide on his eyes before I saw your message he opened one eye and it looked fine but I havent seen him open the other eye.

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Okay thank you and I will do that. But when i put peroxide on his eyes before I saw your message he opened one eye and it looked fine but I havent seen him open the other eye.

Are you using coil type bulbs? If so you need to stop right away. They have been shown to cause eye damage in turtles and tortoises. I had a Sulcata yearling blinded and another died, so I know what I'm talking about, also it's proven they are bad. So turn'em off. What kind of a diet do you have your box turtles on? Are they getting enough Vitamin A? How are you keeping them? Temps and that sort of thing. I am trying to figure out why this keeps happening to you...I think I did read part of another thread about your turtles...
OK I went back to your previous thread and see that they are kept outside. So then the question is how do you feed them?

 

[mikey meyer]

Well I feed all of my box turtles hamburger meat, hot dogs, and sometimes fruit.

 

[Yvonne G]

YIPES, Mikey!

Hamburger meat and hot dogs are too fatty for turtles. They should be getting fruits, vegetables and insects/worms. You can occasionally feed them some lo-fat cat food, but not hamburger or hot dogs.

I don't remember if you said your turtles are indoors our outside?

Here's a nice care sheet from Mary at the Turtle Puddle:

http://www.turtlepuddle.org/american/boxcare.html

 

[mikey meyer]

They are outside and o ok ha i didnt no they couldnt eat that. Is watermelon and banana good for them because they love it?!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Watermelon and other melons, all berries like black berries and blueberries. Most fruit corn and peas squash. Stuff like that but no more hamburger or hot dogs. Yvonne said local cat food is all right but if you feed it just once every couple of months. Box turtles eat fruit bugs and veggies.Here's a link to NorthAmerican box turtles. Please read this and learn how to care for your turtles correctly...

http://aboxturtle.com/

 

[mikey meyer]

Ok thank you

 

[tortoises101]

Some fungi is also needed in their diet to keep them healthy. Any edible mushroom from the grocery store will do, as will wild fungi. Here's a list of edible wild fungi: http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/how/mushrooms/edible-mushrooms
Some wildberries like blueberries, raspberries, wild strawberries, gooseberries, blackberries, dewberries, black currants, red currants, or cranberries are also recommended.
What's good about these wild foods is that they're virtually free.

 

[mikey meyer]

Okay cool thank you

 

[River14]

Well I feed all of my box turtles hamburger meat, hot dogs, and sometimes fruit.

I love this post, ( :
I dont even allow myself to eat hot dogs but boy im sure I would love em.

 

[Tccarolina]

Hydrogen peroxide on the eyes? Ow! He can still see, right?

 

[tczar]

Some fungi is also needed in their diet to keep them healthy. Any edible mushroom from the grocery store will do, as will wild fungi. Here's a list of edible wild fungi: http://mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/outdoor-recreation/how/mushrooms/edible-mushrooms
Some wildberries like blueberries, raspberries, wild strawberries, gooseberries, blackberries, dewberries, black currants, red currants, or cranberries are also recommended.
What's good about these wild foods is that they're virtually free.

good luck finding any of these in west texas