Pax's eyes wont open.

[Void1878]

So my little Sulcata Pax doesn't seem to open his eyes much, and when he does they are kind of squinted. Plus he is always rubbing them with his front legs. Any ideas as to what is going on? He is under a self-ballasted mercury vapor bulb right now, same as he was under at the pet store.

 

[SulcataSquirt]

How close is the light to your tortoise? what is the temp directly under the bulb? what is the humidty like in the cage? have you been giving him warms soaks daily? young hatchlings i like to soak two times a day in warm water changing it out if it gets cold b4 30 minutes is up. his eyes are prolly closed bc it is either too hot and dry and he is becoming dehydrated or possibly he developed an eye infection i would purchace up some terramycin ophthalmic ointment from offine or at a local feed store and put in on his eyes a couple times a day until it is cleared up. terramycin ophthalmic ointment is good to have on hands at all times. so i would order it just to have.

 

[Tony the tank]

Sounds like photokeratitis from the MVB.. Remove the light immediately... And keep the ambient lighting real low in the room.. Ifit is photokeratitis you should see an improvement within a day.....

If it is photokeratitis the longer the animal is exposed to the light the more damage and pain the animal will suffer

 

[Void1878]

The light is 25" above the substrate. The temp of the substrate in his basking area is in the 95-100 range, the ambient temp above the basking area is in the high 80's to low 90's. The other half of his cage is in the low 80's. The humidity stays in the 50 to 60 percentile.I have been giving him tepid soaks every other day for about fifteen minutes each time. His eyes don't look to be infected and he always has a bowl of water that he regularly walks into. If I am to remove the lamp, what should I use? I have been told by other members that MVB bulbs are okay to use. It provides him with heat light UVA and UVB.

 

[Tony the tank]

Any uv bulb can cause photokeratitis.... There was a major recall a few yrs back...The bulbs are coated at the manufactures facility to block most of the UV rays... if by chance the bulb wasn't coated sufficiently the bulb can leak higher levels of UVB and the really dangerous UVC...

It won't hurt the animal to remove the light or one day... And to keep him in a somewhat darkened room...(supplement his heat somehow)so he doesn't have to squint as much...if it is photokeratitis you will see a improvement in a day..or sooner..

photokeratitis is the same as welders flash... Really painful...

 

[Void1878]

Alright, I'll take the light out for one day and see how he improves. But my question is how can he get the correct amount of UVA and UVB without the bulb. It is getting to be too cold here to keep him outside thus he spends most, if not all, of his day inside.

 

[dmarcus]

One or two days without the bulb is not going to affect him. This time will give you a chance to see if your bulb is causing the problem.

 

[Tony the tank]

Well first let's confirm it's the bulb...most bulbs are OK... Some bulbs put out more than advertised due to quality control...also most uv bulbs put out a lot of UVB during burn in..... Who makes the bulb??. Are you using a reflector?? Is the bulb angled? .. Did you let the bulb burn in for a few days??

At 24" (other than a high quality megaray zoo bulb) it shouldn't be putting out any useful UVB... unless of course it's defective...It maybe as simple as swapping bulbs....But most important thing at the moment is to let the eyes heal....you do that by removing the light in question and keeping the animal in a low light environment.... I know this because I have myself suffered welders flash...and it's incredibly painful... And I was extremely light sensitive...The only true relief I got was sleeping in a darkened room..

 

[Tom]

The eyes are also a good indicator of tortoise health. Back before we even had UV bulbs you could tell a turtle or tortoise was sick if its eyes were not right.

Read this and see if it sounds familiar. You might need to call the pet store and ask them some questions. The may or may not know what the breeder did, and they may or may not even tell you.
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Hatchling-Failure-Syndrome#axzz1d8wvdKVq

You might also PM Maggie. She is the master of bringing back sick babies.

 

[CtTortoiseMom]

Give him warm soak's and see if that help's him to open his eyes and do everything else the others have suggested. Is he eating?

 

[laramie]

Does he open his eyes at all when you soak him? How long has this been going on?

 

[Candy]

Can you tell us how old he is? I tend to think if he's rubbing his eyes then something irritating them. Take the light away for a little while and see if he's still doing it. Could you possibly post pictures of his setup for us to see?

 

[Void1878]

Alright, first off thank you every one for such quick replies and questions which I will do my best to answer.

Tony the tank, it is, and I am quoting all of this right off the packaging, Exo-Terra professional series 125watt solar glo bulb "The Exo Terra Solar Glo is a lamp that is designed to simulate natural sunlight, emitting optimal levels of UV rays, visual light and infrared heat. The especially high amounts of UVA and UVB rays are among the many beneficial aspects of this new generation herpetoculture lamp. The Exo Terra Solar Glo is especially suited for larger terrariums where reptiles can regulate their exposure. It is also recommended when very high UVB intensity is required, such as breeding programs and for reptiles recovering from metabolic bone disease.Made in China." After reading this a little bit closer I'm thinking that it might just be too strong of a light, emitting too much UVA UVB. Exo-Terra makes the bulb, if by reflector you mean that the fixture it is in has a reflective inner surface than yes, I am. The bulb is not angled, I did not let the light burn for a few days because no where or no one told me that I should. It is at 25" because that is what the bulb manual said to put it at.

Tom, he is actually opening his eyes a little more than he has the past few days but he still prefers them closed it seams. He is not very lethargic really, I mean yes he does stop sometimes for up to fifteen maybe twenty minutes but other than that he is pretty active in walking around and exploring his enclosure, he has yet to wander into his hide on his own although I have put him in there a few times to let him know that it is there.

CtTortoiseMom, I am not around him as much as I would like to be considering I work 12-13 hours a day five days a week but from what I can tell he does eat but not as voraciously as I have read that babies normally eat.

Laramie, his eyes do open when I soak him but usually he wont open them until after about 10-15 min of soak time, which is about how long I've been soaking him. 10-15 minutes every other day. It has been going on since I got him a few days ago but like I told Tom, he has started opening them more although still favoring having them closed.

Candy, the pet store I purchased him from informed me that he was about six months, if this is true or not I do not know. He used to be on half sand half rabbit pellet substrate and it looked like the sand was bothering his eyes. After some reading and researching I did away with the sand and pellets and he is now on coco coir. I will be posting picture of his enclosure and him with the app on my phone after I post this on my computer.

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

Alright, I'll take the light out for one day and see how he improves. But my question is how can he get the correct amount of UVA and UVB without the bulb. It is getting to be too cold here to keep him outside thus he spends most, if not all, of his day inside.

Another lighting set up.
You can buy him a Reptisun 10.0 or 5.0 UVB long fluorescent tube shortest size is an 18 in (not the compact ones) . and instead of getting a expensive aquarium or terrarium hood to put the light in you can go to Wal-mart and buy a 18 " or 14" black light or grow bulb and just take the bulb out and put your Reptisun bulb in it. Its much cheaper than a hood, around ten dollars.
It will give him the UVB he needs because without the MVB bulb there will be no other UVB source unless you have one of those Retipsun or take him outside. and then you can get a basking light that emits UVA. Thats how I my lighting set up is and my Gupta really likes it. I had a MVB in there and it gave me problems. Burned my hatchling Gupta
But there are lots of other people who use MVB and have no problems so that might now be why your tortoises eyes hurt.
I hope this helps. I hope your tortoises gets better too, keep us updated

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The light is 25" above the substrate. The temp of the substrate in his basking area is in the 95-100 range, the ambient temp above the basking area is in the high 80's to low 90's. The other half of his cage is in the low 80's. The humidity stays in the 50 to 60 percentile.I have been giving him tepid soaks every other day for about fifteen minutes each time. His eyes don't look to be infected and he always has a bowl of water that he regularly walks into. If I am to remove the lamp, what should I use? I have been told by other members that MVB bulbs are okay to use. It provides him with heat light UVA and UVB.

I have no idea if this is why or not your tortoises eyes hurt but if you want you could raise the humidity to 80%, thats what Tom recommended to me along with a bunch of other experience breeders on here, it will make your tortoise grow really pretty and smooth sorry I know a little off topic
I hope he gets better

 

[Void1878]

This is Pax and his home.

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I want to keep it at 80% in there and I was experimenting with it when I began to get concerned with his eyes. Whatever bulb or bulbs he needs y'all just let me know and its his. Do y'all even think the bulb is the problem? I posted the entirety of the manufacturers information on the bulb in one of my recent posts.

 

[BrinnANDTorts]

This is Pax and his home.

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I want to keep it at 80% in there and I was experimenting with it when I began to get concerned with his eyes. Whatever bulb or bulbs he needs y'all just let me know and its his. Do y'all even think the bulb is the problem? I posted the entirety of the manufacturers information on the bulb in one of my recent posts.

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I am not confortable telling you my opinion about the eyes because I am honestly not sure and I don't want to give you bad advice :/
I will tell you that I don't use anything higher than 100 watts with my hatchling though because I am just scared that its just too intense and will hurt him of course that might be a very stupid fear lol
I can help you increase humidity though , which could help his eyes get better, cover the top of the enclosure because all the heat and humidity is escaping right out the top of it. and you can pour warm water straight into his substrate and mix it all around , how much water you are comfortable with is up to you. You can also spray the substrate and your tortoise down with a squirt bottle and that will probably get you 80% humidity
of course this is not the only way, there are many ways to increase humidity. its mainly just whatever you are comfortable with and want to do. anyway I hope this help, sorry I can't offer more about why his eyes are hurting.

 

[EricIvins]

The problem isn't the bulb, or any type of lighting........

Up the humidity to keep the Tortoise hydrated.....Its eyes are closed in an effort to conserve moisture......

 

[Void1878]

Eric, as much as I would like to believe you for it would be an easy fix and I wouldn't have to waste this 50 dollar bulb I have two questions: Did you read everything I posted about my torts enclosure, personality and habits to know that what you are saying is true or did you merely read that he doesn't like to open his eyes? Secondly, how do I know that you know what you are talking about? Not trying to be rude or offensive, I just want to make sure the information I receive is correct.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Matthew:

I think I'm seeing in the reflection, one of those compact fluorescent bulbs. That could very well be your problem.

Before the eyes started staying closed was the baby eating? When they stop eating, the first thing that happens is their eyes stay closed. If this is the case, then the baby food soaks are in order. Add some Gerber strained carrots to the soaking water for a few days. When the eyes open and stay open, then the baby will start eating again.

 

[Void1878]

Emy, I am not sure which bulb you are talking about, in my room in the ceiling is just a standard normal bulb for light. In Pax's lighting fixture is a self-ballasted MVB. The MVB was not in the fixture when I took the picture instead was an ordinary bulb, which was only there to provide light for the picture and was promptly taken out. The reason it was there to provide light instead of the MVB was because the MVB was shut off from what I read on here. The MVB has to completely cool down after it has been shut off to turn back on again. I put the ordinary bulb in to provide light, take the pic then shut it off. Do you still think he needs the baby food baths? If so is there a guideline as to the proportion of baby food to water, temperature and time of soak? While I've got your attention, do you agree with the others that the bulb is the problem and I should go for a different bulb?

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Now that I think about it, once he became acclimated to his habitat He ate a lot of his first meal then his appetite kind of declined to what it is now, he kind of goes to his food, pushes his beak into it and tentatively nibbles throughout the day.