poorly eyes

[Claire Waldron]

hi folks. We have had our beautiful little tortoise almost two years now, but she has seemed a big sluggish this last week, and now her eyes look weepy. this picture was taken just after her warm water bath. what should we do? do i use cotton earbuds and gently bath her eyes with salt water or do i need specific eye drops to get her better or is a trip to the vet? any advise would be most welcome. thank you.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Does the tortoise rub her eyes? Are the eyes watery? Are the eyes sticky?

Two common eye irritants in tortoises are substrate and lighting. What are you using?

Any other symptoms? How is her appetite?

I will tag @zovick here on what eye drops to use. @zolasmum has a UK based recommendation on eye drops, but I believe that those drops don't require a prescription or treat an infection.

 

[Claire Waldron]

Hello. Thanks for your reply!
She does seem to be rubbing her eyes a bit, and her eyes are a bit sticky.
She uses hemp substrate and she is basking under a 125 watt bulb that does both UVA and UVB. The temperatures are all correct to her needs. (32~ degrees in the hot end / 20~ degrees in the cold end). None of this has changed recently though and she has been bright and well up to now. She does seem to be off her food a bit.
Any advice would be welcome. thank you!

 

[zolasmum]

hi folks. We have had our beautiful little tortoise almost two years now, but she has seemed a big sluggish this last week, and now her eyes look weepy. this picture was taken just after her warm water bath. what should we do? do i use cotton earbuds and gently bath her eyes with salt water or do i need specific eye drops to get her better or is a trip to the vet? any advise would be most welcome. thank you.

Welcome from Devon. Our Hermans tortoise occasionally used to have a slight problem with his eyes , and I wipe his eyes every morning with cotton-wool pads moistened with boiled water (not salted) -just in case - and I always keep a tube of Viscotears Liquid Gel- this is available from chemists for humans, and is quite safe - a little blob of the gel on each eye will stay on a bit longer than liquid drops, and you can use it as often as needed.
Best wishes from Angie

 

[zovick]

Does the tortoise rub her eyes? Are the eyes watery? Are the eyes sticky?

Two common eye irritants in tortoises are substrate and lighting. What are you using?

Any other symptoms? How is her appetite?

I will tag @zovick here on what eye drops to use. @zolasmum has a UK based recommendation on eye drops, but I believe that those drops don't require a prescription or treat an infection.

The drops I recommend are Neo-Poly-Dex Veterinary Ophthalmic drops. Not sure if available in UK, though. In the US a prescription from a vet is required to get them.

 

[Claire Waldron]

Welcome from Devon. Our Hermans tortoise occasionally used to have a slight problem with his eyes , and I wipe his eyes every morning with cotton-wool pads moistened with boiled water (not salted) -just in case - and I always keep a tube of Viscotears Liquid Gel- this is available from chemists for humans, and is quite safe - a little blob of the gel on each eye will stay on a bit longer than liquid drops, and you can use it as often as needed.
Best wishes from Angie

thank you.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Hello. Thanks for your reply!
She does seem to be rubbing her eyes a bit, and her eyes are a bit sticky.
She uses hemp substrate and she is basking under a 125 watt bulb that does both UVA and UVB. The temperatures are all correct to her needs. (32~ degrees in the hot end / 20~ degrees in the cold end). None of this has changed recently though and she has been bright and well up to now. She does seem to be off her food a bit.
Any advice would be welcome. thank you!

Even thought these things might not have caused her eye issues, they aren't exactly the recommended products now days. The three safest substrate options are coco coir, orchid fir bark and cypress mulch.

As for lighting, the current suggestion is to provide the UVB and heat (+UVA) separately. This is because tortoises only need UVB a few hours per day, meanwhile heat is needed for at least 12 hours per day. Also, it is easier to control the UVB levels and basking spot temperature when using separate lights. @Littleredfootbigredheart can probably give you UK based product suggestions.

 

[zolasmum]

When I said boiled water, I should have made it clear that I meant water cooled right down- not warm or hot
at all -just that it would be more sterile ! Sorry !
Angie

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Even thought these things might not have caused her eye issues, they aren't exactly the recommended products now days. The three safest substrate options are coco coir, orchid fir bark and cypress mulch.

As for lighting, the current suggestion is to provide the UVB and heat (+UVA) separately. This is because tortoises only need UVB a few hours per day, meanwhile heat is needed for at least 12 hours per day. Also, it is easier to control the UVB levels and basking spot temperature when using separate lights. @Littleredfootbigredheart can probably give you UK based product suggestions.

Aw I’m sorry your lil tort is having issues! They definitely don’t look right, and yes whilst the products are probably not the source of the specific issue, they definitely aren’t recommended for a few good reasons, with hemp you can’t maintain any kind of humidity properly with that.
It’s best going with a separate uvb and heat set up, having combined heat and uv, means when adjusting your height to create the desired basking temperature, you’re messing with your UVI zone, they are much more desiccating on the shell and their uv output often very unreliable.
There’s the added fact of uv timing, with the uv timing, every other source of information will tell you 12hours of uv. This is essentially an old fashioned rule that has stuck with a lot of keepers, it stems from the presumption that once the basking light or ambient lighting is on, ie the ‘sun’, that uv must coexist the same amount of hours. Fact is, uv rays only peak for a few hours a day, anyone with a uv meter will confirm this. No tortoise is blasted with 12 hours of uv in the wild, therefore it’s not necessary in captivity. Whilst not necessarily dangerous, it’s potentially annoying to the tortoise to have 12hours on uv in the enclosure.
The right uv bulbs are much more expensive to replace once their uv strength diminishes, so it’s definitely best having it on a 4 hour timer that provides them with all the uv they need, saving your bulb life.
Then some cheaper led lighting for your ambient 12 hour light cycle as well as the basking light on the same 12hrs, your ceramics(if needed) will run 24/7 on a thermostat, hope that all makes sense
The most recommended up to date indoor uv option is t5 tube fluorescent bulbs, they disperse the uv light over a much wider area. Recommended brands are Arcadia proT5 kit 12% or zoo med reptisun t5 10.0(hood usually sold separate)

125watt is quite high for a basking bulb, the fact it’s combined uv makes me worry that there could be a bit of a uv hot spot, I’d be surprised if it’s the issue because it’s not changed recently, but it certainly wouldn’t help things.

I’m going to include some links below you’ll hopefully find useful to look through.

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check bulb types, folks unfortunately sold the wrong ones often), correct levels, appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and the tortoise table link(I have more on diet if needed, like products etc)

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it, I have a huge back log I need to add.

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Now that housing thread discusses an open top set up, which is fine for adult tortoises, but I will say, knowing how cold our uk winters get, for those who don’t brumate their temperate species(I’m guessing you don’t if he’s awake this year), they can really struggle keeping their temperates where needed, a cover can come in really handy for maintaining your heat, the most efficient closed set ups are melamine/pvc vivs. A place called Southdown aquatics actually does custom sized vivs in the uk If you’re ever considering an upgrade

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Phew! Really hope this all helps! I know it’s a lot to go over sorrybut take all the time you need! They’ll always be folks to help with any further questions! We can break things down bit by bit, and help step by step. Welcome to the forum! Do let me know if you need UK links to any products

 

[Claire Waldron]

thank you so much for your excellent reply. Really appreciated!