Swollen eyes please help

Dev123

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My indian star tortoise has swollen eyes
And rubbing his eyes too much
What should i do
 

KarenSoCal

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Hi, and welcome to TFO!

There are a few reasons why torts' eyes get swollen. I'm going to ask you a few questions to help us help you to figure it out.

1) Is this a baby, subadult, or adult?
2) How long have you had him?
3) What kind of UVB light do you use? Is it a screw in light? Or is it a fluorescent tube type?
4) What kind of bulb are you using for basking?
5) What substrate are you using?
6) Is he in an enclosure with a top on it? Or is it open topped?

Could you post some pictures of him and his enclosure? This would help a lot.
 

wellington

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Without a bunch more info we can't really given any educated guess.
Answer the questions Karen asked and post pics and we can hopefully get it figured out
 

Dev123

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Hi, and welcome to TFO!

There are a few reasons why torts' eyes get swollen. I'm going to ask you a few questions to help us help you to figure it out.

1) Is this a baby, subadult, or adult?
2) How long have you had him?
3) What kind of UVB light do you use? Is it a screw in light? Or is it a fluorescent tube type?
4) What kind of bulb are you using for basking?
5) What substrate are you using?
6) Is he in an enclosure with a top on it? Or is it open topped?

Could you post some pictures of him and his enclosure? This would help a lot.
1. It is a baby
2. 2.5 months
3. Natural sun light
4. Plain garden soil
5. Enclosure has a part which is closed top
 

KarenSoCal

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1. It is a baby
2. 2.5 months
3. Natural sun light
4. Plain garden soil
5. Enclosure has a part which is closed top

So are you keeping this baby outside all the time? Natural sun light is the best way to get UVB in short daily doses, but at this size he should not be outside all the time.

If his enclosure is indoors, are you using a basking light? What kind of bulb is in it?

My first thought is that the garden soil is irritating his eyes. When you buy soil, there is no way to know what it was made with. It could be toxic plants that were ground up.

If the soil is from your garden, have you used any chemicals on it? Fertilizer, weed killer, bug spray?
Is your garden near where professional gardeners come and they might use chemicals?

In any case, I would remove the soil and use either coco chip, cypress mulch, or best is orchid (fir) bark. I don't know what is available in India, but hopefully one of these is.

We never recommend using soil for these reasons. Soil is also dangerous because if the baby eats it, it is an impaction risk.

A couple pictures of your enclosure would be helpful. This is a care sheet for your little one. Read it and come back with questions.

 
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Dev123

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So are you keeping this baby outside all the time? Natural sun light is the best way to get UVB in short daily doses, but at this size he should not be outside all the time.

If his enclosure is indoors, are you using a basking light? What kind of bulb is in it?

My first thought is that the garden soil is irritating his eyes. When you buy soil, there is no way to know what it was made with. It could be toxic plants that were ground up.

If the soil is from your garden, have you used any chemicals on it? Fertilizer, weed killer, bug spray?
Is your garden near where professional gardeners come and they might use chemicals?

In any case, I would remove the soil and use either coco chip, cypress mulch, or best is orchid (fir) bark. I don't know what is available in India, but hopefully one of these is.

We never recommend using soil for these reasons. Soil is also dangerous because if the baby eats it, it is an impaction risk.

A couple pictures of your enclosure would be helpful. This is a care sheet for your little one. Read it and come back with questions.

So are you keeping this baby outside all the time? Natural sun light is the best way to get UVB in short daily doses, but at this size he should not be outside all the time.

If his enclosure is indoors, are you using a basking light? What kind of bulb is in it?

My first thought is that the garden soil is irritating his eyes. When you buy soil, there is no way to know what it was made with. It could be toxic plants that were ground up.

If the soil is from your garden, have you used any chemicals on it? Fertilizer, weed killer, bug spray?
Is your garden near where professional gardeners come and they might use chemicals?

In any case, I would remove the soil and use either coco chip, cypress mulch, or best is orchid (fir) bark. I don't know what is available in India, but hopefully one of these is.

We never recommend using soil for these reasons. Soil is also dangerous because if the baby eats it, it is an impaction risk.

A couple pictures of your enclosure would be helpful. This is a care sheet for your little one. Read it and come back with questions.

Not all the time
So are you keeping this baby outside all the time? Natural sun light is the best way to get UVB in short daily doses, but at this size he should not be outside all the time.

If his enclosure is indoors, are you using a basking light? What kind of bulb is in it?

My first thought is that the garden soil is irritating his eyes. When you buy soil, there is no way to know what it was made with. It could be toxic plants that were ground up.

If the soil is from your garden, have you used any chemicals on it? Fertilizer, weed killer, bug spray?
Is your garden near where professional gardeners come and they might use chemicals?

In any case, I would remove the soil and use either coco chip, cypress mulch, or best is orchid (fir) bark. I don't know what is available in India, but hopefully one of these is.

We never recommend using soil for these reasons. Soil is also dangerous because if the baby eats it, it is an impaction risk.

A couple pictures of your enclosure would be helpful. This is a care sheet for your little one. Read it and come back with questions.

Soil is clean i can guarantee you that
Not keeping this baby outside all the time
20 min in sun light

Why does the eyes get swollen?
 

KarenSoCal

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Water is coming out of eyes too

The soil may be clean, but there could be irritating substances in it. And if you are not dampening it with water to raise humidity, it may be getting into his eyes as he walks around or digs a bit.

Another reason eyes get sore has to do with UVB lights. But when you answered natural sun I stopped thinking about that as a reason.

Another possibility is the type of bulb you are using for basking. I've asked twice before, so this is the 3rd time...what kind of bulb are you using for basking?
If it is a mercury vapor bulb, that could be the problem.

If you can find them, you could use these eye drops on him. We buy them in big, well stocked pet stores, or you can order them through Amazon.

20210102_161346.jpg

They are very helpful for eye irritations.

Have you tried to get a good look at his eyes? Are both eyes bothering him the same amount? Does one of them seem to be worse than the other? Maybe you could try to get a good picture of each eye, up close, and post them for us.

Do you use any chemicals near his enclosure? Any sprays, air fresheners, cleaning products?

Hopefully, we will eventually figure this out!
 

Dev123

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Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Messages
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Location (City and/or State)
India mp
The soil may be clean, but there could be irritating substances in it. And if you are not dampening it with water to raise humidity, it may be getting into his eyes as he walks around or digs a bit.

Another reason eyes get sore has to do with UVB lights. But when you answered natural sun I stopped thinking about that as a reason.

Another possibility is the type of bulb you are using for basking. I've asked twice before, so this is the 3rd time...what kind of bulb are you using for basking?
If it is a mercury vapor bulb, that could be the problem.

If you can find them, you could use these eye drops on him. We buy them in big, well stocked pet stores, or you can order them through Amazon.

View attachment 319036

They are very helpful for eye irritations.

Have you tried to get a good look at his eyes? Are both eyes bothering him the same amount? Does one of them seem to be worse than the other? Maybe you could try to get a good picture of each eye, up close, and post them for us.

Do you use any chemicals near his enclosure? Any sprays, air fresheners, cleaning products?

Hopefully, we will eventually figure this out!
No i am not using any bulb for basking
 

Dev123

New Member
Joined
Feb 20, 2021
Messages
7
Location (City and/or State)
India mp
The soil may be clean, but there could be irritating substances in it. And if you are not dampening it with water to raise humidity, it may be getting into his eyes as he walks around or digs a bit.

Another reason eyes get sore has to do with UVB lights. But when you answered natural sun I stopped thinking about that as a reason.

Another possibility is the type of bulb you are using for basking. I've asked twice before, so this is the 3rd time...what kind of bulb are you using for basking?
If it is a mercury vapor bulb, that could be the problem.

If you can find them, you could use these eye drops on him. We buy them in big, well stocked pet stores, or you can order them through Amazon.

View attachment 319036

They are very helpful for eye irritations.

Have you tried to get a good look at his eyes? Are both eyes bothering him the same amount? Does one of them seem to be worse than the other? Maybe you could try to get a good picture of each eye, up close, and post them for us.

Do you use any chemicals near his enclosure? Any sprays, air fresheners, cleaning products?

Hopefully, we will eventually figure this out!
No i dont use any chemical near him
 

KarenSoCal

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Low desert 50 mi SE of Palm Springs CA
No i am not using any bulb for basking

.Are you able to get him outside for a while every day? That takes care of his UVB needs, but he needs a way to warm up each morning. When they wake in the morning, they need to get their inner core temp up to at least 80°F in order to digest their food. If they can't get warm enough, they won't eat. Are you providing any way for her to warm herself in the morning? The light is her sun...it's supposed to come up every day.
 

Maggie3fan

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.Are you able to get him outside for a while every day? That takes care of his UVB needs, but he needs a way to warm up each morning. When they wake in the morning, they need to get their inner core temp up to at least 80°F in order to digest their food. If they can't get warm enough, they won't eat. Are you providing any way for her to warm herself in the morning? The light is her sun...it's supposed to come up every day.
I get the picture that the tort is outside all the time, even in India it doesn't stay over 85 degrees and that's what he needs
 
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