White and red substances in my tortoise's eye?

hannamin

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Hello, my tortoise is Greek Libyan and she's called Aphrodite, I've noticed before that one of her eyes had some white substance, I tried to remove it but I was afraid of hurting her. Anyhow, it disappeared on its own but then it reappeared again, with red substance along with it? And it's covering her whole left eye. I'm very worried, what is this?
 
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Pearly

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Welcome to TFO. Could you post close up picture of that eye, also picture of your enclosure and light bulbs in it. We need this information to be able to better help
 

hannamin

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Do you use light bulbs? There is a type that keeps being an issue with eye problems and blindness.
What type of UV lights and/or heating?
I actually...do not use any. I expose her to sunlight everyday at around noon and she stays thete until the sun goes, then she walks around, she's exposed to our normal lights, I don't like to keep her in the box so I let her roam around in the house. She doesn't like boxes at all.
 

hannamin

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Welcome to TFO. Could you post close up picture of that eye, also picture of your enclosure and light bulbs in it. We need this information to be able to better help

Thanks Pearly. Here's a picture of her left eye. Her right one looks perfectly normal.

IMG-20160212-WA0005.jpeg
 
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Yvonne G

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That is the nictitating membrane, or third eyelid. It sometimes swells like that when the animal is stressed.
 

Pearly

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Thanks Pearly. Here's a picture of her left eye. Her right one looks perfectly normal.

View attachment 165054
I trust Yvonne's assessment. Youmay need to take a look at your husbandry practices, compare them to what's suggestedin care sheets for your species, see if there are discrepancies and work on those. Meanwhile I'd ask @Yvonne G if any eyedrops should be used to reduce inflammation. Warm soaks and keeping your tort nice a warm are the golden standards that pop into my mind that you can do right away until more advise comes
 

Yvonne G

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There are a couple of products that will sooth the eye and help relieve the swelling:

You can buy this one at some pet stores -
86035.jpg



And I buy this one at a feed store, but you can also get it from a vet: upload_2016-2-12_11-47-59.jpeg

Like was said above, go over your husbandry, and once you have everything as it should be, leave the animal alone.
 

hannamin

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There are a couple of products that will sooth the eye and help relieve the swelling:

You can buy this one at some pet stores -
86035.jpg



And I buy this one at a feed store, but you can also get it from a vet: View attachment 165071

Like was said above, go over your husbandry, and once you have everything as it should be, leave the animal alone.
Okay, I'll try to search for it, though those stuff are not widely spread here, but I'll try my best. Thank you. Is what happening...normal? Am I not taking enough care of it? I feel bad.
 

MPRC

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In the mean time while you are looking for the medicated drops you can try using a saline solution to rinse the eye in case there is anything in it that is adding to the swelling.

If you let us know where you are located someone may possibly be able to help you find a source for meds.
 

hannamin

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In the mean time while you are looking for the medicated drops you can try using a saline solution to rinse the eye in case there is anything in it that is adding to the swelling.

If you let us know where you are located someone may possibly be able to help you find a source for meds.

Middle East. Egypt, specifically.
 

hannamin

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In the mean time while you are looking for the medicated drops you can try using a saline solution to rinse the eye in case there is anything in it that is adding to the swelling.

If you let us know where you are located someone may possibly be able to help you find a source for meds.

Nevermind! It actually turned out to be VERY known here, I easily found it, my bad.
 

Markw84

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How can I possibly do that when she refuses to eat anything?
Hannamin:

In your post you did not mention not eating, nor diet. In trying to help you we need more info. With eye problems, many immediately ask about UVB bulbs, but often don't look further into a more common vitamin A deficiency as a cause. You need to slowly get you tortoise to start eating a more varied diet including the deep green vegetables and maybe even a little carrot to get it some vitamin A and more blanced diet. What has your tortoise been eating, and will eat now?
 

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