Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My baby sulcata keeps rubbing its eyes with its forearms. He is eating well and is active but rubs his eyes often. If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated.

When does he do this?
All my box turtles rub their eyes when they first wake up. They all rub their eyes when they're having a bath too.
How often are you soaking the baby in tepid water? If he's eye rubbing a lot it could be that he's needing a soak more often than he's getting, or his enclosure humidity may be too low for him. You may need to raise that a bit.
If the eyes are open and he's getting a good diet then I would think low humidity would more likely be the problem rather than a real health problem.
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PHRatz

He seems to do it more in the mornings and when he is soaking. I try to soak him three times a week but this week he only got a soaking twice.

>>My baby sulcata keeps rubbing its eyes with its forearms. He is eating well and is active but rubs his eyes often. If anyone could help it would be greatly appreciated.

Do his eyes look sunken in at all? Any discharge in them? If the eyes seem to be sunken in, or looks like he is having trouble in the morning getting them open its most likely the humidity. If his eyes seem sunken in it may be dehydration, more soaking would help, or an occasional treat of cucumber (in moderation). If you notice discharge monitor it closely, if it gets worse it may be the beginning signs of a respiratory infection. Zoo med makes decent eye drops, any turtle/tortoise eye drops work well. Hope this helps a little.

His eyes dont look sunken in but the first time i noticed it he did have a some gunk. He isnt rubbing much right now and im soaking him everyday but I did take him to the vet, they took a culture from the mouth and gave me medication to administer just in case it was a respitory infection.

>>His eyes dont look sunken in but the first time i noticed it he did have a some gunk. He isnt rubbing much right now and im soaking him everyday but I did take him to the vet, they took a culture from the mouth and gave me medication to administer just in case it was a respitory infection.

what kind of medication did they perscribe?

Its called Baytril

>>Its called Baytril

as expected, baytril is the miracle drug, especially for reptiles... it does wonders, most vets live by it