Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I am new to the forum. I have read for quite a while now, however, I have yet to post anything.. till now. I have had two RES turtles since they hatched about 7 years ago. They are doing great in a HUGE environment! I have studied turtles for quite a while now and absolutely love every type of turtle and tortoise. About a month ago I adopted 2 baby 3-toed box turtles, who were just hatched when I received them as well. They have been doing great and eating like pigs. All of a sudden about 2 days ago they seemed slightly different. They were rubbing their eyes more and seemed to be sleeping a little more often. I was thinking it was an irritated eye or not enough humidity, but now their eyes are getting more of a white tint to them and they keep them closed more often. I have tried some eye drops which dont seem to do much, and I have soaked them in pedialyte with high temperatures everywhere they are. They live in a big tank with lots of peat moss and a soil type substate. When I take them out to be soaked usually they will open their eyes and move around, but after 10 minutes or so they will almost fall asleep. They just kind of rub their eyes and then close them. I'm thinking the only thing now to do is head to the vet. I would rather not, because the vets around here seem to just want money, but if it'll help my turtles, then that's where I'll go. Please let me know if you have any idaes on what I can do to make my little guys feel better! I have included a picture of one of the little guys so you can see an idea of what his eyes look like at their worst. Thanks for all of your help!!

Wow! Tough one.

What is the approximate temperature in the enclosure? Do you have any lighting on them, and what type? Is there any noise while they breath, or do bubbles form in their nostrils? I don't see any obvious nasal discharge. Can you post a pic of their enclosure? Sorry about all of the questions, but this could have several causes. Veterinary care is NEVER a bad idea. Just make sure you find one with herp knowledge. There are some resources to find one if you need them.

That looks like an unusually pretty Three Toed box turtle hatchling.

You said they were eating like pigs.. that makes me wonder what were they eating?
Have you been making sure they get vitamin powder on their food on a regular basis?
Like Ken said vet care is never a bad idea but do be sure you find a vet who knows what he/she is doing when it comes to treating reptiles.
Good luck!
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PHRatz

Hello. I have a heat lamp and UVA/UVB with 10% UVB on them. The humidity and temperature seem to be fine, however, I have heated it up a little more in the past few days to try to help with whatever they have. (There's two of them if I didn't say that earlier) I've looked for herp vets before. I took my 2 RES to one when they were babies, but it just didn't seem like they helped much and they cost a fortune. Other places around here will take them.. but not necessarily know a lot about them - not good. I think I may look around a little more and see what I can find. For food - I have been feeding them red wigglers coated in a box turtle vitamin dust. I have also added in little bits of other foods to see if they would eat them. They were eating quite a bit. Thank you for saying it's a pretty 3-toed box turtle (which they are). The parents were really colorful when older, so I'm hoping these do the same. Anyway - any ideas on what may help them or something I could try? I'll try anything. I'm going to get them up and bathe them in some more pedialyte, so I'll send pictures when they're up. Thanks again!

Ok - I took them out of their home and put them into a little tupperware container (that they can't see out of) and filled it with warm pedialyte. The heat lamp as well as the UVB is over the water. When I took them out they were still somewhat asleep so their eyes were closed, but when I put them into the water they both opened their eyes (one more than the other) and were walking around. The one I showed you a picture of is the one that had a little white puss like substance on the outside of his eye. He put his head underwater and rubbed his eye a little but then it was open. It doesn't look to me like there's a lot of hardened puss (like I've heard there can be). They are moving around, but then after a little bit they kinda just fall asleep more or less. I'm not sure what to do about their eyes; to me they seem alright otherwise. I'll try feeding them in a while as well. Does anyone use an eyedrop that seems to work really well? Or any other technique that could help my baby turtle's eyes? Any ideas would help! Thanks!

-This is a picture of the babies about 3 weeks ago. :-D

Hello,
My box turtle that I've had for 12 years with no health problems suddenly developed what your turtles symptoms are. He was very lethargic, and the same eye problem as yours. After a soak he would open his eyes and seem better, but only for 10 minutes, and his eyes would get closed up again. I got turtle eye drops, but they only helped for 10 minutes also, and then he would get worse again. The only thing that worked was to go to a vet and get him on antibiotics. I had to give him an antibiotic shot every other day for ten days. He really bounced back fast after treatment started and is back to his active self.

I'm replying to a post or two back, but I thought I'd just keep the flow going

It really sounds like your turtle or turtles have eye infections. These could be connected to upper respiratory infections, but you would normally see other symptoms like noisey breathing or nasal discharge. Eye infections can be brought about by several different things.
-lack of adequate Vit. A in the diet
-enclosure too dry or too wet
-consistently too low or even too high temperatures
-dirty water
-irritant in the enclosure
-there have been cases of virulent fungi being carried by dried sphagnum moss from Asia
-etc.

Infections can be viral, bacterial, or even fungal. Only a qualified herp vet should be looked to for diagnosis. Then, only a qualified herp vet can give you the proper medication...or maybe none at all. Your issue is going to be obtaining a medication that can be dosed for such a small turtle. It can be done.

In the meantime, it's always a good idea to completely re-evaluate your husbandry. I'm not saying that you are or are not doing the things that you need to. I'm not saying that you caused the problem. However, it must always be considered. Read all you can about rearing hatchling box turtles.

Please allow me to add a few recommendations. It sounds like you're handling your hatchlings a lot. I could be wrong, but it just sounds like it. Hatchlings are notoriously skittish and prefer to hide nearly all of the time. Handling should be kept to an absolute minimum. This includes handling for feeding and soaking. You will notice a marked difference as time goes by, and your turtle may actually begin to enjoy a small amount of handling...based of course on the fact that they're being fed or enjoying a good drink. It typically takes months to years. If the turtles are stressed, it might lower their immune sytems and leave them vulnerable to infections and illnesses.

Also, I'd refrain from the Pedialyte baths. Pedialyte is kind of a "last resort" type of treatment. It is normally used in cases where herps are anorexic, and Pedialyte is really one of the only ways to get essential electrolytes and some other nutrients into them. One year, I went out and purchased several bottles of Pedialyte and soaked my outdoor box turtles for several hours. It was just about this time of year, and the turtles were beginning to show signs of hibernation. I figured that I'd give them a nice hydration session before they bedded down. Well, half of them woke up in the spring with eye infections. I was able to treat them with an antibiotic eye drop. I think it also contained a mild steroid. I don't know if the Pedialyte had anything to do with it, since it was a very wet and mild winter. It's just too coincidental. If the turtles are still eating well, I'd just stick with plain old water.

Last year, I built a custom-made wall mounted shelf for raising young turtles. It was constructed to conserve heat and electricity. Well, the bottom shelf was not getting warm enough. The turtles were being maintained at only 70 degrees F or thereabouts. There were Three-toes and Ornates on that particular shelf. In only the week or two it took before I could find time to address the issue, several of each species started acting much like yours...swollen eyes and lethargy. After another two weeks or so of warmth, plenty of vitamins, and daily soaks in warm water they were fine. However, mine never had any type of discharge. If they did, it would have been off to the Vet.

I'm sorry about the long post, but I am concerned about your hatchlings. It is a VERY good thing that they are still eating. By the way, the hatchling above (in your picture) is probably the most stunning Three-toed hatchling I've ever seen. The other one is pretty also. Good Luck! Please keep us posted.

The vet may very well give you an antibiotics as well as antibiotic eye drops.

Turtletimes has 4 pages of links to good herp vets at:
www.turtletimes.com/Forums/index.php?showtopic=4964

Good luck with the beautiful baby and keep us posted.

I've looked through those message boards, but no herp vets where I live. I think I found one, it's just not near me. The turtles haven't had any discharge from their nose, nor have they had the signs of respiratory disease. I've raised temperatures and humidity in their tank. It seems like they may be doing better, however, I think I'm going to try to get a vet appt soon and take them there. The only problem - it may not be until monday. If anyone has any ideas that could help my turtles, please let me know! Thanks to all of you who have been helping me so far!

Excellent post Ken, I think you've covered just about every thing a person could.
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PHRatz

Thanks Ratz! *blush*

Hello again. Thank you all so much for your help! I have been trying some new things and the turtles seem a lot better. I have an appointment tomorrow with a vet that I believe is knowledgable. Thank you again for all of your help!