Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had my Box turtle Fred for about 10 years. He gets crickets with vitamin powder once a week and various friuts and veggies in between. Yesterday he seemed slightly lathargic as far as eating. He rushed the food dish as usual but once there seemed to not have enough energy to eat. Being a healthy guy otherwise I put it off until today and made sure to check on it. Well today when I checked him his eyes were stuck shut. From what i have heard this can be a sign of vitamin deficiancy but knowing he gets regular vitamins I have grown a bit worried. Having him for 10 years I am really attached and am willing to do whatever it takes to cure whatever this is. I know of a couple vets to take him to but I would like a bit of perspective before I go into a vet and fall for anything they say. Having some experience with false vet info I like to prepare myself with questions and possibilities before hand. Any advice is good advice so please let me know.

sincerely,
lisa

I would take him to a vet and expect that they would tell you that he has an eye infection, an upper respiratory infection, or both. You will need antibiotics perscribed for the weight of your turtle that will get rid of the bacteria. (When my turtle had a similar infection last fall the doctor prescribed baytril(sp?) in a series of shots every 3 days) The vet may also prescribe antibiotic eye drops as well.

I agree with Steffke.

Vitamin deficiencies can be very difficult to diagnose in their early stages. The Vet. may also want to do vitamin injections if he/she suspects a deficiency.

If you don't mind...what is the type of vitamin powder you use? Do you provide any natural sunlight and how often? Do you provide any full spectrum artificial lighting and, if so, what bulb do you use?

I think it is great that you are taking Fred to the Vet. at the first sign of a problem!!

Lisa,

Keep this in mind when you take your turtle to the vet:

Most of the time eyes sealed shut are secondary symptoms and the root cause lies somewhere else. There are several reasons why a turtle may suddenly have eyes sealed shut and the most common is an eye infection. The causes of eye infections are numerous, from bacterial infection, to chronic eye irritation due to dirty or dusty bedding and cases of vit A deficiency.

Before a good herp vet does any prescribing of meds he will want a complete history of the diet as well as your present husbandry. That means what kind of bedding you use, how often is it changed? What lights do you use and the temps in the tank? What foods have you given over the course of several months? It is very common for some vets to think a turtle has Vitamin A deficiency when they see eyes sealed shut and no other symptoms, and if that is what your vet suspects after a thorough exam and history, ask that oral vit A be given before injections are used. He can get proper dosing from herp vets who help on VIN or from vets listed in ARAV's online directory.

It is best to be conservation at first when dealing with sealed eyes. I have found that increasing the temp and humidity and using an antibiotic eye ointment is all that is needed for mild cases of sealed eyes. However, if you turtle shows other signs of a problem, like open mouth breathing, runny nose, diarrhea, aural lumps, then follow the vet's instructions.
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Tess
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