Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi guys,
My eastern box turtle is having eye trouble. She doesn't seem to be able to open her right eye and is scratching at it with her foot. Any suggestions?
Thanks!

Hi,
For a quick fix - soak in shallow, warm water with a dilution of tetracycline for about half an hour, twice a day. You can get the tetracycline in the fish med section of most pet stores.

Then change up the diet making sure to have plenty of vitamin A.
A good variety of fruit, veggies, plants, flowers, & animal protein.

Also make sure that the turtle has access to a wide variety of temperatures & can regulate its temp as it wants/needs. A hot spot of 110 with a day base temp in the mid eighties should work.

Is it indoors, or out? What part of the country are you in?
If kept outdoors, be aware that they are excellent climbers/ escape artists, & that this time of year, in their natural habitat, they are hibernating.

Good luck,
Max
-----
"And the rest is all in his head"

Soaking in warm water is good.
Flushing the eye with saline solution (contact lens solution works fine) may clear whatever is irritating it, and will help reduce swelling. If you have any other symptoms like runny nose, bubbles, poor appetite, lethargy get her to a vet.

110 degrees is high, IMO, for an Eastern. I would keep it at about 85 degrees.

Low humidity can lead to gumming up of the eyes; make sure your turtle has a place to soak regularly, and try to keep the cage humidity high by wetting the substrate and/or misting.

If you can't get antibiotics, a warm water soak by itself will help a lot; you can use a cotton swab soaked in warm water to gently clear away some of the goo.

You got good advice from the others who repsponded but until we know more about your turtle- it's hard to say how we can help. Sure, soaking it in tepid water will help, but you may need to remove dusty or dirty bedding or even take the turtle to a vet because its eye is stratched or otherwise damaged.

Does it live with other turtles? Is there a chance it could have been injured? What do you feed it? How warm and moist is the enclosure? Please tell as much as you can and maybe we can help you pinpoint the eye problem.