I was given an approx. 1 1/4 inch long three toed box turtle as an early Christmas present, and I am concerned about his eyes. He was captive bred and I was told that the breeder said to "give him a heat light during the day, soak him once a week, and feed him Romaine lettuce". Hmm. I have him set up in an open top ten gallon tank with a concentrated 50 watt heat light at one corner. The temp at the warm end is approx. 87-90 degrees and the cooler end it is approx. 78 degrees. During the night the light is turned off and the temp is about 72. The humidity is maintained between 75 and 90 percent, only slight more dry at the basking spot. He has a shallow dish of water to wade in. He is kept on sphagnum moss, not the ground type. He has been offered romaine lettuce, orange, canned low fat dog food, and banana. He ate some dog food yesterday and seemed to enjoy it. He has been in his pool twice. Most of the time, he is staying burrowed in the medium temp part of his tank, which concerns me. He is active enough when I pick him up and put him on the carpet or hold him, but he has been staying in his burrow all the time when he is undisturbed.Also, when he is active, he swipes at his eyes with his front feet quite often like they are bothering him and he blinks with force. His eyes look somewhat puffy and he is reluctant to open them. If anyone has any suggestions as to what is happening, please let me know what I can do about it. He has no noticable nasal discharge or difficulty breathing. Thank you in advance for your help!
Aubrey
