Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We are relatively new to turtles but bought a WC (I know we didn't think about it at the time...) over the summer. He had been doing reasonably well in an enclosure with both a timed reptile spectrum type light and heat lamp in an enclosure with a soil/moss substrate, daily water changes, a hide, and a place where the substrate is deep enough to burrow. About 1 week ago he started showing signs when he only ate 3 crickets (almost force fed)... Since then he won't eat anything offered (veggies, mealworms, or crickets) when he used to eat like a pig (15-20 worms per feeding). He isn't as active in spending time in his water, so a couple days ago we gave him a tepid bath in the tub. Also, he's been spending most of his time hiding (actually we've been "waking" him to see if he'll eat). Finally, today we noticed that his right eye is leaking a milky white substance. We don't have alot of money for futile vet bills and would love any advice people may have.

Thanks
Ron and Liss

It sounds like the turtle really wants to brumate (at least all the talk about hiding most of the time and refusing food seems to indicate so). Keep it warm for another couple of weeks to make sure all the food in its system gets fully digested/eliminated, then you could stick it in the garage or similar cool (but not freezing) area for a month or so.

BUT:

The eye discharge is something I'd have checked out before putting the turtle down for the winter. It shouldn't cost too much to have a vet check it out, and the medicine would probably be some eyedrops, also inexpensive.

If you don't have a book about box turtles (Mine's packed away--"The Box Turtle Manual" is the title, as I recall), you should get one. It talks about common maladies.
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

this turtle is oozing pus from the eye. it is sick. it must not be hibernated this year.

the most common cause of eye problems in box turtle is dry habitat so make sure you soak the turtle everydayand keep the habitat nice and moist. use moss or something that holds water good

its possibel that the turtle has a vitamin deficiecy from not eating well and being fed too much meat, not enough veggies. try some real collorful foods like tomato or purple grapes

but another thing is that turtles with respiratory infections show the same problems that you are talking about, not eating, eye problems...... watch for noisy breathing or streching up the neck to gasp for air. does the turtle float lopsidded in water?? if you see signs like that, go to a vet right away

dont hibernate any turtle the first year you get it or if there are any signs of health probs.

I am a real newbie with my box turtle but I can pass on to you that I did take mine into an Exotic Animal Veterinarian and it really was not expensive at all. The Doc gave her an injection (Vitamins)as her mucus membranes looked a bit pale(Don't ask! LOL) and sent me home with Betadine for swabbing the injured parts of her plastron and suggested Neosporin for follow up after the Betadine. It was about 40 bucks( he also did a swab and a gram pos and neg stain on my ducks eye). He tried his best to help keep the cost down even though I did not mention this.

Good luck with your turtle. LQ

I'm from the same family who sent the original "please help" message.
OK, we decided not to hibernate him since one eye continues to be difficult for him to open and looks mucussy. We learned about a puree mix of sweet potatoe, pedialite, cod liver oil, and calcium to feed with a syringe for boxies not eating. He hasn't eaten in a week and a half, and I could only get two mouth fulls of this stuff in him.
I'm keeping his soil/moss mixture moist, but the soil keeps gunking around his eyes, and someone sugested putting him on a substrate of only rabbit feed pellets to keep things dry and clean and dust free.
I gave him turtle eye drops from the pet store, force fed him 2 mouth fulls of the mix (like I mentioned), and when I came back to check him a couple hours later he was completely burried under his soil. Do I disturbe him to change the substrate to rabbit feed or not? How offten should I dig him up if I know he's not eating or drinking?

>>OK, we decided not to hibernate him since one eye continues to be difficult for him to open and looks mucussy. We learned about a puree mix of sweet potatoe, pedialite, cod liver oil, and calcium to feed with a syringe for boxies not eating. He hasn't eaten in a week and a half, and I could only get two mouth fulls of this stuff in him.

Even at room temperature, your box turtle isn't going to starve in a couple of weeks. Do ensure it's getting sufficient hydration, though (soaking will help).

someone sugested putting him on a substrate of only rabbit feed pellets to keep things dry and clean and dust free.

Newspaper can keep things dry and clean and dust free much more cheaply. I've tried rabbit pellets in the past, and they get disgusting and stinky whenever they get wet (e.g. turtle pee).

>>I gave him turtle eye drops from the pet store,

I don't know what kind of drops those are, but it's possible they won't help (but also possible they will). They could just mask the symptoms of an underlying problem. I'd still try to take the turtle in to a qualified vet!
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet

Keeping your turtles environment dry may be a bad idea at this point, and may in fact worsen your turtle's condition. Eye and upper respiratory problems worsen in dry indoor habitats.
There is an opthalmic antibiotic ointment (Terramycin) that you can order on the web for a few dollars, that is quite effective. I ordered my supply from Jeffers.com (they don't have many supplies for reptiles). Like any antibiotic, you should use it daily for 10-14 days to make sure the problem has completely cleared up.
I would also be wary of supplementing with cod liver oil: use very small amounts, if any. If the turtle is ingesting squashes or yams or dark leafy greens, you probably shouldn't need to supplement at all. Do not assume the problem is a vitamin A deficiency!
So, boost humidity, soak it frequently in 'conditioned' water, let it hide when it wants to (if its WC, this will be most of the time), get some Terramycin and use it, and be patient.
Stephanie