Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have two Eastern Box Turtles that my husband brought home yesterday for the kids to see, just for a few days. I was upset that he took them out of their habitat (on private forested land) and we will be returning them the day after tomorrow. I'm aware of the salmonella risk, etc. It really bothers me that he brought them home, putting them through the stress.

The smaller turtle's eyes didn't look good this morning and are now totally swollen shut. From all I've read, I should separate them. I've also read about soaking the turtle in Gatorade three times a day for 45 min each time. That sounded strange.

I have them in an outdoor protected enclosure with good hiding spots.

Am I correct in not releasing the sick one back to the wild? Should I take it straight to an exotic pet vet? Please advise. I don't want it to suffer.

might just be a vitamin A deficiency, is there any nasal discharge? you could take it to a vet just make sure they specialize in reptiles. also soaking in pedialyte is more often recomended than gatorade but both work, I'd stop soaking for 45 mins instead only go 20 mins 2 times a day in warm water, as over soaking can cause skin problems.
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Thank you so much for replying. No, there is no nasal discharge. I haven't soaked it at all yet. Please be patient with me, but won't the turtle drown if I immerse it deep enough to cover it's eyes? How exactly do I soak it?

I really appreciate your help.

I found my first Boxie wandering on a street in Los Angeles(!!!) with her eyes swollen shut...my vet gave her a vitamin A shot and eye drops/ointments. I soaked her twice daily in a shallow baking pan- just enough to cover about half of her. Warm water and pedialyte. She would stick her head underwater and rub her eyes..then I applied drops and ointment.
My vet also asked me to give her a red heating lamp (I have her outside) and she slept under it.
It took her several month to be completely o.k, but I've had her for 10 years now...
Good Luck!

just bring the water up about 1/3-1/2 up the shell. I frequently use even deeper because mine likes it high enough so she can stretch out her back legs and float her behind off the bottom. I'm not recommending that for an eastern though, just throwing that out there...mine is a semi-auquatic mix...so she loves it.

going to the exotic vet is always good at the first signs.
this could be something it brought back with it. it could more likely, in fact, be a change in temps & humidity after being brought in from the wild if you brought it into your climate controlled home. it could have been a shock to it's system. and/or it could be an allergic reaction to whatever substrate you have it in. are you using any soil with fertilizers or other chemicals around?

you may also try a saline rinse of they eyes. do not return to the wild like this. if it doesn't improve the turtle will not be able to eat on it's own. you have to do something for it now that it came home and something happened.

Mick
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"When tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign foe."

James Madison

turtle bath. just thought I'd share. she luuvs her baths!

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"When tyranny and oppression come to this land, it will be in the guise of fighting a foreign foe."

James Madison

Thank you so much to all who responded. I'm happy to report that last night we put the turtles in organic dirt and spritzed them with lots of water. I think it was a humidity problem as the little one is much better now and is able to open its eyes. I will also do the soaking bath today.

I'm so glad that there are forums such as these. We were able to make a difference last night rather than wait to call an expert the next day.

That's great. Are you still going to return them to where they were found?

Interesting that it was found that way in the wild. Almost makes me think that perhaps someone held them captive, one got ill, and then the person let them go in this protected forest land because he/she did not know how to handle the situation.
Take the ill turtle to the vet to get an antibiotic in order to treat it. Keep him/her for a bit and re-release into the wild when 100% well again.
Hope that helps!

Yes, we will return the turtles to their original location as soon as they are 100% well. So far so good. The soaking baths did wonders. Thanks for all the input.