eye problem and hydration

Phil1988 · 30-03-2012, 03:38 PM

Hi everyone,

Sorry i skipped the intro page, but i just have a few questions. One of them rather pressing.

So im Phil, 23 living at home with the parents post uni. And oh yeah my dads 4 tortoises. Obviously at only 23 ive been around them all my life but due to various reasons im taking more and more of an active role in their care. However we are having a bit of a disagreement.

I think there is something wrong with Helga's eye. Helga is a spur theighed tortosie and i'll be honest i don't know much more than that! I look after them but i don't really know all the terms and things. My dad bought here as an adult with unknown history really literally decades ago way before i was born from a local pet shop before there was licencing etc. Anyway a vet said she was 70+ back in the 1990s so shes getting on a bit. Shes only had one health problem which cant be related to this and eats fine etc.

As you can see from the photos one eye is fine the other eye is sort of swollen..or the lids are, the heads the same shape, theres no puss/weeping or anything trapped in there. She definately had it last year and we hoped it would sort itself out. My dad just says its old age but i don't know what do you guys think? She can still see out of it perfectly well, she blinks fine..it just looks..erm..'odd'.

see photos:
Normal eye:

not so normal:

Slightly related is there a decent vet in west yorkshire? I've seen the list on here and it shows a sarah at holly house leeds, but can anyone actually recommend a vet? I think my dads worried about costs too.

Helga thankfully has learnt to drink from the bottle however the other 3 seem very reluctant to drink. Any ideas on how to improve this? e.g they'd rather suck it from the ground than use the water bowl

...why?!

thanks in advance, while you're reading i suppose ill go off and photograph the rest....

Phil (&the tortoises: Helga, Herman, Hermione, Heidi- my dad's sense of humour..)

pagan queen · 30-03-2012, 09:00 PM

I don't know what it is but I would take her to the vet if she were mine. Someone with more knowledge than me may be along soon with more help.
In regards to hydration, do you bath the torts? They should be soaked in warm water for about 20 mins at least every other day if not every day. This gives them the chance to drink.

terig · 31-03-2012, 07:58 AM

Hi, like pagan queen said, I bath mine every day this is when mine tend to have a drink and generally rehydrate. One of my Leopard tortoises hates a bath and is always trying to get out, but she still has one. I cannot recommend a vet up there, but a checkover shouldnt cost that much. Although you might find that by giving her a soak you can bathe it at the same time, thats what I did when georges eye looked the same as your tortoise. Water has to be tepid too in case you didnt know.

**Alan1** · 31-03-2012, 08:37 AM

the eye looks swollen which might mean infection. I don't think it would be too costly to get eye drops or antibiotics from the vet, others may know, I have never had to get them.

Also you can use Hypromellose safely which you can buy from a chemist but you have to ask for it as it's not an off the shelf item, it is not an antibiotic and is only of use really if an eye is stuck shut. If it was like this last year then there is something going on there for sure

JoesMum · 31-03-2012, 10:16 AM

Where in the country are you Phil? Someone may be able to recommend a good vet that won't bankrupt you.

Steph37 · 02-04-2012, 09:18 PM

Hi, one of my horsfields woke with eyes shut and bulging like ET-and thought it and 2 others had RNS but it turned out to be a very severe eye infection. Vet thought it had lost its eyes and it certainly (when its eyes first opened several days after treament)looked as though it would have no vision but all is well. It was very much worse than this, and had to have baytril injections and baytril eye ointment (which I am tapering off now). Not saying this is the answer with yours but all I can say is that now, three weeks after initial treatment, I know when she needs some cream on as her eyes look like that-BUT also, I was unwell last week and couldnt bath her every day and her eyes were worse for not being hydrated. So it could be a combination with yours? Unfortunately mine was too ill at the beginning to sit in a water dish as she wouldnt have got out but now I sit her in her dish daily and she drinks (never seen a tortoise drink as much-not when given the opportunity twice daily) solidly for ten minutes twice a day. I bath the others in a dish they (theoretically) cant get out of, but have found this is the best way for her as she obviously seems to need to drink a lot and this does have an impact on how her eyes are (although most tortoises eyes are sunken when dehydrated). I know others use Hyperm(whatever the last person suggested-you just have to say its for you and yes, you have used it before-ha!) Also you can put Abidec baby vitamins in the drinking water-my mum has gotten rid of several cataracts (tortoises, not her own!) this way.

Phil1988 · 03-04-2012, 12:41 PM

Hi thanks for the response. Its hard getting info out of my dad; he's 'not well' shall we say, hence me taking over.

He rekons its been like that for a while.

I'm in west yorkshire. (cant say more than that for obvious reasons!!). i read somewhere on here that theres a vet in leeds, holly house, sarah i think. Can anyone recommend her? or anyone else? Leeds isnt too far away i suppose.....

My dad used to put them in our bath or a paddling pool when theyd woken up, but gave up. Partly i think due to his ill health. Though none of the tortoises seemed to like water anyway, theyd rarely drink whilst being bathed.

Its not too big a problem at the moment as helga will drink from the bottle, herman and hermione suck it out of the ground if you make a puddle for them or occasionally from the bowl, but never from the bottle. I don't know why, i mean if you can train one species of tortoise to drink from the bottle then why not the others/hermans? Heidi..she thinks shes a camel...and doesnt seem to want to drink at all, though she could be drinking from the bowl when im not there. I have to say heidi's drinking has been like this for years and apart from her overbite shes fine. Again shes had overbite issues ever since my dads had her (1986).

Looking around at your pens/enclosures i notice that the water bowls are often sunk into the ground; does this make a difference?

At the moment theyve gone back to sleep anyway; this weather has really confused them.

Thanks for the advice. No the eye isnt stuck..nor is the head swollen weeping etc. It just loooks..erm..funny. Her sights still pefect too. As confrimed by the finger test.

I saw someone on here had put dont fiberglass a tortoise. why would you want to?! When we got herman he had a hole in his shell, right at the back on the flange (so not through anything), we think a previous owner had done it so he could be tied up..shocking what people do. Anyway the point is my dad used modeling clay to fill in the hole. Think it lasted 10 years or so too and didnt harm him at all...

thanks for the advice
Phil

Ozric Jonathan · 03-04-2012, 02:00 PM

Hi Phil

I have water bowls sunk into the ground and the reason I do that is that the tortoise can get to the water more easily. But if a tortoise will drink from a water bowl sitting on the ground I would think that would be better because they would drag less rubbish into the water.

The water dish that is buried in the ground is like a puddle from the tortoise point of view and they may be more likely to drink from it.

Fibreglass has been used for shell repairs and alhtough I've no experience of this I believe it works well. Some tortoises that were badly damaged by dogs/cars have been repaired this way and had a good result. Drilling holes used to be commonplace but hopefully there is a lot less of that going on now that we know the shell is living tissue.

About the eye, it would be worth bathing it in something like 'artifical tears' which can be had from the chemists.

**Alan1** · 03-04-2012, 03:39 PM

I thought fibreglass wasn't to be used to repair damaged shells?

**Alan1** · 03-04-2012, 03:46 PM

no, you're right it must have been okay to use at one time. i found this more up to date one though http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...2&postcount=11

30-03-2012, 03:38 PM	#1
Phil1988 Junior Member Egg Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 2	eye problem and hydration Hi everyone, Sorry i skipped the intro page, but i just have a few questions. One of them rather pressing. So im Phil, 23 living at home with the parents post uni. And oh yeah my dads 4 tortoises. Obviously at only 23 ive been around them all my life but due to various reasons im taking more and more of an active role in their care. However we are having a bit of a disagreement. I think there is something wrong with Helga's eye. Helga is a spur theighed tortosie and i'll be honest i don't know much more than that! I look after them but i don't really know all the terms and things. My dad bought here as an adult with unknown history really literally decades ago way before i was born from a local pet shop before there was licencing etc. Anyway a vet said she was 70+ back in the 1990s so shes getting on a bit. Shes only had one health problem which cant be related to this and eats fine etc. As you can see from the photos one eye is fine the other eye is sort of swollen..or the lids are, the heads the same shape, theres no puss/weeping or anything trapped in there. She definately had it last year and we hoped it would sort itself out. My dad just says its old age but i don't know what do you guys think? She can still see out of it perfectly well, she blinks fine..it just looks..erm..'odd'. see photos: Normal eye: not so normal: Slightly related is there a decent vet in west yorkshire? I've seen the list on here and it shows a sarah at holly house leeds, but can anyone actually recommend a vet? I think my dads worried about costs too. Helga thankfully has learnt to drink from the bottle however the other 3 seem very reluctant to drink. Any ideas on how to improve this? e.g they'd rather suck it from the ground than use the water bowl ...why?! thanks in advance, while you're reading i suppose ill go off and photograph the rest.... Phil (&the tortoises: Helga, Herman, Hermione, Heidi- my dad's sense of humour..)

30-03-2012, 09:00 PM	#2
pagan queen Senior Member Adult Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Kent Posts: 6,073	I don't know what it is but I would take her to the vet if she were mine. Someone with more knowledge than me may be along soon with more help. In regards to hydration, do you bath the torts? They should be soaked in warm water for about 20 mins at least every other day if not every day. This gives them the chance to drink. __________________ 1.0.1 TG Ibera 1.0.0 Chinese Frise dog 0.1.0 African Grey Parrot 0.1.0 Hahns Macaw 0.1.0 Pearly Conure 0.2.0 Guinea Pigs 0.2.0 Chickens 1.0.0 Bearded Dragon 7.4.0 Budgies 1.1.0 Cockatiels 1.3 Kids 1 Husband

31-03-2012, 07:58 AM	#3
terig Member Hatched Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: East Sussex Posts: 352	Hi, like pagan queen said, I bath mine every day this is when mine tend to have a drink and generally rehydrate. One of my Leopard tortoises hates a bath and is always trying to get out, but she still has one. I cannot recommend a vet up there, but a checkover shouldnt cost that much. Although you might find that by giving her a soak you can bathe it at the same time, thats what I did when georges eye looked the same as your tortoise. Water has to be tepid too in case you didnt know. __________________ --------------- 2 Leopards, 2 Horsfields, 1 Spur 1 Weimarana, 1 Wirehaird Vszla - crazy dog!!

31-03-2012, 10:16 AM	#5
JoesMum Member Hatchling Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Kent Posts: 717	Where in the country are you Phil? Someone may be able to recommend a good vet that won't bankrupt you. __________________ 1.0.0 Testudo Graeca Graeca (Mediterranean Spur Thigh) raised from very small and approximately 50 years old.

03-04-2012, 02:00 PM	#8
Ozric Jonathan Senior Member Adult Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: West of Scotland Posts: 4,226	Hi Phil I have water bowls sunk into the ground and the reason I do that is that the tortoise can get to the water more easily. But if a tortoise will drink from a water bowl sitting on the ground I would think that would be better because they would drag less rubbish into the water. The water dish that is buried in the ground is like a puddle from the tortoise point of view and they may be more likely to drink from it. Fibreglass has been used for shell repairs and alhtough I've no experience of this I believe it works well. Some tortoises that were badly damaged by dogs/cars have been repaired this way and had a good result. Drilling holes used to be commonplace but hopefully there is a lot less of that going on now that we know the shell is living tissue. About the eye, it would be worth bathing it in something like 'artifical tears' which can be had from the chemists. __________________ Testudo Hermanni Hermanni (Corse) tortoises

31-03-2012, 08:37 AM	#4
Alan1 Super Moderator Adult Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Sunny Scotland Posts: 21,512	the eye looks swollen which might mean infection. I don't think it would be too costly to get eye drops or antibiotics from the vet, others may know, I have never had to get them. Also you can use Hypromellose safely which you can buy from a chemist but you have to ask for it as it's not an off the shelf item, it is not an antibiotic and is only of use really if an eye is stuck shut. If it was like this last year then there is something going on there for sure

02-04-2012, 09:18 PM	#6
Steph37 Member Hatched Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 361	Hi, one of my horsfields woke with eyes shut and bulging like ET-and thought it and 2 others had RNS but it turned out to be a very severe eye infection. Vet thought it had lost its eyes and it certainly (when its eyes first opened several days after treament)looked as though it would have no vision but all is well. It was very much worse than this, and had to have baytril injections and baytril eye ointment (which I am tapering off now). Not saying this is the answer with yours but all I can say is that now, three weeks after initial treatment, I know when she needs some cream on as her eyes look like that-BUT also, I was unwell last week and couldnt bath her every day and her eyes were worse for not being hydrated. So it could be a combination with yours? Unfortunately mine was too ill at the beginning to sit in a water dish as she wouldnt have got out but now I sit her in her dish daily and she drinks (never seen a tortoise drink as much-not when given the opportunity twice daily) solidly for ten minutes twice a day. I bath the others in a dish they (theoretically) cant get out of, but have found this is the best way for her as she obviously seems to need to drink a lot and this does have an impact on how her eyes are (although most tortoises eyes are sunken when dehydrated). I know others use Hyperm(whatever the last person suggested-you just have to say its for you and yes, you have used it before-ha!) Also you can put Abidec baby vitamins in the drinking water-my mum has gotten rid of several cataracts (tortoises, not her own!) this way.

03-04-2012, 12:41 PM	#7
Phil1988 Junior Member Egg Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 2	Hi thanks for the response. Its hard getting info out of my dad; he's 'not well' shall we say, hence me taking over. He rekons its been like that for a while. I'm in west yorkshire. (cant say more than that for obvious reasons!!). i read somewhere on here that theres a vet in leeds, holly house, sarah i think. Can anyone recommend her? or anyone else? Leeds isnt too far away i suppose..... My dad used to put them in our bath or a paddling pool when theyd woken up, but gave up. Partly i think due to his ill health. Though none of the tortoises seemed to like water anyway, theyd rarely drink whilst being bathed. Its not too big a problem at the moment as helga will drink from the bottle, herman and hermione suck it out of the ground if you make a puddle for them or occasionally from the bowl, but never from the bottle. I don't know why, i mean if you can train one species of tortoise to drink from the bottle then why not the others/hermans? Heidi..she thinks shes a camel...and doesnt seem to want to drink at all, though she could be drinking from the bowl when im not there. I have to say heidi's drinking has been like this for years and apart from her overbite shes fine. Again shes had overbite issues ever since my dads had her (1986). Looking around at your pens/enclosures i notice that the water bowls are often sunk into the ground; does this make a difference? At the moment theyve gone back to sleep anyway; this weather has really confused them. Thanks for the advice. No the eye isnt stuck..nor is the head swollen weeping etc. It just loooks..erm..funny. Her sights still pefect too. As confrimed by the finger test. I saw someone on here had put dont fiberglass a tortoise. why would you want to?! When we got herman he had a hole in his shell, right at the back on the flange (so not through anything), we think a previous owner had done it so he could be tied up..shocking what people do. Anyway the point is my dad used modeling clay to fill in the hole. Think it lasted 10 years or so too and didnt harm him at all... thanks for the advice Phil

03-04-2012, 03:39 PM	#9
Alan1 Super Moderator Adult Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Sunny Scotland Posts: 21,512	I thought fibreglass wasn't to be used to repair damaged shells?

03-04-2012, 03:46 PM	#10
Alan1 Super Moderator Adult Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Sunny Scotland Posts: 21,512	no, you're right it must have been okay to use at one time. i found this more up to date one though http://www.shelledwarriors.co.uk/for...2&postcount=11

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