Turtle eye infection is a very common turtle eye disease. It generally occurs due to poor water quality and bacterial attack. In this article, I am going to talk about turtle eye infection home remedy, prevention, diagnosis, and cure.
Home remedies for turtle eye infection:
Unfortunately, there is no home remedy for turtle eye infection. If your turtle is suffering from an eye infection, you must seek the help of a reptile vet immediately. The vet will examine your turtle thoroughly and prescribe according to how severe the infection has become. In most cases, the vet will prescribe a systematic antibiotic for the turtle.
If you see signs of infection on your turtle eye, do not hesitate to go to the vet. It can get very serious with time and can make your turtle permanently blind. If you need to contact with an experienced turtle vet right away, have a look at our Emergency Turtle Vet Directory. Here you can contact with a turtle vet right away from any state you are.
Though there are no home remedies for turtle eye infection, there are some preventive methods you can follow to prevent this disease:
- The first thing to do is, make sure the turtle tank water is always fresh and clean. Dirty tank water is the number one reason for turtles to get sick. Bacteria from the poor quality water travel inside the turtle’s body and cause massive havoc.
- To keep the turtle tank water clean, first, you need to make sure that the tank is properly sized for your turtle. if the tank is undersized, then no matter what you do, you can never keep up with the load of the tank. A general rule of thumb is, turtles need about 10 gallons of swimming space for per inch length of the shell. So, if your tank is undersized, replace it immediately with a bigger size tank.
- The next thing you need to look out for is a powerful canister filter. Canister filters are best when it comes to taking care of a turtle tank. They are very powerful and can maintain the load of a turtle tank. Generally, all canister filters are good, however, I like Aquatop CF500UV the best, as it comes with customizable media storage which is simply awesome.
- Chlorinated water is also a common cause for irritating turtle eyes. You need to use a good dechlorinator if the tank water contains an excessive amount of chlorine and chloramine.
- Make sure the tank has everything that is vital for a turtle’s healthy growth such as a basking area, UVB light, heat lamp, proper filter etc.
- Also, you can perform basic turtle eye care regularly to keep your turtle’s eye healthy. To learn more about it, click here.
- Some good products for turtle eyes are Zoo Med Repti Turtle eye drop, Nature Zone’s turtle eye vitamin, Zoo Med Reptile Calcium Before applying any of these to your turtle, ask the approval of your turtle vet.
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Symptoms of turtle eye infection:
- The eye’s conjunctiva, as well as the nearby area, will start to get red.
- Eyes will get swollen. Sometimes, they can get watery too
- The turtle will try to rub its eyes or scratch it often
- Wheezing
- Loss of appetite
- Drastically losing weight
- Fluid secretion from the nose and mouth etc.
Diagnosis of turtle eye infection
To diagnose the turtle eye infection properly, the vet will get a swab and use it to sample the mucus around the eyes of the turtles. Then this sample will be used to diagnose the disease of the turtle. according to the type and severity of the infection, the vet will prescribe a suitable systematic antibiotic. Normally the antibiotic is applied through injection.
There are various types of bacteria that can cause turtle eye infection. However, the most common ones are Pseudomonas and Aeromonas. There is no way you can confirm which type of bacteria is causing the infection. The vet can do it with proper instruments.
Whichever bacteria is causing the infection, if it is left unattended for a long period of time, the turtle will suffer from additional diseases such as infection on the respiratory tract. If the infection gets terminal, you may observe swelling around the feet of the turtle too.
Is it safe to use human eye drops for turtles?
No, it’s not. Human eyes are a lot more different than turtles’. So, the eye drops will not work effectively in the case of turtles. Also, it can be quite dangerous for the turtles.
Go to the pet shop and get a proper eye drop that is formulated solely for reptiles such as Zoo Med Repti Eye drops. It is better if you can ask the help of a vet before buying any medication for your turtle.
Antibiotic eye drops for turtles:
Some common antibiotic eye drops for turtles are chloramphenicol, neomycin, and gentamycin. Generally, in the case of turtles, the antibiotics are injected into the body rather than applying on the eyes. Because it is very difficult to apply drops on turtle eyes.
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