Swollen Eyes in Red-Eared Sliders & other Semi-Aquatic Turtles

[findi]

Hi All,

Swollen, inflamed eyes are commonly seen in a wide variety of captive turtles. Strangely, the hardy Red Eared Slider seems especially prone to this annoying and potentially life-threatening condition (as we’ll see, popular feeding practices may partially explain this). From childhood through my career as a herpetologist, standard wisdom has blamed the condition on a Vitamin A deficiency. Today we also know that poor water quality is responsible for many, if not most, of the eye problems seen in Sliders, Cooters, Painted Turtles and similar species. In this article we will look at the symptoms, causes, prevention and treatment of various turtle eye maladies. Read the rest of this article here http://bit.ly/1clVGQA

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Best Regards, Frank Indiviglio

 

[Thistles]

Thanks for this. I work in a pet store and our turtles almost always come in with puffy eyes. Depending on the vet, some just give antibiotics and some give Vitamin A. Sometimes the same unfortunate turtles come in with "shell rot" so it's pretty clear that dirty water is a problem at our supplier.

 

[findi]

Thanks for this. I work in a pet store and our turtles almost always come in with puffy eyes. Depending on the vet, some just give antibiotics and some give Vitamin A. Sometimes the same unfortunate turtles come in with "shell rot" so it's pretty clear that dirty water is a problem at our supplier.

My pleasure, thx for your interest. Common, esp with sliders; there was some movement towards regulating farming/ranching, but no real progress last time I checked. Best, Frank