Bella's eye is shut!!! Help

[LadyV]

I played with her for a couple pf hours last night..out her in her inside pen about 10:30...put her out in her outside pen this morning about 9:30...didn't notice at that time. Got her her out to feed her (I usually hand feed her) and notice her left eye is shut...you can see where she is blinking under it.. I took some warm water and a tissue and rubbed over it lightly....I live in Winslow...no Specialty Vets here, if it doesn't open I'll have to take her to Flagstaff or Phoenix, and hour or two hours away, which of course if need be, we will. Is there an ointment or anything to put on it? What would be safe for her?

Thank you

 

[bikerchicspain]

Clean the eye with Luke warm water and use Terramicine eye ointment,it's brilliant,

 

[LadyV]

Thank you.....I think I have some of that too!!!!

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Yvonne has given you the best advice possible. You should be able to get the ointment at any feed store and I know Winslow has feed stores...But turtles and tortoises are not like other pets and it's really not a good idea to have one away from it's hot lights and played with. Having one away from it's basking lights for a couple of hours lowers it's body temperature by several degrees and it's not a natural thing for them to be out of their habitats and being played with like that, it stresses them out and an eye closed might be one sign of that stress.
And while I'm at it, suppose you get sick next year for example, and someone else has to feed her will she know how to eat on her own? Or, God forbid, you get killed in a car accident out on I40 the people who take her are not going to hand feed her and if you've been hand feeding her for a year or more the chances that she doesn't remember how to eat normally are pretty good. My point is that she needs to be treated like a normal chelonian. If you love her then give her the chance to be a normal tortoise. I don't mean any disrespect to you but you are not doing Bella any favors by treating her like that.
I have seen small tortoises die from the stress of being played with so please take advantage of my experience and leave her in her habitat....

 

[Jacob]

I Have Heard About Terramicine eye ointment In Previous Threads,Owners Said It Worked wonders, Magic
see If You Can Find It In Previous Threads Tho!

Im With Maggie Too, You Dont Want To Handel or Hand feed Frequently!
On Occasion It Wont Hurt, But Dont Try To Make It Habit!

 

[LadyV]

Bella doesn't have "Heat Lights" she has natural sun all day (with hide holes and shading) Yes, she can eat on her own...I hand feed her several times a week...used to only hand feed....as to "playing" with her. When watching TV, I will put a towel on my chest area and she sits there with me....this is our "playing", not any other way really to "play" with her LOL......we've been doing this for a couple of years now....she will also follow me around the yard......

 

[Maggie Cummings]

I am only going on what you yourself said. I used your words and gave you the benefit of my experience and now you are backing up. You said you "played" with her for several hours last night. That means she is out of her habitat and away from any heat/basking lights she should have. Even if she is in the sun all day, when you bring her in at night she should have some sort of basking light or light to keep her metabolism working correctly. You also said you "usually" hand fed her, I am just giving you advice based on what you yourself said. So possibly I need to make it more simple for you, she is too cold from not having a correct heat system and from not being allowed to bask under a basking light, and stressed out from being handled too much.

 

[LadyV]

No...I said "a couple of hours" not several. There is a difference. A couple constitutes two (Two items of the same kind; a pair.) where as "several" usually refers to “more than two but not many”....she has never had a light at night...she would not normally have one in the Asian area and it gets cool at night. I am not looking to have an argument here, nor was I "backing up" from anything! I replayed with more information in which to further explain, in more detail, what I was talking about. I've had her for maybe three years now, she was given to me……. Taking care of her, until I found this site, from studying on the web. I brought her with me, from Kentucky to Arizona. She is very active, elements well, eats well, she’s actually a little piglet and other than her eye, which seems fine now, she has had no illnesses, so I would assume she is not stressed. Thank you for your reply and the information you provided.