- Joined
- Jul 14, 2015
- Messages
- 6
Hi all. I have a pair of Hermann’s tortoises that are now about a year and 3 months old. One of the two is slow to open his eyes and seems to have trouble seeing, which is most obvious when he tries to eat. He’ll reach out and ‘snap’ his mouth into the air while he’s right over or next to food (weeds, romaine, mazuri, etc.). Based on his wild inaccuracy, it seems clear to me that he can’t see the food in front of him.
He’s displayed this behavior in the past and I started giving him ZooMed turtle eye drops which seemed to largely correct the issue. Come to think of it, it may have started around winter time last year, so perhaps he’s undergoing some instinctive hibernation changes?
As background, when I received my tortoises, the troubled one had a shell that was slightly misshapen (the peak of his shell’s dome was offset). His shell has formed to be more symmetrical now but he’s significantly smaller than the other tortoise. This may be totally irrelevant, but it makes me wonder if his shell shape was an indication of development issues.
The light source for his enclosure is a mercury vapor bulb. I know that compact fluorescent bulbs have a reputation for causing eye problems. Has anyone heard of mercury vapor bulbs causing the same issues? Should I switch to a fluorescent tube for UV and a spot lamp for heat?
He’s displayed this behavior in the past and I started giving him ZooMed turtle eye drops which seemed to largely correct the issue. Come to think of it, it may have started around winter time last year, so perhaps he’s undergoing some instinctive hibernation changes?
As background, when I received my tortoises, the troubled one had a shell that was slightly misshapen (the peak of his shell’s dome was offset). His shell has formed to be more symmetrical now but he’s significantly smaller than the other tortoise. This may be totally irrelevant, but it makes me wonder if his shell shape was an indication of development issues.
The light source for his enclosure is a mercury vapor bulb. I know that compact fluorescent bulbs have a reputation for causing eye problems. Has anyone heard of mercury vapor bulbs causing the same issues? Should I switch to a fluorescent tube for UV and a spot lamp for heat?