Tortoise scratches eyes regularly

[Dosu]

Hello everyone,
For the past week, I noticed my greek tortoise use her front limb to wipe/scratch her eyes regularly. I know that coiled light bulbs can cause this but I don't use any. These are the two bulbs I use for light.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001FA07VQ/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002AQDJK/?tag=exoticpetnetw-20

Is there a chance that these bulbs are irritating her eyes? Or could there be another reason?
Thanks!
-Majd

 

[Lyn W]

Could she have something in them, substrate maybe? What do you use?

 

[Dosu]

Could she have something in them, substrate maybe? What do you use?

Atm I'm using reptibark, but I used to use reptibark and aspen, split throughout the enclosure.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Are the lights too low and too close?

 

[Dosu]

Are the lights too low and too close?

Umm, the MVB 100w is around 17.5 inches away, just far enough to have a basking temperature of 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The other bulb is really far away, around 35.5 inches away. So I don't think they're too close. He doesn't have any bubbles around his eyes or anything like that. He just scratches them a lot.

 

[keepergale]

Try mixing in some Vitamin A rich food into your tortoises diet. Bok Choy for example.

 

[Dosu]

Try mixing in some Vitamin A rich food into your tortoises diet. Bok Choy for example.

Okay, I try to get that for him tomorrow from the supermarket. Not sure if they'll have it though (I live in a desert climate and they don't tend to sell much vegetables)
Thanks!

 

[Tom]

Sounds like some sort of mechanical eye irritation. My best guess would be that aspen bedding. I wouldn't recommend that as a substrate.

Also, adding some humidity might help.

 

[Dosu]

Sounds like some sort of mechanical eye irritation. My best guess would be that aspen bedding. I wouldn't recommend that as a substrate.

Also, adding some humidity might help.

Yeah, I don't use aspen anymore, so I hope the irritation will go away. I'm misting the enclosure couple of times a day but have no way of finding out the humidity levels since I can't find a humidity sensor anywhere where I live. If the irritation doesn't go away in a few days I'll update you guys.
Thanks!

 

[Tom]

Can you get Terramycin there? It is an eye ointment and it might speed healing and prevent infection if there is an injury of some sort.

 

[Dosu]

Can you get Terramycin there? It is an eye ointment and it might speed healing and prevent infection if there is an injury of some sort.

There is only one petshop in the entire country and they don't sell much reptile stuff not do they sell any medicines. I'll try to go to the animal hospital pharmacy to find it but it's around 70 dollars to open a file for my tortoise there and you need a file to be able to buy anything in their pharmacy which I find is ridiculous, but I guess that's how they take advantage of being the only animal hospital in the country :/ Anyways I might as well open a file, just incase for the future, so I'll ask if they sell Terramycin there.
Thanks

 

[waretrop]

Maybe you could try an eye wash for humans. especially if you use Reptibark.

 

[Kasia]

Maybe try to wash his eyelids gently with a wet, soft towel and saline solution and get him out of his tank for a night - if its a substrate irritation a night on paper towels (day or two) should help. Are the lids swollen?