Help! My little boy's eyes are hurt :(

Damien Szkatulski

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I made a mistake. I went to get a UVB for my little sulcata boy and I *assumed* that if it was advertised towards animals, it wouldn't literally cause blindness. I got a coil UVB and used it for around a 2 weeks. My tortoise has recently began closing his eyes when he is awake/walking around with one eye closed. Has anyone had experience with this and know how bad it is and how to treat it?
 

Bambam1989

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Hello there!
Did you get rid of the coil bulb? He may need a couple days for his eyes to recuperate.
Improper substrate may also cause eye irritation. May we know what kind your using, just to be safe?
 

Damien Szkatulski

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Hello there!
Did you get rid of the coil bulb? He may need a couple days for his eyes to recuperate.
Improper substrate may also cause eye irritation. May we know what kind your using, just to be safe?

I got rid of the coil bulb yes. I was planning on keeping his entire enclosure dark for a couple days. His substrate is rabbit pellets and sand. Just kidding he's actually using coconut choir with small patches of aspen mulch in the places he likes to rest. I'm happy to hear the word recuperate. I was worried my mistake would permanently harm his eyesight to an extent. He still opens his eyes occasionally and follows my finger in front of him with his little head so I know he's not hard at seeing, I'm thinking it was mainly about the pain of a bright light more than anything
 

Bambam1989

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No need to keep the enclosure dark.
Hmm I don't think Aspen is a great choice, maybe replace it with some orchid bark/ fir just to be safe... Although it is better than sand and pellets[emoji6]
 

ZEROPILOT

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The enclosure is dark. Are you keeping it warm?
What are you using in the meantime?
This is the type of UV lamp that a lot of us use. But for a Sulcata, a 10.0. Not a 5.0
 

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Tom

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Not all cfl bulbs cause eye problems. Only some of them. The problem is that there is no way to tell until damage is done. When there is a problem with one of these bulbs, it is usually both eyes.

SInce you have and issue with just one eye, my best guess is that something got in there and irritated the eye, or he possibly poked it on something. Possibly the aspen bedding?

In case you haven't seen these yet:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/
 

Damien Szkatulski

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Not all cfl bulbs cause eye problems. Only some of them. The problem is that there is no way to tell until damage is done. When there is a problem with one of these bulbs, it is usually both eyes.

SInce you have and issue with just one eye, my best guess is that something got in there and irritated the eye, or he possibly poked it on something. Possibly the aspen bedding?

In case you haven't seen these yet:
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/how-to-raise-a-healthy-sulcata-or-leopard-version-2-0.79895/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/for-those-who-have-a-young-sulcata.76744/

I was originally misunderstanding. It is both eyes. He takes time opening his eyes and once he opened one at a time.. so I thought it was one eye. I ordered a new UVB bulb and I'm planning on giving him a higher D3/calcium supplement dosage until it gets here. I have it dark for the night at the moment in a heated room. The cage is 80 degrees but the basking isn't on. In the morning I'll give him his proper temperatures and a bit of d3.

But one again it is a problem with both eyes. He's either struggling opening his eyes or doesn't want to because it hurts. And I'm suspecting it's more because it hurts, considering he opens them for small moments occasionally when I soak him. No swelling and his eyes look normal, so I'm leaning away from the possibility of an infection.
 

Damien Szkatulski

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I was originally misunderstanding. It is both eyes. He takes time opening his eyes and once he opened one at a time.. so I thought it was one eye. I ordered a new UVB bulb and I'm planning on giving him a higher D3/calcium supplement dosage until it gets here. I have it dark for the night at the moment in a heated room. The cage is 80 degrees but the basking isn't on. In the morning I'll give him his proper temperatures and a bit of d3.

But once again it is a problem with both eyes. He's either struggling opening his eyes or doesn't want to because it hurts. And I'm suspecting it's more because it hurts, considering he opens them for small moments occasionally when I soak him. No swelling and his eyes look normal, so I'm leaning away from the possibility of an infection.

I shouldn't have been surprised that the brand name light I got was bad for him. Every single well respected pet store brand has some shady business. You'll see well respected fish tank brands selling half gallon tanks. Or mammal brands selling 5x10" hamster cages ;_;
I feel even DUMBER considering the packaging of the bulb had warnings about it being bad to look at directly. I assumed that the eye damage wouldn't apply to reptiles, and if it did it wouldn't be legal to sell ;;__;;
 

Damien Szkatulski

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Damien Szkatulski

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If anyone is on this thread at the moment I want to point out the fact that (like a lot of people on this forum) I unexpectedly got my little boy as a gift, and I have been trying my best to get him on track. That's why my questions might seem dumb sometimes.
 

Tom

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If anyone is on this thread at the moment I want to point out the fact that (like a lot of people on this forum) I unexpectedly got my little boy as a gift, and I have been trying my best to get him on track. That's why my questions might seem dumb sometimes.

I have not seen any questions from you that seemed the least bit dumb. I'm glad you are here and glad you are asking.
 

CarolM

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When I was first learning about taking care of my little guy, and before I joined this group, I bought a coil bulb. I noticed afterwards that there was something wrong with my little ones eye and then eyes. After doing research I concluded it was the bulb and took it out. Needless to say I felt like the worst person ever because I thought that I had made the little guy blind. After soaking him and putting warm water over his eyes everyday for awhile. They did improve. So hang in there it will come right just carry on giving him lots of TLC.
 

CarolM

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When I was first learning about taking care of my little guy, and before I joined this group, I bought a coil bulb. I noticed afterwards that there was something wrong with my little ones eye and then eyes. After doing research I concluded it was the bulb and took it out. Needless to say I felt like the worst person ever because I thought that I had made the little guy blind. After soaking him and putting warm water over his eyes everyday for awhile. They did improve. So hang in there it will come right just carry on giving him lots of TLC.
As you can see my little ones eyes are perfectly fine today.20171229_090102.jpg
 

Big Charlie

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If anyone is on this thread at the moment I want to point out the fact that (like a lot of people on this forum) I unexpectedly got my little boy as a gift, and I have been trying my best to get him on track. That's why my questions might seem dumb sometimes.
Don't worry. You want to do the best for your tortoise, and that is what we want too. We were all beginners once. I wish I had a forum like this I could ask for help when I got Charlie.
 

Kasia

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If anyone is on this thread at the moment I want to point out the fact that (like a lot of people on this forum) I unexpectedly got my little boy as a gift, and I have been trying my best to get him on track. That's why my questions might seem dumb sometimes.
I do understand that you’re ready for his future size?
 

Damien Szkatulski

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When I was first learning about taking care of my little guy, and before I joined this group, I bought a coil bulb. I noticed afterwards that there was something wrong with my little ones eye and then eyes. After doing research I concluded it was the bulb and took it out. Needless to say I felt like the worst person ever because I thought that I had made the little guy blind. After soaking him and putting warm water over his eyes everyday for awhile. They did improve. So hang in there it will come right just carry on giving him lots of TLC.

Yeah I've been soaking him twice daily, is there any point where soaking is unhealthy?
Btw your tortoise looks great!
 

CarolM

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Yeah I've been soaking him twice daily, is there any point where soaking is unhealthy?
Btw your tortoise looks great!
That I am not sure about. The older members would know better than me. I think at some point you don't need to do it as often but I am not sure what that point is yet. For now I soak everyday for about 20 to 30 minutes. BTW the bulb thing with my little one was right in the beginning and she/he is now 7 months going on 8. If I remember correctly I started noticing an improvement pretty soon after taking the coil bulb out.
 

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