Eyes get red and swollen

[Nitabnita31]

Hi there my tortoise since birth gets red eyes and swollen. I have some drops given to me by vet but was wondering what causes it.
She is in a organic cypress mulch. I changed to this one. She has been in sand. Then redwood. Changed that one quick. But has been in the cypress mulch for the past 2 years. They will be 3 in November.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

What kind of UVB light are you using? The coil bulbs have been known to cause eye issues.

 

[Tom]

Hi there my tortoise since birth gets red eyes and swollen. I have some drops given to me by vet but was wondering what causes it.
She is in a organic cypress mulch. I changed to this one. She has been in sand. Then redwood. Changed that one quick. But has been in the cypress mulch for the past 2 years. They will be 3 in November.
View attachment 281094

Your picture didn't come through. We'll need more info about your set up, lighting, diet and temperatures.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

He has what looks like closed eyes and some moderate pyramiding.
It might be a lighting and humidity issue.
Please take photos of the enclosure, lighting...Anything is helpful.
(As has already been mentioned)
Theres something serious going on there.

 

[Yvonne G]

Since this is an ongoing problem, we have to assume there's something wrong with his habitat/enclosure/yard that's not agreeing with him. It will help us to help you if we can see the area where he lives and everything he's exposed to.

Has he been in contact with your desert tortoises?

 

[Nitabnita31]

The following pictures are his new set up as of July this year.

He has had this issue since he was a couple of months old.

He eats pellets
Red and green leaf lettuce
Romaine lettuce
All organic
I will put carrots once and a while and he doesn’t eat them
I give them apples as a treat
I also add dandelion leaves
And hibiscus

These two turtles have been together since birth and the other one does not get it.
They are from 2 different families

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm sorry that I am so low to recognise a problem here. This thread is posted in the sulcata section, however, the tortoise shown in the picture is a desert tortoise. So, are both tortoises desert tortoises, or is the one not shown a sulcata?

The tortoise pictured is plenty big enough to now be living permanently outside, and separated from the other one, no matter the species. Desert tortoises are territorial and don't do well in pairs, as shown by the chronic eye problem.

Desert tortoises are wild animals and haven't gone through years of human intervention to make them domesticated. As such, you need to treat him like a wild animal and give him a safe, large outdoor area to live in.

Clear up the eye problem then fix him an outdoor area. Besides that, your enclosure isn't big enough for one tortoise yet you keep two of them in there.

I think you'll see that the eye problem goes away and stays away once you let him live outside like a wild tortoise and by himself.