Sulcata eye infection?

[UrsusArctos]

Hi,

I'm writing because I'm not really sure if my Sulcata is suffering from an eye problem or not.

Our Sulcata is 5 months old, and over the last couple of days I've noticed that his/her eyes look a little bit crusty/gooey in the morning. She wipes her eyes with her little arms which seems to fix the problem. She then carries on her day- voracious eater, wandering all around, acting otherwise normal.

Could this just be "sleepy dust" or something for the sort? The eyes do not appear to be swollen, and after she rubs them, they look entirely clear. She is kept on slightly damp coconut/soil mixture, with a basking spot of 100 with the average tank being around 80 with a cool side. She always has water available, and this morning she happily chowed down on cactus. She also spends about half the day outside in a kiddy pool, which is in the shade, has the same substrate/hides etc with outdoor temps in the 90s.

Would it be worth my while to buy petstore brand turtle eye drops to see if it helps at all, or should I just go immediately to the vet? (Note: If her eyes were swollen or she acted sick I would wisk her to the vet immediately, but I just want to know if this sounds like a vet situation, since the exotic vet here costs 300 just to bring her in... ouch!).

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[wellington]

Give some insight on the type of lighting and if you could get a pic before she wipes it away, it may help.

 

[UrsusArctos]

Give some insight on the type of lighting and if you could get a pic before she wipes it away, it may help.

I have this lighting set, plus a ceramic heat emitter at night to keep temperatures stable.

http://www.petmountain.com/product/...med-zoo-med-desert-uvb-heat-lighting-kit.html

She's walking around in her outside enclosure right now (which has no lighting) and her eyes look clear.

 

[WillTort2]

I would advise replacing the compact fluorescent bulb with a 100 watt combination UV bulb. The CF bulbs are thought to cause eye problems.

 

[UrsusArctos]

Ok i removed the CF bulb on the 27th. I had read about the CF bulbs being bad but I was only thinking of the coiled around ones, not the brand I got (I specifically asked the petstore, and they said that these were fine, grrr).

So she's been without that light for 3 days. She is still eating/active etc, but she still is keeping her eyes closed quite a bit. I bought some tortoise eye drops (non perscription) and as soon as i drop them on her eyes she opens them right up and is alert.

Should I just continue to watch her over a week and assume that her eyes are healing, or should I take her in? She is still eating, drinking, pooping, etc.

 

[WillTort2]

Can you post a photo of her eyes?

 

[Tom]

Please save that bulb!!! Send a PM to Baoh. He is going to be undertaking a study to try and find out what is, or is not, the issue with these cfl bulbs. Some of them work fine and do no harm, while others cause the symptoms you are seeing. Please send him YOUR bulb and all the info about the fixture, the distance from the bulb to the tortoise, the orientation of the bulb etc.

And obviously, don't use it any more...

 

[UrsusArctos]

Please save that bulb!!! Send a PM to Baoh. He is going to be undertaking a study to try and find out what is, or is not, the issue with these cfl bulbs. Some of them work fine and do no harm, while others cause the symptoms you are seeing. Please send him YOUR bulb and all the info about the fixture, the distance from the bulb to the tortoise, the orientation of the bulb etc.

And obviously, don't use it any more...

I still have the bulb!

Also I decided to take her to the vet tomorrow at 9:15. Not worth the stress/pain for her, and then we'll know if its UV damage, or eye infection, etc.

 

[Tom]

Please keep us posted and let us know what the vet's assessment is. These bulbs have been an ongoing discussion here on the forum. I and several others have personally seen cases like what you describe, but others would like to see some sort of concrete proof of exactly what is going on. One issue with discovering the problem is that the problem is intermittent. One can buy a whole case of these bulbs and see no issue at all. But occasionally a person gets a bulb and it causes serious eye issues. What we need to do to gain some insight is take light meter measurements from one of the bulbs that is actually causing the problem and compare it to a baseline of bulbs that seem to not cause a problem. Ideally it should be measured in the fixture where it sits in the enclosure that caused the problem. Do you feel like buying a $300 light meter?

 

[Baoh]

Keep us updated. If it is not found to be something else like an eye infection, or even if it is, I will buy the bulb from you and add it to the others I will test for the reasons Tom posted (the possibility of issues that could be with individual bulbs). Please provide a photo of the enclosure with the fixture in place when you have time, too. You do not need to put the bulb back in. Is the tip of the bulb perpendicular to the floor when the fixture is in place? It appears that it would be, but I am asking for clarity.

Thanks and I hope your beast recovers well.

 

[UrsusArctos]

Okay we are back from the vet!

Well the vet ruled out respitory infection- no discharge from the nose, and he did a test where he floated her for a moment in some water, I guess to check lungs (?) and said that he wasn't worried about it being a systemic infection and that she looked like a very healthy tortoise besides the eye problem.

He said that he wasn't sure if it was caused by the bulb like I suggested, or just an eye infection. He said that her eyes were not badly damaged and to not worry too much, and gave me a perscription for Ciprofloxacin .3%, and said to give it to her twice daily.

So what do you guys think?

 

[Yvonne G]

Baoh: Note that they had the bulb mounted vertically. It is NOT supposed to be a problem when mounted horizontally.

 

[UrsusArctos]

Here is a shot of her eye:

---

Baoh: Note that they had the bulb mounted vertically. It is NOT supposed to be a problem when mounted horizontally.

Why do you think it makes a difference between being mounted vertically and horizontally?

 

[Yvonne G]

Because the harmful rays are concentrated out the end of the light bulb. When mounted horizontally, like in an aquarium hood, the harmful rays go off to the left or right, and are dissipated by the time they reach the floor of the habitat.

 

[Baoh]

Yup. That was what I meant by perpendicular. Thanks.

 

[UrsusArctos]

Just a little update- she looks better this morning! Yesterday she wasn't a happy camper and spent most of the day after the vet sleeping/not opening her eyes, but this morning her eyes are open and shes munching down on some cactus. Really nice relief. We haven't replaced her light yet- So let me just make sure- a Mercury Vapor Bulb is the way to go?

Also, I have kept other reptiles in the past, but not tortoises. When I had a sick Bearded Dragon, I would raise the temperatures in the tank slightly- should I keep our tortoise in a slightly warmer environment while shes on antibiotics?

Thanks to everyone for helping me.

Also- Baoh- I can send you the light if you want?

 

[Tom]

Glad she's feeling better.

The two best options for indoor UV in my opinion are long tube type florescent bulbs, which will also require a heat bulb for basking, or a mercury vapor bulb. Where are you? If you can get your tortoise out in the sun regularly, say at least a couple of times a week for an hour or more, you don't need indoor UV.

About your temps, this depends on what your temps already are. No harm in bumping it up to an ambient of 85-90 during the day and 80-85 at night. I would soak more frequently too if you do this to prevent dehydration. In your case, since this seems to be a mechanical injury due to the light, and not an immune system or infection problem, you probably don't need to mess with your temps, unless they were too low to begin with.

 

[Baoh]

Just a little update- she looks better this morning! Yesterday she wasn't a happy camper and spent most of the day after the vet sleeping/not opening her eyes, but this morning her eyes are open and shes munching down on some cactus. Really nice relief. We haven't replaced her light yet- So let me just make sure- a Mercury Vapor Bulb is the way to go?

Also, I have kept other reptiles in the past, but not tortoises. When I had a sick Bearded Dragon, I would raise the temperatures in the tank slightly- should I keep our tortoise in a slightly warmer environment while shes on antibiotics?

Thanks to everyone for helping me.

Also- Baoh- I can send you the light if you want?

Shoot me an email/PM with your Paypal address and the cost of the bulb and I will send the funds as well as the address to ship it to. Please cushion it well when shipping so that it has an excellent chance of surviving intact. I absolutely do want to pay you for it, too. No gifts.

 

[Yvonne G]

Yup. That was what I meant by perpendicular. Thanks.

Sorry, Baoh...that's what I get for my bad habit of "skimming" instead of in depth reading of the posts.

 

[Baoh]

Yup. That was what I meant by perpendicular. Thanks.

Sorry, Baoh...that's what I get for my bad habit of "skimming" instead of in depth reading of the posts.

No need to be sorry. Repeating it simply makes it easier to remember.