White Eyelid

[leno]

Hi all! is it normal for star tortoise to have white eyelids?

 

[leno]

Picture of White Eyelid

Is it normal for star to have something like this? I'm worried its some kind of infection. pls help!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Leno:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

May we know appx. where you are?

I'm so glad you posted a picture, because this isn't a white eyelid. White eyelids are usually because the tortoise is being kept too dry. But this is a swollen shut eye. Your baby is telling you something is wrong with the way you are taking care of him.

What kind of light do you use?

Is the baby indoors or outside?

How often do you soak the baby?

 

[Kasper2reds]

I sometimes notice my baby cherryhead wit the same thing goin on ... Though he acts normal and sleeps a lot. He gets soaked 2 times a week for 20 minutes at a time.

 

[leno]

Hi there! thanks Yvonne for ur respond, I'm Leno, from Singapore, temperature is about 25-30 degrees celcius/ 77-86 Fahrenheit and I'm housing it indoors of roughly 2 ft by 1 ft tank, using slightly moist forest moss, lighting would be exo-terra Daylight Basking Spot Bulb. I've soak him/her every 2 days.

Have jus gotten him/her for about a week, and it came with the swollen eyelid as u mention earlier, how can i go about healing it? should i bring him/her to the vet?

I have attached more photos for ur verification. thanks!

 

[Yvonne G]

Your tortoises eyes look ok in these pictures. Does he eat at all? I took this off Austin's Turtle Page:


"In general, at least 90% of a Star tortoise's diet should consist of fiber-rich grasses and greens. Mixed grasses, dark greens, weeds, coarse leaves, and succulents should make the bulk of a Star tortoise's diet.

A diverse diet is most important! Offer as large variety of food items as possible. Rotate and/or mix foods.

Examples:

Grasses - bermuda, bluegrass, fescue, kikuyu, timothy
Weeds - clover, chickweed, dandelion, mallow, plantain
Leaves - grape, mulberry, strawberry
Succulents - opuntia cactus, sedum
Flowers - hibiscus, petunia, pansy, nasturtium, rose petals
Market foods - endive, escarole, radicchio, squash (sparingly), Santa Barbara mix (cont. escarole, endive, radicchio), Spring mixes (cont. misc. baby lettuces, baby greens, endive, radicchio), and dandelions"


Can you get your tortoise outside for a bit of real sunshine? The UVB that they get from the sun helps them to use the calcium that they get from their food. If you can't get him outside, then I suggest you switch your bulb for one that provides UVB.

 

[leno]

ok! i will bring him/her out for some sunlight, yes, it is eating well and moving about whereby i fed only lettuce for a week, as i am not sure what is safe for him/her to have. Do I have to buy eye-drop for him/her or bring him/her to the vet?