Spryte Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 (edited) Our 11 yr old Mississippi Map is having an eye issue. She lives with two other aquatic turtles (red eared sliders), and we think this is an injury - probably accidental. Nevertheless, off to the reptile vet we go tomorrow. What can we expect at the reptile vet? I am reading online about eye issues but they mostly focus on Vit A deficiency and water issues, which I think are unlikely as it’s only one eye, and other turtles are fine. Plus, we are a bit insane about feeding properly and monitoring water. Any words of wisdom or encouragement welcome. We love our turtles, and are trying not to panic. Edited May 9, 2019 by Spryte Typo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted May 8, 2019 Share Posted May 8, 2019 No wisdom for you, but I just wanted to say it's great you have a reptile vet to take her to. We had an amphibian issue once and the only place I found answers were from a mom on this board. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 Yes, we are fortunate to have a reptile vet relatively close. Our regular vet doesn’t do reptiles, but recommended this one. Whew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted May 9, 2019 Share Posted May 9, 2019 No experience here, but I also wanted to chime in and say it's awesome you take such good care of your turtles. Hope she is all better soon! Here's a neat story about a tortoise who has been with her caretaker for 56 years! https://www.boredpanda.com/56-year-old-pet-tortoise-george-jeanna-smith/?cexp_id=17748&cexp_var=4&_f=featured 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted May 9, 2019 Author Share Posted May 9, 2019 What a sweet story! 56 years! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted May 10, 2019 Author Share Posted May 10, 2019 Feeling compelled to update: our girl took a beak to the face. Aaack. She has cuts on the nose as well as eye, perfect beak shape. One of the other turtles must have bitten her, probably during feeding. They coexist peacefully, so we think it was a one off. However: it means we give abx eye drops twice a day: plus abx shots every two days for a long time. And we now feed separately. It’s So. Much. Extra. Work. ...But ok. Reptile vet was awesome. Our turtles are still young, at 11 yrs, so I’m glad we can help her. Still ... giving turtle shots every few days will be an adventure! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted May 10, 2019 Share Posted May 10, 2019 I’m glad you found someone. We actually found a new reptile vet recently-at a low cost vet service that is primarily focused on cheap spay/neuter and vaccinations. (He also is a wildlife rehabilitator, focusing on reptiles and birds-he neuters dogs and cats to pay for rehabilitating wildlife) They are definitely kind of a unicorn. Turtles usually do well together, but when food is in play, it is definitely a bit of a feeding frenzy. And it’s pretty much impossible to have a home enclosure big enough, unless you have a backyard pond. Water turtles are adapted to a lot of space. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spryte Posted May 10, 2019 Author Share Posted May 10, 2019 Oh my goodness, the space they require! We just finished their new, larger habitat a few months ago, and this is as big as we can manage. It’s 150 gallons, an actual small pond in our basement. But it’s the minimum for three turtles! Aaack. I wish we had a better solution for them. We are struggling with their UVB needs, too. The vet was amazing. Passionate about reptiles. I never in a million years imagined giving injections to turtles, though. The things we do for love! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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