My red ear sliders cant open their eyes

Question
QUESTION: I have three baby red ear sliders. Two of them bask all the time and hardly get in the water. Both their eyes are shut and they can't open them.I bought eye drops for them that I put in their eyes three times a day. It's called flukers eye rinse. I've been using it for two weeks and nothing has improved they still can't open their eyes. I also noticed a few light pink spots on their shell. I'm not sure what it could be. My third turtle is during great. I'm not sure how two of them are infected and the third one isnt. I have a heat light and fliter in my tank. They have a basking area where they can get out of the water and stay warm. My tank stays about 75-80 degress during the day. I try to feed my turtles but they wont eat, I figure it's because they can't see the food.

ANSWER: Hi Chayna,

My apologies--I wrote out an answer to your question several days ago, but I must not have hit "send."

Eye problems such as you describe are usually due to overcrowding/poor water quality, lack of UVB, poor diet, etc.  Correcting the problems should help the eyes improve.  The drops won't really do anything.

Three hatchling RES need at least a 50 gallon tank with filter rated for 2-3 times the capacity of the tank (3x is better).  If they don't have adequate room, it's almost impossible to maintain good water quality and provide all the turtles with enough basking/swimming room.  As adults you are going to need a very large tank (200+ gallons) or outdoor pond.  

Your temperatures need to be correct also.  I'm not sure if you meant the basking area or the water is at 75-80 degrees, but they do need a basking area of 88-90 degrees, with water at about 76-78 degrees.  Too warm or cool, and they won't eat or have normal behavior.  A source of UVB (specialty reptile bulb) is also necessary for normal shell growth and overall health.  

Their diet should consist of a good variety, including pellets, animal protein, and greens.  The more variety you provide, the more likely that they will have complete nutrition.  Provide a piece of cuttlebone for extra calcium, too.  

It's hard to say what the pink spots could be without a picture.  They could be part of the normal shell coloring (young RES sometimes have a pink tinge in areas on their plastron, or bottom shell), or could be something else.  Can you post a picture?

If you make sure that your conditions are correct, their eyes should improve.  Most hatchling RES sold aren't raised in very healthy conditions, so it's even more important to provide them with the proper setup so they can thrive.  Read over the links below for more information, and then if you have additional questions please ask.

http://www.redearslider.com
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Articles/filtration.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/housing.htm


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QUESTION: I just bought a UVB light yesterday. I'm hoping that it will help clear up their symptoms. I also heard that you can get cod liver oil caplets and put a drop in each eye. I tried that and didn't see any improvement. I have been keeping the tank very clean, I clean it at least twice a week. I noticed that one of the sick turtles have yellow stuff on their legs. I'm hoping that having a UVB light now will clear that up? And I'm pretty sure the pink spots are just part of the shell coloring, their very faint.

Answer
Hi Chayna,

It would help if you could describe how you have them set up:  tank size, size of the turtles, filter brand/capacity, UVB bulb brand, water and basking temperatures, and complete diet, along with a better description of the "yellow stuff" you're seeing.  I can give you better advice with more information.  As I said, eye problems like this are typical due to water quality issues, lack of UVB, poor diet, etc.  Cleaning the tank won't substitute for lack of a filter, especially if the tank is too small, as the water quality needs to remain high on a consistent basis.  The quality of the diet is also very important.  

Did you read the links I posted?  They provide very detailed care information that will also help you to make sure you have everything set up properly.