My baby aquatic turtles eye swelling

Question
QUESTION: Ms. Jeannie, My 4 month old (i think) male aquatic turtle has developed swelling around his yes, isn't as active as before and not as hungry as 72 hrs ago. He sometimes just sits in a corner of the aquarium and doesn't move for hours until his female mate nudges him to play!! My girlfriend brought him home from some private oriental woman who knows where? I don't even know his exact type (red slider?) I don't know. He's brought much joy to the house and I'm losing sleep worried about him!! Our current financial state isn't conducive to going to an expensive vet visit so I'm really torn. He's been eating the "pellets" that were recommended by the pet store but i recently added some store bought "red shrimp" turtle treats. I use bottled water in the tank and clean his climbing rocks daily. What can I do?? Please help!! Thx, Rickie Ricardo, West New York, NJ

ANSWER: Hi Rickie,

Turtles can't be sexed until they're mature, so either your turtle isn't really a hatchling, or it's not a male.  A 4 month old turtle would be about 2" long.  You do need to find out what species it is, because care is species-dependent.  Turtles also don't "play" and they don't have "friends"--they don't have those kinds of emotional attachments, and if his tank mate is "nudging" him it's very likely a territorial action.  If you can post back with more information, I can help better (what size is he?  how big is the tank?  etc.), but I'll give you some general information and care links.

Going by the assumption that you have two red-eared sliders, if one is an adult and the new turtle really is a hatchling, they should be housed separately until the hatchling is bigger.  This is to avoid bullying by the larger turtle.  If the new turtle is older than you thought, they can be housed together, but you need a LARGE tank (150 gallons or more), an excellent filtration system, basking light, and UVB light.  You have to spend the money to provide the correct environment for your turtles, or they just won't do well.  

If the tank they're in is too small with inadequate filtration, the eye problem may be due to poor water quality.  If there's no UVB, that could be another issue, and if the diet isn't varied (pellets, fresh animal protein, and fresh greens) that could also be a problem.  

The care information linked below is very detailed and should tell you all you need to know, but if you have any questions just post back.  In addition, I advise at least starting to put a little money aside for a vet fund; it's just part of good pet ownership.  If cared for properly, turtles are generally pretty hardy, but sometimes things come up that really do require a vet visit.

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/Care/housing.htm  



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jeannie, My gratitude for your profesionalsm has no measure. Thank you right off the top. My wife purchased the turtles as a surprise from a non-authorized vendor, thus my ignorance on the subject. As per your reply, I supposedly have one male and one female. The male (the ill one) is about 2-3 inches in length. I have them in a 10 gallon tank. As of today, I purchased the filter, Reptisafe water conditioner, the vitamin "nibbler" block in the water and cod liver oil. Also I bought the Repti 1 turtle eye drops. He eats the pellets, red shrimp and I added leafy green lettuce today. He looks uncomfortable with his eye problem. I'll give them as much morning/midday sunlight as possible until i get the proper UV lamps. What else can I do? Am I doing the right things? Thank you again, Rickie Ricardo/ Philadelphia Phillies Radio Broadcaster.

Answer
Hi Rickie,

Thank you for the compliment--I'm not exactly a professional, but have been keeping tortoises for some years and know the ins and outs of aquatic turtle keeping.  

The male sounds like a an older hatchling or young juvenile.  If you can post a very clear picture of it from the side, I can probably ID for you, but if it has the red stripe behind the eye it is indeed a red-eared slider (RES).  If the other turtle is about the same size, they're both still immature and not able to be sexed yet.  All turtles look female (in RES, that means short claws and a stubby tail) until they're mature.

You need a bigger tank.  10 gallons is just too small for even one tiny hatchling.  For two of about 3", you need at least a 50 gallon tank, and bigger than that would be better.  Figure on roughly 10 gallons of space per inch of turtle.  If the tank is too small, it's very hard to keep the water quality high, and with a 10 gallon tank it would be just about impossible.  Then you need a good filter that's sized for about twice the tank capacity (so for a 50 gallon tank, you want a filter that has a 100 gallon+ gph filtration rate).  You will eventually need a bigger tank, but for now a 50 or 60 gallon will do.  

UVB doesn't penetrate through window glass, so you'll need the bulb.  You can use either a tube bulb (Reptisun 10.0) or a combination heat/UVB bulb (ZooMed Powersun).  The two bulbs I mentioned are the only ones I recommend; there are other bulbs out there, but friend have tested them with a solar meter and their UVB production isn't that great.  The Reptisun is cheaper, but has to be changed every six months.  The Powersun costs more, but will last for a year.  You can buy the bulbs online, probably for less than in a store:  http://www.carolinapetsupply.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=44&zeni.

If he's eating, that's a good sign.  You also want to see him both swimming and basking--he should be doing both, not just one or the other.  Lettuce is OK, but not really nutritious, so don't give it too often.  Healthier greens are turnip, mustard, collards, kale, and dandelion.  Along with the pellets, you can offer earthworms, small crickets, baby guppies, and bloodworms, plus boiled chicken or egg (occasionally).  

I would return the eye drops.  There's a lot of stuff sold for turtles that's unnecessary, and in this case, what your turtle needs is simply some ungrades to the tank.  The links I gave you will give you really good, detailed information on why water quality is important and tell you how to achieve it.  There's much more information there than I can give you in a brief answer here.  If I can answer more questions, just post back.