Could my turtle have an eye infection?

Question
QUESTION: Me and my friend found this little turtle one day, its about the size of half dollar.
We took it home and luckily my friend had a cage she used to keep her frog in. Its a little small but I think its great for our turtle size. (We're currently trying to get everything we need for him but it's sort of hard on the low budget we have!)
We cleaned it out and filled it with warm water, but we have nothing to bask it, and we been feeding it lettuce.
Recently we finally bought proper food for it, but i haven't exactly seen it eat the food.
During the time we kept it, we did research on what we need and what are turtle's characteristics. But were still not sure what it is. Also the little guy hasn't been as hyper like the day we found him.
He's been sleeping a lot, and usually when I pick him up he responds quickly. But now he has a slower response, also he started having problems opening his eye's at the same time. So he'll open his left eye, but he'll start scratching at his right to get it open. And of course after a few tries it does.
I looked around and I haven't found a thing related to my case, but there's nothing!
Could our turtle have a eye infection?

ANSWER: Hi Lexie,

It would help if I knew what species your turtle is.  You should have left it where it was, or put in in a safe area, but since you have it now you'll have to learn to care for it properly.  Your turtle might have an eye infection, but the problem really sounds like improper care.  The enclosure is too small, no filtration, there's no basking area, no basking light, no UVB, and lettuce is a very poor diet especially for a hatchling.  Unless there is adequate room, excellent water quality, basking area with good UVB, and a good, varied diet, the turtle won't survive.

If you've only had the turtle for a few days, please release it where you found it.  Otherwise, you need to learn how to care for it properly.  That means:

A large tank (for a hatchling, 20-30 gallons will do for a while, but an adult will probably need at least a 75 gallon tank depending on species and sex)

Excellent filtration (external canister filter rated higher than the tank's capacity--these are expensive, but this is something you can't skimp on)

Basking area with excellent UVB (something else that's not cheap, but can't be skimped on)

Good diet, which includes a variety of animal protein, quality pellets, and healthy greens (not lettuce).

I'll link some basic care sheets below, but can't give you specific information unless you tell me what species it is.  Most North American aquatic turtles can live 30 years, so be prepared to give quality care for that long!  Once you improve the living conditions, the eye problem, lethargy, and lack of appetite will probably get better, but again, if you don't make changes the turtle will probably die.  Hatchlings can't tolerate poor care for very long.  Please read the following information carefully.

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/care.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/waterquality.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/housing.htm
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/emergencies.htm




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QUESTION: Well another question is, do you know a way we can tell what type of species our turtle is? There's only one so far that he matches to but the results of the type of turtle being in my are doesn't add up ):
Also my friend sister said that if were going to set our turtle free, we have to start feeding it fish and live bugs, is that true?

ANSWER: Hi Lexie,

If you post a very clear close up picture, I might be able to ID it for you.  Where do you live?

Your friend is incorrect; a wild turtle knows how to feed itself.  BUT if you've had this turtle for some time, it can no longer be returned to the wild.  This is one reason why it's a bad idea to pick up turtles you find and keep them.  They can pick up pathogens in captivity that will spread to other wild turtles and create serious problems.  You also can't release this turtle because it may be diseased at this point.  If you decide that you can't do what's required to keep it for life and it's a native species, the best thing would be to give it to a wildlife rehabber so they can get it healthy and decide whether it can be released.  

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Our turtle Rocket   QUESTION: I live in Michigan, I thought it was a southern painted turtle, but when I did research it's noway it can be in my area :/
And heres a picture of a turtle that looks like him under the search of the southern painted turtle
http://animals.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/26393/

Answer
Hi Lexie,

I agree it looks like a painted turtle, and if you're in Michigan it's probably a midland painted.  Take a look at the pics in this gallery and see what you think:  http://chelonia.org/chrysemys_gallery.htm.  Also, if you google "midland painted turtle hatchling" and look under Images, you'll see a number of pictures showing both the carapace (top shell) and plastron (bottom shell) that might help.