African helmeted with swollen body

Question

Showing swelling   QUESTION: Hi there,
I have a 5 year old african helmeted turtle, he recently had an eye irritation and i treated it with vit A drops, a week or so after his eyes opened and were no longer red and infalmmed i notice that he is very swollen around the base of all limbs and neck. The swelling feels like oedema and when i take the turtle out of water his rectum prolapses but immediately retracts when he is placed back in water. I believe i can see faeces at the end of the rectal tract and cannot comment on its excretory habits as i havent seen it "use the toilet" since it was about 1. I have the turtle in a 3ft x 1.5ft tank at the moment with aquatic sand. He seems active and resposive but seems relucant to right himself when he is upside down in water. Due to this i have lowered his water level to prevent drowning. I have attached a picture so you can see. Thank you

ANSWER: Hello can you tell me more of his enclosure? temps and all details you can give. It seems to be a vitamin A issue

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Tank   QUESTION: Hi,
I have enclosed a photo of this current container. The tank is too small for him as his larger one is currently away from us. His water is 79oF and is half changed every week to try keep some of the natural bacteria. There is a UVB bulb about 2ft above his tank. On a dietary aspect, he hasnt eaten in 6 days now and hardly ever eats and vegetables or fruit. His main diet consists of bloodworm, mealworm, earthworms, wax worms, and a complete blend of turtle food that he hardly touches. When submerged he appears to draw large breaths repeatedly. Please let me know if anymore information is required. Thanks again, Daniel

Answer
Hi Daniel, There are a few things we need to change.
1. the uvb does you no good if it is over 10 inches from him. it needs to get closer.
HIs fiet has to much protiene. can  you get him pellet food? there is no vitamin a in this diet so youll need to get a supplimetn as well. this can be done with the pellets.
deep breathing is significant of upper respritory infection.