tortoise eyes

Question
hi i am 17 years old and own a greek tortoise i think he is sick and has an eye infection because he doesnt open his eyes and when he does white puss comes out once his eyes are clear he seems to scratch at them (i think it hurts him thats why) i know this is not good i dont know what to do since where i am from there is absolutely no reptile experts and the vets office donot take tortoises ive called to ask but they said "we only take domestic animals such as dogs and cats" im afraid that he may die what can i do to help him i dont want him to suffer

Answer
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com has a state by state list of reptile vets. When fluids or puss are coming out, you really need to try to find a good reptile or bird vet (they have similar medical needs).

If you can post photos, that will help, and you can ask this and post the photos at http://www.tortoiseforum.com and/or http://www.turtleforum.com to see if any of the experienced keepers there have any ideas.

In general, we treat eye infections by...
- Soaking the tortoise in shallow, warm water for about 15 minutes a day until things look better. Gently wash the head and face as best you can.
- Boost habitat temps to about 90-95F in the warm area
- Make sure the habitat is clean and dust free
- Crush a human multi-vitamin and put about 1/2 of it in the food every week or so.
- Get human antibiotic eye ointment at the local drug store. Apply to the eyes gently as directed.
- Review the cares at a reliable site like http://www.tortoisetrust.org to make sure it is getting the right temps, humidity, diet, etc. This is VITAL because if it is a care issue, it will keep happening.

This care outline is less effective if the infection is bad, and usually if fluids are coming out, it is kinda bad. See what the folks at the other sites say for other ideas.