Red ear Slider - Sick?

Question
We have 2 Red ear sliders... Last night while changing the water and cleaning the tank we noticed that one of them had puffy eyes.  Earlier that day he/she had eaten a little food (live Meal Worms). We keep them both in a 10 gal tank with a floating platform under a UV lamp the tank is kept at 78-82 F with a heater.
I thought he/she would be getting better by now, thinking he just had an eye infection, but he/she has now stopped eating.  With he/she not eating, the other turtle has stopped as well. The other turtle is fine in appearance but just doesn't eat.
Do you have an idea what could be wrong? If it doesn't get better by tomorrow, I feel I should take them to the Vet.  Thank you for your time.

Answer
I would not rush it to the vet in that much of a hurry. Swollen eyes can be due to many things, and most of them are treatable at home.

First, if possible, separate the two turtles.

Next, eye infections are usually due to a few things:
- stress, such as overcrowding
- dirty water
- diet low in vitamin A and other nutrients

The habitat you have now is a bit small for two turtles- we usually aim for about 10 gallons per inch of shell length. Two turtles almost automatically should be in a 20 gallon long tank, or better yet, a 1/2 filled 50 gallon.

You don't mention filtration, but it is actually easier to keep a big tank clean than a small one. You also do not clarify if the UV bulb is a normal UV (UVA only) or a UVB bulb- and UVB is what the turtles need- although it is more expensive and they stop emitting UVB after about 6 months.

The only diet you mention is mealworms. Theses are not really recommended because their thick shells do not digest easily and can cause intestinal blockages. They are generally reserved for an occasional treat.

A better diet is about 1/2 good turtle chow, like Reptomin or Mazuri. The other 1/2 would be live or frozen/thawed 'fish foods' like worms, small fish, krill, shrimp, snails, bugs, etc.

While a turtle will rarely eat when it cannot see, most of these problems should fade away as you tweak the habitat. The site http://www.redearslider.com can help a lot!

You can also try boosting tank temps about 5 degrees, dripping some Cod-Liver Oil (gel caps are best) or turtle eye drops on the turtle's eyes, and trying either the fish medicine Stress Coat or Turtle Sulfa Dip per directions.

If there is no improvement in about a week, or if things get worse, seek a vet. If things do not clear up or you want other options, try http://www.turtleforum.com

Good luck!