hi everyone!

im a new to keeping tortoises, although have family who own horsfield tortoise. i was given a 2 year old horsfield as a present one week ago, her name is poppy. i have done research about this breed and tortoise care in general. i have found one of poppys eyes to be closed when she wakes from sleeping each day. i bought tortoise eye drops which do immediately open the eye but there is a slight swelling over the eye, very minimal. it does not seem to bother her at all but i am worried about it. it does not seem to be affecting her behaviour or her sight. she is eating well and active. i love her to bits already and hate the thought of this worsening. i have been using these drops for 3 days now twice a day. the drops advise to use for a week and seek advice if no improvement. should i seek help sooner? also can anybody recommend at good reptile vet in the merseyside area please?

any help/advice would be much appreciated

liza x

Hi Liza &

Good to hear from you L:iza. I personally don't know of any vets in your area, but there are a couple of vet lists that might be worth browsing to see who's closest:-

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/files/VetlistApril20009.pdf

http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/vetscorner/vetlist.htm

I would definitely take your tortoise to a good retile vet sooner rather than later.

Here is a link to our care sheets:-

http://www.tortoise-protection-group.org.uk/site/87.asp

If it is a tortoise that was acquired from a pet shop, it might be an idea to get a stool sample checked also for parasites whilst at the vets.

HTH

Darren

Hello Liza, and torty. In my experience with tortoises, eye problems have always responded well to treatment. This might be a course of anti-biotic drops, or vitamins. When I was little,( many years ago), the first thing doctors did was to examine the eyes and tongue of sick patients. Apparently they can be really indicative of underlying issues in animals. Interestingly, now vets still do it but GP's rarely do...unless you have an "old school doctor". In reptiles, there are so few external clues as to illness, that eyes are vitally important indicators as to condition. Even if torty had no current issues, I would be urging you to locate a good reptile vet. All new tortoise owners should do this while the going is good, to avoid stressing when an issue crops up.There are some vets listed on this site, members have used, but still they are geographically widely spread. If you google your nearest large town name and exotics vet, you may strike lucky. It's great that you are observing torty closely. Good luck, and let us all know if you find a good vet! Regards, David nr York.