Black on the eyelids?

[fallen_angel]

I just noticed that the part of the eyelids on this female are black, or have black stuff on them or around the eye.. They are normally white and do not look like this at all.

I am not sure what this is, I thought maybe it was stuck shed or something I could pull off of her face, so I soaked her in warm water for awhile, grabbed some tweezers, and gently tried to get a hold of the black "stuff" to get it off of her eye, but I am not quite sure if it's something you can just pull off.. I don't know how this happened or what is causing the problem. Any thoughts? I can post a pic of how her eye looked beforehand if needed.

This pic didn't turn out as clear as I'd like so I'll try to get better pics in a couple of hours. This problem is only on one (left) eye.

 

[fallen_angel]

Here are some more pics

Her good/normal right eye

and some clearer shots of the left black eye

 

[fallen_angel]

BTW she did get some liquid calcium on her face a few days ago when I was trying to give her some via syringe after she laid eggs.. I think that her face got sticky from it, and maybe that is what affected her eye?

 

[TFerguson]

yeah, the black is her eye lid not fully retracted. Hard to say what's going on for sure. You mentioned shed... has she shed lately? Possibly shed...

Seems to be some supperation from that eye, unless you've put some ointment or wetting drops in her eye before the picture. Could be the start of an infection. Is there possibley some damage to the upper eyelid? Hard to say from that picture.

I'd say keep an eye on it (no pun intended).. if it doesn't clear up, take her to the vet. If you see any hazing of the cornea, take her to the vet immediately.

T Ferguson

 

[snowgyre]

In the meantime, I suggest washing the eye out 2-3 times a day with sterile saline solution. Hopefully that will flush out any debris and keep the eye moisturized.

 

[fallen_angel]

She did shed recently.. I put some terramycin in her eye just to see if it would help, but that was the night before the picture was taken. Perhaps it is damage to her upper eyelid from shedding?

Thanks for the input everyone, hopefully rinsing it out will help her and a vet visit won't be necessary.

 

[RampantReptiles]

I had the same thing happen to one of my leos recently. She shed and then I think she had some stuck shed that got infected. I was afraid it was going to get worse so I went to the vet. Vet gave me a triple antibiotic ointment that is verrrry similar to neosporin but not the same and I used that in her eye. She ended up licking it off most of the time and a little over a week later she shed again and that fixed it. So basically I think the antibiotic was not necessary but I dont really know. It may have prevented it from getting worse. (I in no way am recommending you use neosporin in her eye)

So to essentially just make sure you keep her moist hide moist and/or her enclosure if she isnt using the hide. Make sure to keep everything clean as well. I was using paper towel in the moist hide so I changed that out everyday or every other day. Once she sheds again hopefully she will get the stuck shed out and that will fix it. I would also keep putting the terramycin in her eye everyday Good luck!

 

[fallen_angel]

Apparently the same thing happened for her, she shedded again yesterday and her eye was looking better prior to the shed, but I think she's completely healed now. I had to give her a bath because she was having problems with shed on her face, but I soaked her for awhile, then carefully removed everything, and she seems to be doing much better now. I'll have to get some pictures later. Thank you for the responses everyone!