Blind gecko?

[Rhian]

Hi everyone,

I have become very concerned about Desmond, one of our leos. We have had the leos for about 8 months now and until recently both were doing great. However for the last month, Desmond has been behaving very strangely. He doesnt walk around his viv as much and doesnt like coming out anymore (he used to love coming out). But the thing that is worrying me most is when he is eating, its as though he doesnt see his food. He used to love his food, but now he doesnt seem to see it and only eats when he is hand fed, and even then he snaps at the food but misses. It seems to me as though he has gone blind... is this a common problem for leos? Also should he be taken to the vets or am I best to carry on as we have been, hand feeding etc? I don't know what I can do for him

Many thanks, Rhian x

 

[acpart]

He is not necessarily blind. I have found that some of my leos get incredibly lazy and then become poor hunters. I have 2 leos who see just fine. One I got as a 2 1/2 year old and she has always had trouble hunting --she misses all the time. The other I got as a 6 month old rescue 4 1/2 years ago and although he ate everything put in front of him then, now he doesn't seem to be able to catch his food (yes, I know, he has me well trained). These 2 geckos live together and when I feed them (they're brumating now) they walk to the front of the tank and I hand them crickets one at a time. When they're done, they walk away. You may just have a guy who likes to be hand fed. You could also check to see if his pupils are expanding and contracting as you bring him out of and into the light.

Aliza

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Another good post by ACPart

That is about all that I can say.

 

[Rhian]

Thanks everyone for your advice , I'll wait for him to come out later and see what his eyes are like in the light. I'm going to buy some wax worms tomorrow for a treat and see if he manages to catch one of those.