CRAP~I don't think he can see!!

[PaladinGirl]

Wednesday night when I fed Epic he seemed to have a little trouble seeing his food. I figured it was somehow related to the stress of going to the vet because it freaked him out so much, and that he'd be better the next day. I didn't pay much attention last night because I got home late from work feeling sick and basically dropped a couple roaches in front of his hide and filled his mealworm dish, then walked away and crashed in my bed.

Now tonight I notice it and I think it's worse. He used to run up as soon as he saw a roach hit the floor and grab it within seconds. Now when I drop food in there, he runs out looking around frantically but he doesn't seem to notice them. I think he can hear me dropping them in. Then, one will walk right in front of his face and he doesn't seem to be able to see it. It's almost like he is listening for it, then he'll lunge for it and miss. When he does get it, it's only because his nose happens to touch it. He never used to miss. Ever. He still finds his way to his mealworm dish and will eat but he lunges kind of blindly until he gets one in his mouth. Then it looked like he had trouble locating the opening of his hide. He bumped his nose on one of his other hides. He's also not running away when we walk into the room which he always does.

Is there any way at all that his vision could've been damaged by going to the vet? Or maybe from the silvadene I've been putting on his toe? I don't think I got any in his eye. I read that light-skinned and albino geckos have sensitive eyes and he was closing his eyes a lot at the vet, I figured from the fluorescent lighting. Or maybe somehow the way the vet held him caused it? OMG. I'm freaking out. I have a really bad feeling about this. Dammit.

 

[5HiddenLizards]

Hopefully someone chimes in. My Tom-Tom is partially blind, due to a bad shed where skin stuck to his eyes. He didnt lose much weight though, mostly because he COULD hear the worms crawling in the dish (this was when he still had caps on his eyes) and pinpoint where to strike. I feed dubias to him with tweezers, but he can find the worms in the dish.

Not sure what happened with yours....i wouldnt think that the flourescent lights could damage their eyes that fast.



{Sent from Samsung Epic via Tapatalk}

 

[LeoMerlin]

Have you checked to see if any shed skin could have gotten on to Epic's eyes? It could be some sort of infection though since you seem to have the right set up not sure how that would happen.

 

[PaladinGirl]

I don't see any stuck shed. I'm so distraught over this. I don't know what to do for him. I'm praying that it is temporary..

 

[geckogirl3]

offer him slower and smellier food so he can find it.

 

[PaladinGirl]

I'm not too worried about feeding him at this point; I can handle that part. Right now I'm mostly wondering if this could've been somehow caused by going to the vet, if it might be temporary, etc. I'm worried about his quality of life as well. :-(

 

[ElapidSVT]

to see if it is actually blind, shine a light into each eye and see if the pupils are reactive; that should answer the question conclusively.

 

[PaladinGirl]

Cool I will try that. Will it be possible with a Diablo blanco? His eyes look pretty solid in color.

 

[ElapidSVT]

o, hmm. well, i'm not sure.
the mealworm dish should ensure that it stays well fed despite the vision problems. if it's relatively full, the animal should be able to get some even if it is a bad shot.
works for my enigmas, anyway.

good luck!

 

[M_surinamensis]

to see if it is actually blind, shine a light into each eye and see if the pupils are reactive; that should answer the question conclusively.

I hate to disagree Rob, but that's not necessarily conclusive. There are numerous ways in which an animal can lose aspects of its vision while still having reactive pupils. An abnormal pupil response is noteworthy, but a normal one doesn't really prove anything one way or the other by itself.

The disclaimer section; I am not a vet. I am not offering veterinary advice. I am not diagnosing your animal, or suggesting that you diagnose your animal, I am merely going to mention some things which may help you in a discussion with a veterinary professional.

Silvadene is silver sulfadiazine and it can potentially cause issues with the eyes. There's a condition known as argyria, poisoning from silver. It happens when silver or silver salts build to excessive levels, usually from cumulative overdose, though acute poisoning is a possibility. It tends to collect in specific places in the body, the liver is a big one, the cornea and membranes of the eye (known as argyrosis) are another, it can manifest elsewhere as well. I mention this because you asked if it was possible as a result of the medication... and technically it is, but unless you were given a massively concentrated dose, it is also very unlikely. Reptiles and amphibians as a generalization do have a slightly increased sensitivity to it as a consequence of their (usually) slower metabolism, but appropriate concentrations in a cream or gel suspension for short periods of time are a common topical medication and it's not usually problematic. Potentially something to discuss with your vet though, inquire about the concentration, have an examination done to check for signs of silver buildup in the eye.

You may also want to consider the possibility that it may not be a physical problem with the eye at all. A loss of coordination is oftentimes a neurological symptom, temporary or permanent, which can be caused by exposure to toxins, periods of increased temperature (car rides are notorious for accidental overheating) or various diseases.

And... on a much less worrying note, you may want to have someone else observe Epic for a little while to see if they notice similar things. Don't tell them what they're watching for, just have them watch. Our brains, human brains, take in and process information in some truly amazing ways, we often subconsciously extrapolate on information we have. You're understandably worried about Epic, a bit stressed because of the toe, even feeling a little bit guilty (don't, seriously- it happens with leo toes)... you're hyped up and it's possible that you're seeing things which aren't as significant as you're perceiving them to be. Observation and interpretation, unless we really work against it, are subjective- we filter information and we manufacture conclusions. It's something we all do, have done for longer than we've even been human, it's why we didn't all die out from eating poisonous berries long before we were even walking upright. Here and now though, it may be something that's cycling through your head over and over and becoming magnified. So... get someone else to watch Epic for an hour or so, and see if they notice anything that makes them think he may be in distress. Call your vet and talk to them, if you're sure you're seeing symptoms. Whatever may be going on, it'll be better for Epic if you're calm and controlled and making smart decisions instead of scared ones.

 

[PaladinGirl]

Thank you Seamier (that's what my phone's autocorrect insists on calling you-can't figure out how to fix it on my new phone). I've actually only put the silvadene on a couple times. I tried to keep him covered on the way to the vet with the AC on full blast. My husband is the one who noticed him acting weird first though he didn't really watch him. He just said "Check on your white lizard, he's acting weird. He's not running away when I come in the room." Maybe the stress messed up his equilibrium?
I'm gonna just try to calm down and wait a few days to see if things seem better

 

[OnlineGeckos]

Man you've had some real issues with the new DB, sorry to hear that. I hope he gets better and that you get the help you need.

 

[PaladinGirl]

Yeah, it's breaking my heart. My poor little guy/girl. All day long at work I've been wondering how he's going to be when I get home.

 

[PaladinGirl]

Just got home and fed him. He still doesn't seem to be able to see very well. Maybe a slight improvement but I can't be certain. I know he's not completely blind, he kept snapping at the shadow of the tweezers while I was trying to feed him. His drive to eat is very strong so I had no trouble at all hand feeding him once he realized there was food in front of his nose. That's a good thing. I don't know where to go from here.

Mostly I just want to know why this happened after going to the vet. Maybe the vet had him under bright light while trying to fix his toe and it blinded him (hopefully temporarily)? Or maybe the way she had to hold him somehow damaged some nerves? She had to hold his head pretty firmly because of how crazy he is. Those are just some guesses.

 

[JordanAng420]

A physical exam does not cause an animal (or human, for that matter) to go blind. I don't know the vet, but I have a hard time believing that the physical exam caused the blindness...

Is the gecko on any medication? (besides the silvadene) Was the gecko given anything while at the vet?

 

[PaladinGirl]

No, he's not on any meds, and I'm pretty sure he didn't get anything at the vet when she took him in the back to work on his toe. Maybe I should call there and find out. I was watching him eat last night and he definitely has trouble seeing. He's not completely blind, I think he can see shadows. I can just tell by the way he acts that something's not right.

 

[ryshk003]

My gecko started doing the same thing- seeming blind, not catching food, etc....and taking a "leap of faith" from high shelves. I was given my gecko as a present when he was an adult- he had tons of health issues at first so I didn't think too much of it.

The last couple of months he's been worse at hunting for food to the point I'm hand feeding him mealworms. On reinspection I realized that there was a spot on one of his eyes. I did a soak cleaned out his eye a bit but realized over the next week it got more blurry. I ordered trymyacin (amazon or ebay as long as its new) which is an ophthalmologic anti biotic that treats gram positive and negative bacterial infections that was suggested by a reptile vet online.

In the week it took to get here he started having a yellowish discharge then a semi solid piece of yellow that I later identified to be an 'eye cap' (left over skin from a bad shed).

After two days of using the ointment and flushing his eyes he's keeping them open and is more responsive with me. The trymyacin information sheet boasts it can be used as a preventative as well. To be on the safe side maybe try picking some up? It's like 4 bucks online.. Hope this helps!