Eye Issues

[Kadence1983]

Hello All,
So I am a fairly new Leo owner, I have had my baby for ~4 months now. Up until now she has been a great baby! Unfortunately I noticed about a week and a half ago that she was squinting excessively about 1-2 days post-shed. My boyfriend previously had leos and told me to start rinsing her eyes with saline solution and monitor for swelling because it was possibly retained shed. While doing that I was able to get out a few grains of sand. I was happy about that but she didn't resolve her squinting and she stopped eating which is VERY unusual for her. I continued to rinse her eyes twice daily and would use moistened q-tips to try and remove any further debris. I am a vet tech so I spoke to the doctor I work with, who is pretty good with reptiles. He told me to get her off the sand (she's on paper towels now) and to keep rinsing her eyes and if it doesn't improve to bring her in. Well she didn't improve so I took her in on Monday (1 week after it started). At this point I could barely get her eyes open, even with the gentle rub with the q-tip but still no swelling. So the doctor put a numbing drop on each eye so that we can try to get her eyes open. I was able to get them open but the doctor could barely look at them but he prescribed a triple antibiotic eye ointment that I have been using.

Well she shed today and I was really hoping that it would resolve, but I just find myself more worried because when I go to rinse out her eyes and apply new meds her eyes are very cloudy and sunken in. I would just like to know some experienced leo owner's opinions or tips. Sorry this is so long.

Thanks

 

[BabyLeo09]

Could we get some pics of the eyes please? It may help decipher what is wrong with your Leo. Sorry to hear about the eyes..

 

[Kadence1983]

I just put in her eye meds so I'm gonna wait a little bit and then go ahead and take some pics and post them, thank you so much for replying.

 

[Caramell]

I hope I'm not hijacking this thread(I don't see a reason why I should post a new thread with the same topic), but my gecko seems to be having the same problem. I was away for 3 weeks and had a relative feed and water my leo, but he is not sure if the leo shed. I've been using saline solution for 3 days now and still have no improvement. Even if my leo has his eyes open, he obviously cannot see where he is going.

I will be keeping track of this thread and hopefully the both of us can have something figured out.

 

[Kadence1983]

Well I have very sad news. My little Artanis has passed away. I am really broken hearted right now and just would like to thank you for even wanting to help me.

And Caramell I really wish you the best of luck and hope that your baby has a speedy recovery.

 

[Caramell]

I am so sorry for your loss! My deepest condolences.
I have not even the slightest idea as to why this has happened. I can only hope that things can be figured out.

 

[BabyLeo09]

I am so sorry about your loss.. My condolences.

 

[Caramell]

Its been almost a week and I still see no improvement.
I was doing daily saline solutions last week, and actually removed large pieces of shed out of each eye.
His right eye seems to be alright, but his left is now constantly closed. He isn't too active, but he does move around a lot and goes to each hide to regulate body temps.
I'm worried mostly because he can't see his food so he can't eat. Once while he had his eyes closed I held up a mealworm to him with tongs and he slowly took it and ate it. That one tiny mealworm was the only thing he's eaten for the last 2 weeks. His tail is still fat, but I'm not sure how long that will last.
His left eye, when opened, is cloudy to one side.
I don't know what else to do other than to flush out his eyes daily.
Please help! Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Its been almost a week and I still see no improvement.
I was doing daily saline solutions last week, and actually removed large pieces of shed out of each eye.
His right eye seems to be alright, but his left is now constantly closed. He isn't too active, but he does move around a lot and goes to each hide to regulate body temps.
I'm worried mostly because he can't see his food so he can't eat. Once while he had his eyes closed I held up a mealworm to him with tongs and he slowly took it and ate it. That one tiny mealworm was the only thing he's eaten for the last 2 weeks. His tail is still fat, but I'm not sure how long that will last.
His left eye, when opened, is cloudy to one side.
I don't know what else to do other than to flush out his eyes daily.
Please help! Anyone have any suggestions?

One of my adoptees has had a stuck eye shed a couple times in the last 6 weeks. I'm hoping to avoid it continuing by misting part of her tub lightly every day. That shortened her recovery time last time it happened. When you use the saline, get a good strong stream going at the corner of the eye. That will help loosen anything that's stuck and make it easier to remove. If it looks cloudy and no skin is stuck, it's possibly infected and antibiotic ointment is needed. You would need a vet at that point. Hope your baby recovers quickly

 

[fl_orchidslave]

Well I have very sad news. My little Artanis has passed away. I am really broken hearted right now and just would like to thank you for even wanting to help me.

And Caramell I really wish you the best of luck and hope that your baby has a speedy recovery.

I'm very sorry your baby is gone

 

[Caramell]

One of my adoptees has had a stuck eye shed a couple times in the last 6 weeks. I'm hoping to avoid it continuing by misting part of her tub lightly every day. That shortened her recovery time last time it happened. When you use the saline, get a good strong stream going at the corner of the eye. That will help loosen anything that's stuck and make it easier to remove. If it looks cloudy and no skin is stuck, it's possibly infected and antibiotic ointment is needed. You would need a vet at that point. Hope your baby recovers quickly

When I use saline, I fill up a pipette and "shoot" the stream into the eye. No more shed has come out since last week. In the front corner of the left eye, there is a pronounced white area that looks much like the inner corner of a human eye. If it is pronounced, is it safe to assume that the eye is infected?
Oh and if I will need the ointment, could you give me an estimate on how much this will cost? My parents are never too keen on going to the vet for reptiles.