Eye problem, help!?

[bmw90]

So my leopard gecko was always pretty healthy and such, she is a bit less than 2 years old...and technically she is my brother's but he doesn't take care of her so I do everything, plus I think I like her more than he does anyways, so I'm okay with it. Ever since winter has started she has been having horrible sheds, her 2nd to last shed she couldn't get it off her head and ended up rubbing her eye all over a little rock in her tank. We took her to the vet because we noticed a bit of swelling and he told us that she just had some irritation and he gave us some eye drops. She was getting better until her very last shed and her eye got completely WORSE. It looks swollen with black all over it. We have tried using Qtips to help, cotton balls, anything and nothing has helped. I can't get her into the vet til friday because I'm literally broke right now (hey I'm a cheap college student!), but I really don't want her to be miserable til then. It has been like this for more than a week and it's only getting worse. My brother won't take her either so it's gotta wait til I can pay. She has had a good appetite and still eats her crickets but she doesn't like to "play" much anymore. She was always very active and wanted to come out of her cage but now all she does is sit.

She is on reptile carpet so I don't think any sand got in her eye, and her crickets are kept elsewhere so I don't think they agitated it or anything...any advice is greatly appreciated!

Good eye

Bad eye

Sorry about the blurryness, shes not the best at holding still!
I know she has to go to the herp vet and I AM taking her on friday but is there anything I can possibly do to help her before she goes in since friday is a ways away?? And what is causing the black eyelid thing?? HELP!!

and yes she does have a humid hide.

 

[clockwurk]

I have the same same problem. There are many suggestions on my thread. They may help you. Good luck. Hope she gets better.

http://geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=70954

 

[fl_orchidslave]

From the photos, that looks like stuck shed. You can safely use plain contact lens saline, no detergents, sensitive skin type is great. Rinse the eye out, it may take several applications over a few days to clear it up. I usually give my gex a warm water soak for about 15min in a plastic container prior to cleaning the eye, it seems to help them relax a bit, plus they start licking their eye which helps loosen the stuck shed. Winter heat causes a lot of herps to have shed issues. Be sure when she is about to shed that the humid hide is well moistened. You'll want to get that shed out asap so she doesn't stop eating or get an eye infection

 

[clockwurk]

fl_orchidslave, just a question about your post. Does humid hide cause leos to stop eating? Or get an eye infection?

 

[prettyinpink]

fl_orchidslave, just a question about your post. Does humid hide cause leos to stop eating? Or get an eye infection?

I wouldn't say a humid hide would give it an infection. But it could make it stop eating if he's always in there...because usually those hides don't get warm enough for them to regulate their body temp to digest their food.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

fl_orchidslave, just a question about your post. Does humid hide cause leos to stop eating? Or get an eye infection?

No, it does not. There would be an underlying issue causing the problem. However, loose substrates can get in their eyes, causing infection and lack of appetite. A lot of folks use sphagnum, eco earth, vermiculite in humid hides, and a leo could get a piece of it in the eye or a poop could be hidden in it and not seen till it's moldy. I like using paper towel, it's clean and simple.

They like staying in hides for comfort and security.

 

[bmw90]

Thanks for the info. I did what you suggested and no change yet which is to probably be expected. I called the vet and they never called me back, they said they might change her eye drops but like I said, they never called back. One thing I'm noticing is a slight swelling in her front foot on the side of her bad eye. I am SO worried about her. She seriously just sits all the time. Doesn't move. It's not like her at all poor baby

 

[prettyinpink]

Call the vet again. I've had them forget about me too and not call me back. If she's not acting like herself and other things are swelling up she needs to get in.

Keep us updated. I hope she'll be alright.

 

[camie31]

My youngest gecko cupid had the same issue about a month ago with both eyes the vet had me do eye drops and also gave me an antibiotic gel to put in them it took about 6 days and rubs with a q tip but we got shed out and she was back to normal scared me pretty bad though. I hope yours feels better soon