Eye Problems- Please Help!

[meljrobb]

Hi, I am struggling with what to do about a recent eye problem my leopard gecko has been having. I looked over some of the other posts about similar problems, but am wondering if anyone has some advice for me.

I have had my gecko for ten years since she was a baby. Up until now, she has never had any health problems. She recently started squinting her eyes and they looked like they were bothering her. She stopped eating, and I took her to a reptile vet about 6 weeks ago. The vet said her eye caps had not been shed and one of them was infected. She removed the caps and gave me eye wash and drops to put in her eyes. I did this for ten days, but her eyes still were crusty so I took her back to the vet. She had a shed in between the visits, and apparently her eye caps once again were not shed. The vet gave me ointment this time and an oral antibiotic. This was two weeks ago, and her eyes were looking better, but now they are crusty again and I am wondering if her eye caps are once again stuck.

I have been spraying her everyday, and her hide and I am not sure what to do. I have another gecko in the same tank, and her eyes are fine. Does anyone have any suggestions? I cannot get her to eat, and I think a lot has to do with her not being able to see well. What can I do to increase her appetite? Is there a formula I can give her with a dropper?

Please help! Since I have had her for so long, I am pretty attached

 

[Tony C]

The first thing you need to do is separate them, a sick animal should immediately be quarantined. If she still won't eat on her own after that, you can try the gecko soup recipe, it's in a sticky thread at the top of this subforum.

If you give more information about your cage setup and husbandry you can probably get more specific advice.

 

[sworntotheblack]

Sorry to hear you are having this problem with your gecko. I have been going through this with mine as well. I have gone through the same exact medications im sure as you, the eyes weren't as good on the tobramycin *spelling* and the ointment antibiotic worked better for me. Have you assisted your gecko with there shed or soaked them? I find that when i soaked my girl she would lick at her eye and sometimes would move a piece of skin out from under her eyelid and i could carefully remove it. Someone suggested a bulb syringe for flushing the eyes on my own and i must say that it has helped quite a bit. I have not removed an eye cap on my own just pieces of skin that retained after the shed. If you have any ointment left call your vet and see if they think you should start administering it again, try soaks and flush her eye out with sterile saline if you can. It has been a very hectic month or so with my girl trying to get her eyes back to normal.