Hatchling With Protruding Eye

[Bongo]

This Mack Snow hatched a couple of days ago looking great. After his first shed, however, his left eye seems to be hanging out of its socket. Does anyone have any idea why this could have happened? I will get him to a vet tonight, but is there anything I can do in the meantime?

 

[fl_orchidslave]

The eyelid is not fully developed either......... other issues may arise. Some will say keep it and see how it does, some would say cull it. I know what I'd do......................

 

[Enigmatic_Reptiles]

If the gecko is capable of thriving in life and you are capable of tending to all the medical needs and bills then by all means I am all about trying to save animals (hence my job). However, if the quality of life is not there then do whats best for the animal.

 

[im faster]

I hate the idea of culling anything.. but i think this poor guy needs it with tha lack of eye lid

 

[Bongo]

Thanks for the input, guys. He seems healthy otherwise and is already eating like a pig! I'd feel bad culling him if he can thrive. I talked to my herp vet for a long time on the phone this morning. She has yet to see the hatchling in person, but thinks that the eye should be removed and that he would thrive afterwards. If this is the case, I am capable of paying the medical bills and giving him the extra attention he would need. My vet was unfortunately unable to see me at the animal hospital after hours as she usual does, so he's going early tomorrow morning... I'll let you know if he comes back home with me or not.

 

[im faster]

I would personally be ok with removing they eye.. imagine if you couldnt blink one of your eyes.. that must be painful.

 

[fl_orchidslave]

We took one in a while back that had only one eye. It had been housed with a bearded dragon previously. UGH! But the gecko was fine with one eye and was able to eat on its' own.

 

[Destiny]

Oh... heart breaking. I have had a few snows with the eyelid issue.. thankfully... that's not the only thing wrong so culling is the only humane option.... I feel for you in your situation.

*hugs*

 

[Bongo]

The vet decided that the eye should not be removed at this point in the hatchling's life. She thinks that as long as he is acting normally otherwise and is eating well, he should not be culled. She sold me an oral antibiotic, a probiotic, and an eye ointment to treat him with. If all goes well, she wants to replace the ointment with artificial tears after the course of antibiotics.

I feel terrible that I may be doing the wrong thing for the poor guy. He continues to stay strong and active, and is eating great. The oral medication is easy to give him by putting it on a cricket and then feeding the cricket to the hatchling. I am worried that the antibiotics will cause him to stop eating despite the use of probiotics. If he doesn't continue to do well, I won't hesitate to cull him.

 

[im faster]

I think the vets wrong on this one..

 

[M_surinamensis]

This Mack Snow hatched a couple of days ago looking great. After his first shed, however, his left eye seems to be hanging out of its socket.

So... just to clarify, he hatched with a normally formed eyelid, and no obvious signs of deformity, then developed the problem after/during his first shed?

Tough call under the circumstances. If he hatched like that, it'd be an obvious justification for culling. Cropping up shortly afterwards though, could have been a deformity that didn't manifest immediately, could be an injury (stuck shed, pulled or rubbed off, the fragile tissue around the eye was damaged), could even potentially be swelling associated with another condition, like an infection, a vitamin distribution issue or some congenital vascular thing.

As much as I am a strong proponent of culling animals when there exists a reason to do so, this case is a bit different, bit of a mystery involved. I don't think there's anything wrong with working to determine the underlying cause with a vet; though should it remain undefined and not respond to treatment (as an injury or illness potentially would) to any degree, it's safest to treat it as a potential genetic condition and cull. Given the laundry list of possibilities though, and the shift from "hatched like that" scenarios, it's worth it to be reasonably confident before ending an animal's life.

 

[im faster]

but an eye lid doesnt disappear with out any marks

 

[M_surinamensis]

It can be pushed back or end up receding if the pressure that should be underneath it is removed. It is skin with some elastic properties. A photograph isn't really sufficient to make a firm determination about what is happening physically there.

 

[Bongo]

So... just to clarify, he hatched with a normally formed eyelid, and no obvious signs of deformity, then developed the problem after/during his first shed?

Tough call under the circumstances. If he hatched like that, it'd be an obvious justification for culling. Cropping up shortly afterwards though, could have been a deformity that didn't manifest immediately, could be an injury (stuck shed, pulled or rubbed off, the fragile tissue around the eye was damaged), could even potentially be swelling associated with another condition, like an infection, a vitamin distribution issue or some congenital vascular thing.

As much as I am a strong proponent of culling animals when there exists a reason to do so, this case is a bit different, bit of a mystery involved. I don't think there's anything wrong with working to determine the underlying cause with a vet; though should it remain undefined and not respond to treatment (as an injury or illness potentially would) to any degree, it's safest to treat it as a potential genetic condition and cull. Given the laundry list of possibilities though, and the shift from "hatched like that" scenarios, it's worth it to be reasonably confident before ending an animal's life.

Yes, his eyelid appeared to be normally formed when he hatched.

I agree with your statements regarding whether or not the hatchling should be culled at this point.

 

[Bongo]

but an eye lid doesnt disappear with out any marks

It can be pushed back or end up receding if the pressure that should be underneath it is removed. It is skin with some elastic properties. A photograph isn't really sufficient to make a firm determination about what is happening physically there.

The hatchling did hatch with a lower eyelid, as shown in the picture below (sorry, I know its not a great quality photo).

 

[acpart]

I have seen real changes in eye situations and eyelids with baby geckos. The most dramatic was a set of pictures someone on here posted a few years ago where a gecko appeared to have grown an eyelid during its first few months. Some of my geckos have seemed to have pretty significant eyelid problems (not eyelid absence however) which have largely or entirely disappeared after a few months. I don't know if this is because some actual tissue growth occurred during those few months or because the hatchlings were so small that it was hard to tell exactly what was going on in the early days. I have never hatched a gecko without eyelids and fortunately have not had any geckos with eyelid issues this season (yet) but do feel that with some of these cases it's worth waiting a bit to see how they develop.

Aliza

 

[ElapidSVT]

.

 

[UnicornSpirit]

I've seen a hatchling with no eyelids before... it almost looks fake, like a little button-eyed gecko. hehe