Head injury, lost an eye.

[JulesMichy]

Hi, I'm new to the forums. Back in January, I adopted my foster leopard gecko, Nic, who I'd been caring for since October and just fell in love with. Originally, I had always removed him from his enclosure and put him in a tupperware container for feeding times. But he left my care for a brief stint in my rescue's "Classroom Foster" program, and apparently they hadn't kept up the practice because he wouldn't eat anywhere but inside of his enclosure when he came back to me.

Last night I was feeding him and one of the crickets got itself wedged between the enclosure and Nic's rock hut. I picked up the hut to shoo the cricket out, and it slipped out of my fingers and fell right on top of Nic. I screamed, lifted it up to find him shaking violently, and scooped him up and ran to get my vet's cell phone number from my desk. He stopped shaking and went limp, and then perked up a bit while I was on the phone with her. His right eye was completely filled with blood and his head had a deep abrasion on it, so we agreed to meet at the clinic.

Upon examination, Nic's left eardrum was ruptured and his right eye had been damaged beyond repair. My vet said the eardrum would heal in time, but he had lost the use of his right eye. She gave me Metacam and antibiotic eye drops.

I know this is actually a really good outcome. He could have died, or had neurological damage, or a broken mandible. The loss of one eye is hardly the worst case scenario for having had a rock dropped onto his head! But I feel awful, and just need some reassurance, I suppose. Has anyone else ever owner or known someone who owned a gecko with one eye? How well did they manage?

 

[Lady_Kiya]

Honey, it was an accident. The important thing is that he is alive and that he has someone like you to care for him.

 

[BGalloway]

There are probably people on the forums that have blind geckos or visually impaired geckos. His hunting ability will probably take a nosedive and you might have to hand feed him temporarily or permanently, let him try to hunt on his own first though so you don't stress him.
Keep him comfortable and follow the directions that came with the medicine. Watch for any signs that could indicate neurological damage, it may not show up immediately.

 

[Golden Gate Geckos]

I am so sorry about this accident, and I can only imagine the guilt you must be feeling. In 14 years of breeding leopard geckos, I have had 'accidents' that caused the deaths of a few of my geckos, which is something I will have to live with for the rest of my life. Just be grateful that your gecko is alive, and will most likely do just fine with one eye!

 

[JulesMichy]

Thanks for your support everyone.

After two days, Nic's eye is completely gone and shrunken in on itself, but healing well. He licks at it, particularly after I put in his antibiotic eye drops, and it obviously is causing him some discomfort even with the pain meds. But after spending the first day post-injury moping inside of his hut, he's spent most of today warming himself on the rocks in his basking spot. He also ate three waxworms on his own, so yay!:main_thumbsup:

 

[DoubleZ]

I'm so glad he's doing so well. With a little TLC he'll be just as happy as any other gecko.

 

[BGalloway]

Glad to hear he's doing well.