HELP! Infected/Cloudy eyes, losing weight, and no vet...

[Ragdoll]

Hi all,

About a month ago my leo developed a white, cloudy film in his eye...I went to the vet and she claimed that it must be a corneal laceration caused by sand in his cage. I've had him on sand for 7 years and never had this problem...She prescribed neo-poly-bac solution to rub in his eyes 2x daily for 2 weeks. It did nothing noticable, and when I contacted her she said it might be a permanent condition, and "not to worry about it" because he could "probably see anyway" and it's "cosmetic" damage.

I unfortunately had to have my parents take care of/feed him for a couple months while I was at school, and I've now found that not only is the eye worse, but it's now the same condition in the other eye. He's lost weight and I think he's unable to find food due to blindness. Pics are below:

Please let me know if there's anything I can do, I have read about people that have cleared this condition, hopefully it's nothing permanent. Thanks so much in advance for any help! Also if anyone can recommend a good Leo vet in the Chicago area I'd greatly appreciate it, since I have my doubts about this one (she suggested cage carpet, among other things which makes me question her knowledge about leos).

 

[MrLeoGecko]

it could be an infection because of the sand thats one other reason y people dont use it he also has a gentic deformity (his lower jaw) but i dont thing that it would be linked up in any way!

 

[Ratman667]

I received a leo as a rescue that had similar eye problems. At the time, I did not have access to any eye ointment.

What I used was sterile saline solution and Zoo-Med's "Repti Turtle Eye Drops". I just put one or two drops in each eye twice a day. It took a few weeks, but eventually cleared up.

I'm not going to go into a rant as to why sand is bad. If you have been using it for seven years without a problem, good for you. However, I would put that leo on paper towels until this problem goes away. At the least you are removing one possible cause and giving him a "sterile" environment.

On the chance it is an infection, I would feed normally, but also give some slurry to jump start his immune system and give him a better chance of fighting it off.

Also, you say nothing of how he is heated or the temps. Since you are using sand, I am assuming you are using a heat lamp?

Basically, I would separate him (if you have any others housed with him), use the drops or the ointment given by the vet, house him on paper towels and switch him to an UTH with temps around 92-95*F.

 

[ctleo203]

my gecko went thru a bad shed and i was super worried about her eyes so i spent id say the better part of the last 3 weeks looking stuff up. i know you can buy terramycin offline its for cat n dogs but allot of ppl said it works for infections. other then that i dont know much im really new to this all.

 

[maximusx6910]

I agree with Ratman, First of all make sure he is off the sand. You can use paper towels, or if you want to go ahead and make another step buy repti carpet depending on your cage. It should be cheap. I know that the carpet is much cheaper than sand. It will be easier to catch food as well. i wont go into detail about cleaning because this is about the health of your leo. The slurry is a great idea, sterile environment (out the sand), and i also heard about the turtle drops working.

 

[Saphira]

it is skin.
http://www.geckoforums.net/showthread.php?t=40416 here is my big long thread about it.

we got some oral antibiotics and some eye drops and with diligently cleaning her eyes she is on the mend.. took months... she is still coming back up to weight.

you will have to get that skin out of the eyes though to get the eye drops in.
Terramycin didn't work for us.

here is what we used
The antibiotics were Enrofloxacin 25mg/ml
Tobramycin Ophthalmic solution (eye drops)

 

[maximusx6910]

Forgot completely about shedding! Good point. +1

 

[Ragdoll]

To answer some of the questions above, he has been on slate now for about 3 mos...I'll be switching him to paper towels until I see improvement, then maybe cage carpet (though I have heard horror stories of them pulling their claws out when they get stuck in it...hence my unwillingness to use it). temps have been running a bit cold, like 85-88 range, I'm going to buy a new lamp and try to get those up again.

I'm also inclined to think this is a shed issue, it's what I thought initially until the vet told me otherwise..not sure what would bring it on so suddenly. I will attempt the warm compress/mineral oil suggestion above.

I tried hand-feeding a mealworm a day ago, and he absolutely refused to take it...going so far as to spit it out which I've never seen him do. I think at least part of the problem is the lack of quality insects available in my area, especially during the winter. He loved waxworms and live pinkies and superworms when I lived out of state, but now all I can find locally is crappy, almost dead mealies and crickets, which he got picky about and stopped eating years ago.

If there are any other suggestions, or if I am forgetting anyting from the advice above please let me know...thanks so much for the help!

 

[Saphira]

I don't think I would use mineral oil in the eye. It isn't sterile. Sterile eye drops like contact solution would be better. I had to use q-tips and occasionally tweezers(didn't touch the eye just the dead skin) to get the stuff off. She won't likely eat again till her eyes are clear. Scully got it in April and it was July before we got her eyes clear and she is just now getting back up to the weight she was before she got sick. It is long going.

 

[snuffyj]

Hi - my vet gave me a prescription diet cat/dog food and a very small syringe to feed my gecko. I had the same thing happen - his eyes were very cloudy and I was sure he couldn't see so consequently he did not eat. I mixed the cat food with warm water, held the gecko in my left hand and stroked his neck until he opened his mouth. He didn't object and would take a few swallows before deciding he had enough. As he felt better he would grab the syringe with his mouth. He has just now started eating mealworms, it's been about 4 weeks on the cat food slurry. If you can get some of the food, try it. My vet said it is a high protein food and would help put some weight on my gecko. Lori

 

[Saphira]

Our vet gave us Oxbow Hay Company Carnivore Care

http://www.oxbowanimalhealth.com/vets/products

 

[MiamiLeos]

ive had a leo who developed a bacterial infection in his eye that looked very much like that. try to find another vet or request some good antibiotics (oral and to put in the eyes) from your existing vet.

 

[snuffyj]

Cloudy Eyes

Hi - I posted a photo on my profile that shows the same type of eye infection. In addition to the eye ointment from the vet (I cheated and used one that my dog had) I also gave my gecko antibiotics - I had to give him a small amount in a tiny syringe, but I believe that also helped him heal. The warm bath soaks are a must and you can stroke your gecko's belly to get things moving, if he is having digestive problems. Get rid of the sand and use paper towels - they are easy to clean and you won't have to worry about them eating it. I caught Goldeneye scratching his body along the side of the tank so I immediately got rid of the sand. Also, I used sterile saline (like for contact lenses) to rinse his eyes.

 

[Stomlin35]

I use repti-carpet for my geckos. Never had a problem, easy to clean. I use it for the aesthetic value over paper towels as well, which is just another plus heh.