Nynecho
Collector
- Messages
- 84
- Location
- United States
I have had my leopard gecko Ringo for 7 months now, and he hasn't had any problems until recently.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
He lives alone in his 15 gallon terrarium and gets to see my female leo Yoko a couple times a week, but since he has been having problems, I have stopped letting them interact.
I supplement his food with rep-cal phosphorous free calcium powder with d3(which he also has a water bottle lid of in his tank at all times) and his water is always dechlorinated.
He drinks a lot of water and spends most of his down time in one of his 2 moist hides or chillin on his heat pad spot. He still patrols his tank like a good male should and climbs and eats just fine. I feed his crickets potatoes.
Since I've been having emotional problems, I had been getting lazy when it came to feeding them, so I had figured with his huge appetite and great hunting skills, Ringo would be fine if I just put like, 10 crickets in his tank for him to eat when he pleased (which is usually within 15 minutes) But apparently, a few of the crickets in each group i put in there started hiding and a climbing log that ringo can't get into. These crickets eventually accumulated to about 20 that were living in his tank for a couple weeks feeding off of him and his poop.
I first noticed a problem when ringo had scratches on his mouth and a swollen right upper eyelid.
I started misting him and sprayed his humid hide more frequently because i didn't see any crickets, so i thought he was just dried out.
A week after the boo-boos on his face went away, he started going into shed (and this is the first time i have ever seen it happen) He started the shed at his arms instead of his face like normal, and my boyfriend (who is used to helping my female shed because she is incompetent) just went ahead and started peeling off his skin. The body was clearly ready to shed, but the face wasn't. I told him to let him do it on his own, but he didn't listen to me and started to peel the skin off of his head. It was all shiny and red after and he didn't get it off his eyes or ears, so i intervened.
I peeled the skin from the ears and eyes so that my boyfriend wouldn't stress the poor thing out too much and i have to say i am 99% sure i got all of the skin off and didn't leave anything near or on his eyes, but none the less it was still red and shiny because it wasn't ready to come off.
There didn't appear to be any problems after that until 2 days later his left eye started squinting. I didn't touch it or do anything just so i could see how it progressed on its own, and the next day his left eye was shut all the way with these extra dark eyelids preventing the white lids from touching.
I looked up what to do and i saw to putting a drop of saline on a q-tip and rolling it over his eye. It worked for like... an hour. But then his right eye started closing too. Soon, whenever i would wake him up neither eye could open without me getting it wet. I decided to clean his tank then when i discovered a cricket bite on his left eyelid.
I found 20 crickets in his tank and cleaned every surface. I haven't put crickets in his tank since then.
His eyes still squint, and i still see the dark protective lids when his eyes are closed. It's been about 4 days since he started squinting. I have put saline drops in his eyes at least twice a day and just yesterday i put a drop of baby eye drops in each eye (intended for pink eye) because the eyes appeared a bit crusty. His right eye is almost entirely back to normal. It doesn't squint and the protective lids are only out on the corners of his eye. The left eye however still squints sometimes and the dark lids are still visible. His left also still has problems opening after it's been closed for a while.
I have read that often leopard geckos develop a cap over their eyes in situations like this, and just to make it known, he does not have a cap over either eye. He has 2 snake eyes, and though they dilate when i give him the drops, they go back to normal soon after. His eyes appear clear and here has been no mucus, just the slightest amount of crust in the corners when he can't open them.
Here is a picture of his left eye as he tries to open it (note the dark eyelids that cover the eyeball)
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS
I need to know these:
Is this because of the cricket bites? (which i have discovered one on each eye now)
Or does he have a lack of vitamin a?
I was told to feed his feeders potatoes. Should I be giving them gut load instead?
And should I introduce mealworms into his diet as well?
Around the second day of squinting, i noticed there is a patch of dry skin on the top of his head that looks like it wants to shed, but it's only a small space and i know that part shed before. It goes away when it gets wet, but then just shows up again. It doesn't appear to be bothering him at all.
At this point I am almost certain that his left eye is having problems because of the cricket bite. I know it hurts him, so maybe that is the main reason he keeps it closed. Should i put something on it like neosporin or something?
NOTE: A vet visit is not in the cards for me right now. I CANNOT take him to a vet for many reasons, money being the biggest one. The most I can do is buy him what he needs (vitamins, food variety, etc.) and take care of him as often as he needs.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
He lives alone in his 15 gallon terrarium and gets to see my female leo Yoko a couple times a week, but since he has been having problems, I have stopped letting them interact.
I supplement his food with rep-cal phosphorous free calcium powder with d3(which he also has a water bottle lid of in his tank at all times) and his water is always dechlorinated.
He drinks a lot of water and spends most of his down time in one of his 2 moist hides or chillin on his heat pad spot. He still patrols his tank like a good male should and climbs and eats just fine. I feed his crickets potatoes.
Since I've been having emotional problems, I had been getting lazy when it came to feeding them, so I had figured with his huge appetite and great hunting skills, Ringo would be fine if I just put like, 10 crickets in his tank for him to eat when he pleased (which is usually within 15 minutes) But apparently, a few of the crickets in each group i put in there started hiding and a climbing log that ringo can't get into. These crickets eventually accumulated to about 20 that were living in his tank for a couple weeks feeding off of him and his poop.
I first noticed a problem when ringo had scratches on his mouth and a swollen right upper eyelid.
I started misting him and sprayed his humid hide more frequently because i didn't see any crickets, so i thought he was just dried out.
A week after the boo-boos on his face went away, he started going into shed (and this is the first time i have ever seen it happen) He started the shed at his arms instead of his face like normal, and my boyfriend (who is used to helping my female shed because she is incompetent) just went ahead and started peeling off his skin. The body was clearly ready to shed, but the face wasn't. I told him to let him do it on his own, but he didn't listen to me and started to peel the skin off of his head. It was all shiny and red after and he didn't get it off his eyes or ears, so i intervened.
I peeled the skin from the ears and eyes so that my boyfriend wouldn't stress the poor thing out too much and i have to say i am 99% sure i got all of the skin off and didn't leave anything near or on his eyes, but none the less it was still red and shiny because it wasn't ready to come off.
There didn't appear to be any problems after that until 2 days later his left eye started squinting. I didn't touch it or do anything just so i could see how it progressed on its own, and the next day his left eye was shut all the way with these extra dark eyelids preventing the white lids from touching.
I looked up what to do and i saw to putting a drop of saline on a q-tip and rolling it over his eye. It worked for like... an hour. But then his right eye started closing too. Soon, whenever i would wake him up neither eye could open without me getting it wet. I decided to clean his tank then when i discovered a cricket bite on his left eyelid.
I found 20 crickets in his tank and cleaned every surface. I haven't put crickets in his tank since then.
His eyes still squint, and i still see the dark protective lids when his eyes are closed. It's been about 4 days since he started squinting. I have put saline drops in his eyes at least twice a day and just yesterday i put a drop of baby eye drops in each eye (intended for pink eye) because the eyes appeared a bit crusty. His right eye is almost entirely back to normal. It doesn't squint and the protective lids are only out on the corners of his eye. The left eye however still squints sometimes and the dark lids are still visible. His left also still has problems opening after it's been closed for a while.
I have read that often leopard geckos develop a cap over their eyes in situations like this, and just to make it known, he does not have a cap over either eye. He has 2 snake eyes, and though they dilate when i give him the drops, they go back to normal soon after. His eyes appear clear and here has been no mucus, just the slightest amount of crust in the corners when he can't open them.
Here is a picture of his left eye as he tries to open it (note the dark eyelids that cover the eyeball)
FOLLOW UP QUESTIONS
I need to know these:
Is this because of the cricket bites? (which i have discovered one on each eye now)
Or does he have a lack of vitamin a?
I was told to feed his feeders potatoes. Should I be giving them gut load instead?
And should I introduce mealworms into his diet as well?
Around the second day of squinting, i noticed there is a patch of dry skin on the top of his head that looks like it wants to shed, but it's only a small space and i know that part shed before. It goes away when it gets wet, but then just shows up again. It doesn't appear to be bothering him at all.
At this point I am almost certain that his left eye is having problems because of the cricket bite. I know it hurts him, so maybe that is the main reason he keeps it closed. Should i put something on it like neosporin or something?
NOTE: A vet visit is not in the cards for me right now. I CANNOT take him to a vet for many reasons, money being the biggest one. The most I can do is buy him what he needs (vitamins, food variety, etc.) and take care of him as often as he needs.
