Leopard Gecko Bruising and Shedding Issues

[laughmask]

Hello,

I am a bit worried about my gecko as it recently started to have a whole bunch of problems. He keeps his eyes closed, doesn't eat and with the last shed it seemed to pull off live skin and reveal strange bruises. This has been going on for about a week, and I won't be able to get him to a vet until next Monday at the earliest so I am hoping to get some advice here. I have some pictures of the bruising. Thank you in advance!

About your leo:
- Sex: Male
- Age & Weight: 1 year 8 months. I don't have a scale at the moment.
- How long have you owned your leo: 1 year 7 months
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend): Pet Store

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo: 2-3 times a week
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now: Not eating, a little less active, otherwise fairly normal.
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe: No
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal): Because he isn't eating, there is no brown feces, just the urate. Although the last pass has a strange, yellowy wet glob attached to the urate.
- When was the last time he/she went: Last night.
C) Problem
- Please briefly describe the problem and how long it has been going on: Not eating, eyes closed (they look goopy so I'm assuming infection but I can't get to the vet until monday =( ). Shedding pulled off some healthy skin and revealed bruising.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size: 16 gallon (18x18x18)
- Type (ex. glass tank): Glass
- Type of substrate: Repticarpet
- Hides, how many, what kind: Moist Hide, warm hide, cool hide
B) Heating
- Heat source: UTH and overhead light (on a dimmer and timer)
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side): 92-75 Fahrenheit.
- Method of regulating heat source: UTH always on, lamp on a timer and dimmer, I monitor with thermometers.
- What are you using to measure your temps: 2 thermometers on the ground on the warm and cools side.
- Do you have any lights (describe): A regular 40 watt bulb, dimmed about 50-60%
C) Cage mates
- How many (males, females): None
- Describe health, or previous problems: N/A

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much): Mealworms, 2-3 every 3 days
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect): Feed with tongs
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands): ZooMed Repti Calcium with D3. Dust all the crickets.
- What are you gut loading food with: Fluker's Orange Cube Complete Cricket Diet

 

[Dinosaur!]

you may want to consider adding a mutivitamin once a week to your geckos diet. Make sure that it contains vitamin A. Vitamin A helps keep your leopard gecko's skin and eyes healthy, and the lack of it may have caused him to have a difficult shed. The cuts, or "bruises", may have been caused from him rubbing on tank items as he tried to remove the skin. Try giving him a warm soak in shallow water and then removing the skin gently with tweezers, your fingers, or a Q-tip. Definately get him into the vet ASAP for a more qualified diagnosis. I hope your gecko starts feeling better! Good luck, and i hope this helps out a little

 

[sausage]

I agree with the above, you need to get the skin off asap to prevent swelling and loss of toes. the injuries could be self inflected, perhaps where hes tried to get the stuck shed off thats annoying him. the wounds will heal over time, with each shed they will get smaller.
but you nee to see a vet asap to check his eyes are okay and that there is no underlying problems.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

I agree with what others have said. Multivitamin will help and a nightly warm soak for a week or so to help him shed. I would also make sure his cage is super clean by possibly replacing the repticarpet (which can hold bacteria) with paper towels until he heals up. I might also stop using the light over his tank and switch to a less direct form of lighting like a desk lamp in the room with his cage for the meantime. Sometimes bulbs over cages can dry out the air and cause issues over time. A vet visit to a qualified reptile vet would be a good idea to make sure there is no underlying issue that changes to husbandry alone won't address.

Good luck and let us know how he does!

 

[laughmask]

I managed to get the skin off the feet, but he's still got some on his head and tail that you m going back to try and get off. I was afraid to pull it off the tail since it was wounded. I found another vet that I can get in to tomorrow so that's good. I started soaking him and got stuff make a slurry for him since he won't eat mealworms. Thanks for the advice guys. I'll post what the vet says since I wasnt able to find any posts with skin problems that looked similar to that.

 

[DrCarrotTail]

It certainly is a bit odd. I would just soak him and be really gentle or just let him try to get it off himself once it's damp. Stuck shed won't cut off circulation immediately. It usually needs to build up a couple layers before big problems start so don't panic and hurt him. Let us know how the vet goes! Fingers crossed for an easy solution!