leopard gecko won't open his eyes, is not eating

[Rauty]

About your leo:
- Sex - MALE
- Age & Weight - 2 YEARS, UNKNOWN WEIGHT
- How long have you owned your leo - ABOUT A YEAR AND A HALF
- Where was he/she obtained (ex. Pet store, breeder, wild caught, friend) - PET STORE

A) Health/History
- How often do you handle your leo - 3-4 TIMES PER WEEK
- Is your leo acting any different today? If so how does he/she normally act which differs from now. - YES, HE'S ACTING DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE HIS EYES AREN'T OPEN
- Has he/she had any problems in the past, if so please describe. - NO, NO PROBLEMS IN THE PAST
B) Fecals
- Describe (look any different than normal)
- When was the last time he/she went - ABOUT 10 DAYS AGO. HE ISN'T EATING DUE TO HIS EYES BEING SHUT
C) Problem
- HIS EYES HAVE BEEN SHUT FOR APPROXIMATELY 2 WEEKS. WHEN I FIRST NOTICED IT, IT LOOKED LIKE ONE OF HIS EYES WAS CLOUDED OVER AND I WAS ABLE TO REMOVE A FAIRLY SIZABLE PIECE OF WHAT I ASSUMED WAS SHED SKIN (HOWEVER, IT WAS LIGHT BROWN IN COLOR BUT I ATTRIBUTED THIS TO BEING IN HIS EYE SOCKET) WE TOOK HIM TO A VET LAST SATURDAY (01/24/15) AND RECEIVED SOME GENTAMICIN TO PUT INTO HIS EYES. IT'S A LITTLE TOUGH TO GET THE DROPS INTO HIS EYES AS BOTH OF HIS EYES ARE SHUT PRETTY TIGHTLY. WHEN WE FIRST STARTED USING THE DROPS HE WOULD OPEN ONE OF HIS EYES FOR A FEW MINUTES THEN SHUT IT AGAIN. THERE ISN'T ANY SHED SKIN IN THE SOCKET ANY LONGER AND WHEN HE DOES OPEN ONE EYE, THERE DOESN'T APPEAR TO BE ANY CLOUDINESS.
HE'S DEFINITELY HAVING TROUBLE EATING AND WE HAVE TRIED TO HAND FEED HIM BUT WE BASICALLY HAVE TO MAKE HIM UPSET TO THE POINT THAT HE OPENS HIS MOUTH THEN WE DROP IN A MEALWORM. HIS TAIL DIAMETER HAS DEFINITELY DECREASED OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS TO ABOUT A THIRD OF THE SIZE THAT IT WAS PREVIOUSLY.

Housing:
A) Enclosure
- Size - I THINK IT'S A 15 GALLON TANK
- Type (ex. glass tank)
- Type of substrate - GECKO CARPET
- Hides, how many, what kind - 2 HIDES: 1 FAKE LOG ON THE WARM SIDE AND A ROCK CAVE ON THE COOL SIDE
B) Heating
- Heat source - THERE IS A HEATING PAD UNDER THE TANK AS WELL AS A LAMP
- Cage temps (hot side, cool side) - HOT SIDE: APPROX. 95 COOL SIDE: APPROX. 70
- Method of regulating heat source - WE TURN THE LAMP OFF AT NIGHT OR IF WE SEE THAT THE TEMP IS TOO HIGH
- What are you using to measure your temps - JUST THERMOMETERS THAT ARE STUCK TO THE SIDES OF THE TANK
- Do you have any lights (describe) - YES, ONE RED HEATING LAMP
C) Cage mates - NONE
- How many (males, females)
- Describe health, or previous problems

Describe Diet:
A) Typical diet
- What you're feeding (how often, how much) - 4-5 LARGE MEALWORMS EVERY 4 DAYS OR SO
- How are you feeding (hand fed, left in dish, ect) - LEFT IN DISH
B) Supplements (describe how often)
- What vitamin/minerals are you using (list brands) - WE ARE USING FLUKER'S CALCIUM WITH VITAMIN D3 TO DUST THE MEALWORMS
- What are you gut loading food with - WE JUST STARTED USING "NATURE ZONE TOTAL BITES" BUT WE STARTED THIS AFTER HIS EYE PROBLEM BEGAN AND HE HASN'T REALLY EATEN SINCE WE NOTICED THE PROBLEM.

 

[indyana]

It sounds as though your gecko had a bad shed and possibly has developed an eye infection. I would suggest that a vet visit is in order, as he may need eye drops.


Looking over your care, a few things to consider improving as you move forward:
- provide a humid hide. These help geckos shed effectively.
- regulate the temperature of the cage floor using a thermostat on the heating pad
- get a digital thermometer with a probe that you can use to measure the actual floor temperature. No telling what it is with those sticky side monitors. The heating pad plus the lamp could be making it really hot (not to mention drying out the air)
- consider gutloading your feeders with some fresh veggies (carrots, squash, greens) and adding a reptile multivitamin to his feeding regimen. Sometimes, vitamin deficiencies can cause bad shedding.

I usually hand out this care page, as it provides a simple overview of leopard gecko cage requirements:
Leopard Gecko Care Guide - Leopard Geckos For Sale - Quality Gecko Breeder - Fair Prices - Tremper - Bell - Rainwater - Giant - Mack Snow - Albino - Tangerine - Fattail

 

[Rauty]

Thanks for the reply. We took him to the vet last weekend and he gave us some drops to put in our gecko's eyes (I referenced that in the questionnaire) but I'll definitely take your advice regarding the hide, heating etc. Thanks again.

 

[indyana]

Great to hear you took the time to visit a vet. I hope he'll be on the mend soon!

 

[Rauty]

Just thought I'd post an update: It's been about 2 1/2 weeks since the vet visit as well as the beginning of the administration of the eye drops. For the past 5 days or so, every time we put the drops on his eyelids then gently massage the medicine around his eyes, he'll open both eyes for a period of about 10 minutes, lick his eyes, walk around his enclosure then return to his favorite spot by his water bowl. He still hasn't eaten in about three weeks and refuses food even when we place a mealworm or cricket in his mouth (he just spits them out). He began a new shed this morning and I'm hoping that this will stimulate his desire to eat...but it's not looking good.

 

[Rauty]

Another update: Shedding again this morning but still hasn't eaten. We have tried mashing up some mealworms and crickets and hand-feeding him but...still won't eat. Still won't open his eyes either (except for a short period of time right after we place the drops in his eyes). Any advice???

 

[Neon Aurora]

Have you called the vet back to see what they think? I'm not surprised that he is not eating, but if his eyes aren't improving after over 3 weeks, I would talk to the vet again. I would think you would expect to see some improvement in that time.

If he is dropping weight quickly, I would try a slurry. http://geckoforums.net/f130-health-medications/54742.htm The thread is a bit messy, but scroll through it and you will find the things you need.

 

[Rauty]

Another update: Made a batch of the slurry and have been feeding it to Greg for the last....3 months? Have tried mealworms, crickets etc. but he has zero interest in them. His tail has remained very thin, his eyes open intermittently (to the point that he can see movement) but, as of this morning, they are closed again. He shed yesterday and he has some still stuck to the top of his head.
Since his issues began we have added another moist hide, changed that undertake heater, changed the substrate (we now have tile), fed him nothing but the slurry...but nothing seems to help. A follow-up call to the vet provided no answers; they are as stumped as we are.
Not really sure what else we can do at this point. What was once an enjoyable pet has turned into an extraordinary effort just to keep him alive...and I'm not sure what else we can do.

 

[indyana]

So sorry to hear this. I'm starting to wonder if he has some other underlying condition that is causing general failure of health. Protozoan parasites or even Cryptosporidium can cause poor condition and a decline in health. Has your vet checked for parasites already?