Nostrils Blocked With Shed

[Snuffles379]

Hello everyone!

I've been fighting with a couple of reoccurring problems with my 12 year old, male, leopard gecko. He's always had trouble shedding so I mist daily, he has a moist hide, and I give regular soaks. However, it appears that a thin build up of shed has formed in his nostril. I brought him in a while ago to get his eye looked at, also for retained shed, and the vet dismissed the back up. Now though one side seems to be blocked completely and he makes a visible effort to breath out of the other hole. I've tried multiple times to get this loosened previously by soaking but it appears to have continued to built up still. Is there anything you guys can suggest to clear his nostrils? It's frustrating because it's just a very small area, barely visible, right inside the nostril. So I can't grab it with my fingers (wayyy to small for that) and I'm too afraid to wipe at it with a damp Qtip because it is his nose and I worry I'll cause trouble breathing or something.

I've been told to give him a sort of steam bath and I've tried many times but I think maybe it's never been steamy enough to be effective but I'm afraid that if I put him in an enclosed steamy area that he'll have trouble breathing.
Any advice or recommendations would help!!

Also, he still appears to have a piece of shed stuck in his eye. I've taken him to the vet three times for this and every time they never see the shed or say it's not shed but just damage. However, the skin is now constantly visible and so i know there is a small piece of skin stuck under his top eye lid. I've been giving him eye drops for weeks and it loosens it but never moves it further out. Any recommendations for this? Should I get some more sterile eye drops and try a flushing method? I've only been doing drops but maybe if I gently squired the fluid in there it might help.
What do you think?
Any and all advice is helpful!!! Thanks in advance for your time!!

 

[katie_]

I would go to a different vet

 

[acpart]

I have a gecko that chronically has blocked nostrils (he's featured in an article I wrote in Gecko Time: http://www.geckotime.com/the-yearly-cycle-with-geckos/
One thing my vet suggested that worked was to put some bacitracin on the nostrils. I would do this with only one nostril at a time. The bacitracin softens up the tissue and eventually the plug popped out.

Aliza

 

[Snuffles379]

Thanks for the information acpart, It's good to hear from another gecko owner who has this problem. I heard of using vasiline over it but I was so afraid of it getting inside the nostril through the skin and causing more trouble, should I be worried about this with the bacitracin? My hesitation is mostly because the skin is very thin and on the inner rim of the nostril. It's not like a plug but like a thin layer so I worry that it won't pop out, just build up more. Though there's a very good chance I'm being overly cautious about it.

Katie_ that's what I've been thinking too, though the vet I see is the closest and highest recommended when it comes to exotics in my area and I've seen two separate vets but at the same place so I'm hesitant to make the change and bring him somewhere else for the exact same response.

 

[marz]

i use long fiber sphagnum moss in a deli container they love to lay in it no cover just a large deli or square Tupperware i find them sleeping and laying on it at night no shed issues it will breed cricket in there only drawback i buy mine at lowes they use it for orchids i use it for my orchids carnivorous plant Venus fly trap pitcher plant nepenthes a lot cheaper than pet stores contains no chemicals 100% moss its like a natural sponge i clean with hot water and squeeze it out and put back till it get nasty poop ect they never go to bathroom in it keep it clean don't breed bacteria guys

 

[Snuffles379]

Marz, thanks for the information. I keep a sponge like carpet in a wood cave that is used as his moist hide, I don't have trouble maintaining his humidity levels, he's just always had problems shedding. The moist hide won't help at this point with the stuck shed unfortunately.

 

[SORROW89]

Marz, thanks for the information. I keep a sponge like carpet in a wood cave that is used as his moist hide, I don't have trouble maintaining his humidity levels, he's just always had problems shedding. The moist hide won't help at this point with the stuck shed unfortunately.

Maybe the tank is too dry. The humidity in my gecko's tank is 50 and never had shedding issues. Don't let it get too dry.