Not even the vet understands what's wrong

[tgecko]

Hey guys, I have an adult leopard gecko that is around 2 years old. Extremely suddenly, she decided to close her eyes and "lock" them shut (meaning she literally never opens them), and due to that, she hasn't been eating. I've brought her to the vet twice. The first time, they put her on antibiotics because she had a small injury in her mouth, and then they flushed her eyes to remove some shed. We assumed that this was the problem, since after that, she opened her eyes wide and seemed totally normal. Then, maybe a few weeks after, she closed them again, and didn't eat. I brought her to the vet again. They flushed her eyes to remove no shed this time.

I showed the vet her habitat and the temps. I lowered the brightness of the lightbulbs in her habitat, thinking the light may have been to bright for her eyes. Nothing is working. The vet said I was doing everything right (including temps and her habitat), and that he had absolutely no idea what was wrong with her. He "felt bad" for even charging me for the visit. I am at a loss of ideas for what to do with this gecko. It's my little brother's and he loves it to death, so I HAVE to make sure this thing lives.

Her tail size has diminished significantly so naturally I'm going to have to syringe feed her, or she'll starve. Her eyes are always shut, so she literally can't see the mealworms and eat them on her own. I'm basically just accepting that she's a blind gecko at this point...so! How do I take care of a blind gecko? Is "Flukers" syringe food the way to go? If so, how often should I feed her this and in what quantity?

Thanks for your help guys.

tldr: Gecko won't open eyes, and not even the vet knows why. I'm thinking she just has an eye problem that may not ever go away. However, I want to keep her alive since she won't eat on her own with her eyes shut. What should I be syringe feeding her? How often? In what quantity?

Edit: spelling error

 

[Halley]

Check out this site:

http://www.goldengategeckos.com/info.html

It has a recipe for a slurry to feed your gecko. This recipe has been around a long time and has worked for many keepers.

I don't know what to tell you about the gecko closing her eyes. The page also has a link to help find a reptile veterinarian (most vets don't specialize in reptiles, not sure if your current one does) which may help if only for a second opinion.

 

[acpart]

try this: dip your finger in water and let a drop drip on her eye. There's a good chance she will open the eye. Try it on each eye.
Feeding: hold the gecko and poke a mealworm at her mouth. Hopefully she will open her mouth and bite the mealworm. You can feed her the slurry but if there's any way she'll eat solid food I think that's better for her
Diagnosis: Did the vet take a poop sample to check for parasites? Did the vet do a swab in the vent to test for cryptosporidiosis?

Aliza