Does anyone know what to do for a gecko with an eye injury. This gecko has never before had a shedding problem but this time didn't shed around her eyes. I used water and a q-tip to soften and peel it away but now she seems to have lost her eye. It is swollen and she can't shut it but she can't see out of it. It looks bad, don't know what to do. No exotic vets in my area, I have some gentocin antibiotic eye drops - can I use these? Any help would be appreciated.

You havent mentioned your area, but check here http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ and http://www.arav.org/ you never know...there May be a vet out there for your little guy. He definitely sounds like he needs a vet. Good luck...

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

I agree with Lyn, it needs to see a vet. The swelling could be due to a corneal abrasion or a poss foreign body from the substrate...What do you use for substrate and how long has it been like this?

I know we use several "human" meds for our reptiles but I'm not sure about the eye drops...

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

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Hello,

A vet visit sounds like the way to go. I too would like to know where you are located. We may be able to help you find one.

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Hope you find a vet near you. Good luck with your leo!

Thanks for the replies. I'm in Spartanburg S.C. and there is one vet here that I've seen with a bird, unfortunately she was no help. Three (expensive)vet visits and a long 5 weeks and my bird died anyway. The eye drops were actually for the bird so I gave them a try. The swelling (which is actually behind the eye) has gone down some and she looks better. I'm afraid she's lost that eye though. I don't know if I did it while trying to loosen the skin or if it was because the skin was there for several days before we actually got it to come off. Anyway, it upsets me that this happened to her eye but I really don't know if a vet can help. This gecko is like my little canary, she is so small it's hard to perform surgeries and such on them. I'm going to try the drops for a day or so and we increased the calcium to try and prevent anymore shedding problems. Thanks again to everyone who responded.

If it lost its eye then the open area is a high risk for infection...youre gonna want to make sure that dosnt happen seeing how close it is to the brain...

Hello,

If there was swelling behind the eye, an infection already exists. Who told you increasing the calcium intake would help prevent bad sheds? They lied. If you want to prevent bad sheds, you need to increase the humidity or provide a shed box the leo uses and you need to erradicate the eye problem. Illness can also cause bad sheds. (Increasing the calcium will do nothing for the shed however.)

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Thanks for the reply Rich,
There is a Leo breeder working at our local pet store where we buy some supplies. I occasionally ask him gecko questions, my expertise is more with dogs, cats, birds etc. We already have provided a moist hide and calcium regularly sprinkled on crickets and in a dish. They have been doing quite well since we got them last October. This is the first time she has had a shedding problem. The humidity is at 60%, temp around 80 degrees F. She had shed almost all of her skin except on the head. I tried putting her in the moist hide to see if she could get it herself. Eventually I used water and a q-tip to loosen and rub it off. The next morning the eye was swollen. The eye drops seem to be helping the abcess but her eye itself is dark. I guess I damaged it when working with the q-tip. Or maybe we waited too long to try to get the skin off. I really don't know what else to do. Can I purchase anitibiotics online? Could this be a vitamin deficiancy? This "breeder" also told us not to ever put a light on the gecko's. We had been using a heat light during the daytime, not now. Like I said, I'm new with lizards and I appreciate any advice that I can get. My son wanted the leopard gecko but I am the one caring for her. (typical, I also care for his turtles and hamster)
Thanks again,
Joy