crust leo eye!

[Mrgbb]

hey,

i just picked up a little baby leopard gecko from the petstore... i got him because his eyes are all crusted over and i feel really bad for the little guy...
so what im hear to ask is what do i do about his eyes? the crust is like dark brown and hes really pale im guessing hes going into shed.

his set up....
i have him in a 10 gallon tank with paper towels a bedding... i got him a little hide some rocks a water dish and some fake plants....
the tank is being heated by a heat lamp i believe its a 40 watt bulb the bulbs to hot for me to check at the moment LOL.
im monitoring the temps with a digital thermometer.

so any help with the crusty eye would be much appreciated!

thanks,
Mike H.

[grits]

Not familar with geckos but my tortoise has the same problem. There are drops we got from the pet store that clears him right up.

[Mrgbb]

Not familar with geckos but my tortoise has the same problem. There are drops we got from the pet store that clears him right up.

do you know what those drops are called? and if there okay for geckos?

~Mike H.

[grits]

Mike its called repti-turtle eye drops. Its water,saline,vitamin a, palmitate and b12

[Mrgbb]

Mike its called repti-turtle eye drops. Its water,saline,vitamin a, palmitate and b12

oh.... im pretty sure that my gecko wont be harmed by some vitamins and saline... what is palmitate? is it similar to saline? or is it a anti-biotic?

[grits]

An antioxidant and a vitamin A compound. Sounds like it would work, just keep in mind its labled turtle eye drops.

[JordanAng420]

Your gecko most likely has retained shed skin on his eyes. I own, breed and sell leopard geckos, and I have for a few years. This usually happens when there isn't enough humidity for the reptile to be able to properly remove the entire shed...Most commonly, the eye caps are the first things affected.

Try warm soaks at least two or three times daily...if the animal will tolerate it, try holding a small, warm, moist cloth to each eye for as long as you can. This will help loosen the skin. GENTLY, try and roll a wet Q-tip over the eye cap to see if it will slide off. If, after a few attempts it won't, unfortunately a veterinarian well versed in reptilian medicine will have to assist.

Be sure to provide this animal with a moist hide at all times, so you can prevent this in the future. Also, I would consider switching from an overhead light to an under tank heater. Leopard Geckos are nocturnal, they thermoregulate best with heat from the bottom. Keep a thermometer on the bottom of the hot side to keep track of temps, they should be anywhere from 90-98 degrees. Better yet, get a temp gun.

On a side note...here's how I feel about pet stores. Pet stores make money from reptile sales. At the end of the day, that is the only concern. People come in and see the animals on display, buy them, and take them home. Half of them come back within a month or two to buy a replacement animal, because it was either sick before they bought it, or they didn't bother to do the research before buying the animal, and the pet store didn't bother to educate them properly.

I know your intentions were in the best interest of the animals health, but when you buy sick animals from a pet store because "you feel bad for it"...you are only helping their profits and encouraging them to buy more sick animals to put on display and sell them.

[JordanAng420]

Also, can you elaborate on your tank set up? What are you feeding? How hot is the hot side? Any supplements? Are you gut-loading? Do you have a humid hide for him?

[jfreels]

All the husbandry advice you gave was spot on.

I know your intentions were in the best interest of the animals health, but when you buy sick animals from a pet store because "you feel bad for it"...you are only helping their profits and encouraging them to buy more sick animals to put on display and sell them.

This little bit however, is ridiculous. You honestly believe that pet stores only want to stock sick animals? Or are you alluding that they only get sick animals? Either case, completely false.

[JordanAng420]

All the husbandry advice you gave was spot on.



This little bit however, is ridiculous. You honestly believe that pet stores only want to stock sick animals? Or are you alluding that they only get sick animals? Either case, completely false.

I think they do get healthy animals...unfortunately, the employees are NOT trained well enough to be able to constantly maintain these animals on a day-to-day basis. In fact, I wouldn't even ask them about dog food. Most are not trained well enough to be giving ANY advice about ANY animal. My point was, that when animals are purchased through a pet store...all they're going to do is turn around and replace it with whatever they can, in the same horrific husbandry conditions.

I'm pretty sure that most of the time pet stores don't stock sick animals on purpose. I feel, however, that store employees could be trained a LOT better than they are. Most of the advice that is given out is to benefit the profit of the business.