I'm new here, just registered today, and I am really impressed by the forum. I recently rescued a pair of leos that were brought into a PETCO (actually a very nice caring facility) by an individual that claimed they were too aggressive. Well, they are as sweet as kittens, but one appeared to be having a terrible time shedding and did not want to open it's eyes. (there was no heat or moist hide in the tank they were dropped off with) I soaked it in warm water and after the shed was off, I saw that the eyes were, lets say, funky looking. I took it to the vet immediately, and she used some drops that indicated damaged corneas either from injury or an infection. I gave the little thing antibiotic eye drops four times a day, and there was no real improvement, but no worsening either. It was obvious that the gecko had no vision at all, but after getting it's health back through hand feeding, I was eventually able to train it to eat by tapping the ground next to a mealworm until it grabbed it. I think it now has some ability to see a little light out of one eye, but the other eye looks sort of warped and beyond hope.
Some people have indicated that it is cruel to keep this girl alive with little chance of improvement, but since it is fattening up and seems to eat ok with help, and is very easy to handle, I don't think I could ever have it put down just because of it's blindness. Of course at this point, there is still some hope that one eye will continue to improve. I am just curious as to the opinions of members here. How would you deal with a gecko that might be permanently blind? Do you consider it's quality of life so limited that it would be unkind to let it live out it's life this way?
The other gecko that came with it is doing great, and I also have a baby in another tank - which was the one I was buying supplies for when the other pair became available.
Here are links with photos. The first link shows Kismet, the blind gecko in a silly photo series I took of her last night. The side you see has her "bad" eye
http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Gec...es/736173.html
The second link has photos of all three in a little gallery
http://www.pbase.com/artshot/gecko_gallery