Eye Problem

Okay guys and gals, I just got a pair of subadult leos from my ex. I really have no idea how he took care of them (my guess is not well because of the shape they are in). One of them is in better shape, he's a little bigger but obviously dehydrated. This I know how to fix. The problem I have is that it looks like he has fluid in his eyes. Kinda like the cloudyness snakes get in their eyes right when they start a shed. It's not real bad, not like real white/blue, just slightly cloudy and fluidy (if thats a word). Any ideas what this is??

The other one I got his one eye is like stuck closed. I tried cleaning it with water and a cutip and he started to lick at it like he was trying to get it to come open but to no avail. His other eyes is like bulging and also closed sort of. It almost looks like the socket didn't grow with him and it's still only as big as it was when he was smaller. It also looks like there are some crusties around where it is open.

I know I refured to both of them as hes, and they are not both males. They are currently in a 10 gal aquarium, w/ undertank and overhead light, temps are good. I gave them both a bath today and got them to drink some water. I've got pedialite and calcium/multivitim powder to start suplimenting tomorrow. Like I said I just got them back to day and wasn't sure if the fluid in the eyes was all about. Any suggestions/ideas would be great.

Thanks,
Sarlina

I'm not an expert...but my guess would be vitamin A deficiency...it can cause eye problems. You NEED to get them to a vet...if it is a vitamin A deficiency they could die...if it's not it's still an eye problem, and that's pretty serious if they can't see properly to hunt.

I agree with Christina, a vet visit is in order. Sounds like some sort of eye infection to me, and it is important to begin treating it asap.

Best of luck. Oh, if they are a sexed pair, you should seperate them out right away. You certainly would not want them to breed in the condition they are in now. Bless you for taking on the responsibility and I hope they get better soon.

I just went through this!
With my girl and my cousins Leo(I doctor up the family's animals it seems) They had retained shed in their eyes for what ever reason. The first thing I did was nice warm sauna baths for them. It would get them to open their eyes and you could see the cloudy/bluish hue. The were "steamed" twice a day by putting warm water in a tupperware container and placing the lid on it while they were in there. Mae sure you don't suffocate them!
I took them to the vet and he prescribed an eye drop that I would drop once a day in the eyes. On their next shed the new shed skin attached to the old and it pulled right out of the eye leaving them with clear eyes! (Kinda creepy to see happen though)
Most important is to keep them hydrated! I had to hand feed mine as they wouldn't hunt.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice everyone. There is a really good herp vet in my area, unfortunatly he's rather expensive but I'll see what my dog's vet knows. I thought it may have been shed problems because I've seen it on snakes but I wasn't sure. Hopefully with some good nutrients they can bounce back to at least to a livable condition. I doubt they will be 100% normal after all this. I'm gonna try and get some pics tonight. I'll keep you posted.

Sarlina

Just a note...your normal vet will likely not know anything about the problem...they are no more qualified to treat a leo than your family physician!...they may try to give you an answer anyway though. Your best bet would probably be to call the herp vet and see if they might be able to give you any advice over the phone...if they have an e-mail address you could ask that way and send pics...they may be able to give you a better idea of what it might be, and will be able to tell you how necessary it is for you to bring them in.

Yeah the vet I use for my dog is okay. He's familiar with the general care of herps. He treated one of my beardies a while back and also has seen my friends amazon tree boas. Though we keep our herp vet on call just in case.

Thanks guys,
Sarlina