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Eye Infections in Leopard gecko - A Sad Story

U

USAGECKOS

A Dying Breed
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Hopefully this story will have a happy ending, but unfortunately, I don't think so. And, I apologise for the long post.

Well, about 3 weeks ago I noticed that my Female adult Line Bred Snow, Dominoe, was keeping her eyes closed a lot, and when I finally got her to open them, I noticed that her eyes were "Cloudy" looking. I had some eye ointment (Vetropolycin) from when one of my fat tail geckos got some Bed-A-Beast in her eye and had to have it flushed out. So, I put the ointment on her eyes for a couple of days. Her eyes didn't get any better. I also noticed that one of her daughters, Sammie, was having the same problems with her eyes. Neither one of them would eat either during this time either.

Dominoe and Sammie's colors got very dark and they were very sluggish. I called my Vet and got an appointment for the next day. They said that they weren't sure what was wrong with their eyes and for me to continue putting the Vetropolycin ointment in their eyes 3 times a day, and they gave me Flagyl to try to stimulate them to eat. And if they didn't look better in 10 or so days to bring them back in.

A few days later I called Marcia, she recommended that I put them on the "G3 Slurry" diet. I got the ingredients that night, and started to syringe feed them that night. That was this past Friday night. Although their eyes don't look any better, they fed very well on the Slurry, and their color seams to be getting brighter and they aren't losing any more weight.

I kept this up until Monday, when I noticed that Dominoes other daughter, Oreo, was getting the eye infection as well. None of these geckos were kept together. Kind of weird that only these 3 related geckos were getting the infections and no one else. I made another appointment with my Vet, which was yesterday, and got some really bad news.

They told me that Sammie is blind in both eyes, that she has perforated corneas from chronic viral infection. And, they said that Dominoe and Oreo could go blind as well. They are now treating them for a viral infection. They gave me Gentamicin Ophthalmic Solution drops for their eyes, and Tribrissen drops to be given orally. I started this treatment this morning, and need to give them the drops twice a day for 10 days. If Sammies’ eyes aren’t better after that, and if they bother her, they said all they can do is remove the eyes. And if Dominoe and Oreo's’ eyes perforate and continue to stay infected, they will do the same for them.

I don’t know if this viral infection is genetic or not, the vet said it could be but they don’t know for sure, it just seams weird that it only happened in their family.

I want to give a BIG “Thank you” to Marcia and Kelli for their help. If it weren’t for Marcia’s Slurry they wouldn’t be eating at all.
 
Sorry to hear that Jeanne. Thanks for sharing with the rest of us. So many seemingly unexplainable things happen with these geckos. Hope they can recover...I know it's tough. We'll be thinking of you...
 
So many seemingly unexplainable things happen with these geckos.
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Exactly why we need to post these types of threads when they happen, so we can learn from them.

Thanks Paul!

If anybody has any experience with eye infections, please post it here! Any info may help.
 
Jeanne, I'm so sorry to hear this is terrible news! I'm glad you made the slurry for them, and hopefully the medication will reverse the effects of the infections with the others. Did the vet give you ANY idea what the possible causes could be?
 
Golden Gate Geckos said:
Jeanne, I'm so sorry to hear this is terrible news! I'm glad you made the slurry for them, and hopefully the medication will reverse the effects of the infections with the others. Did the vet give you ANY idea what the possible causes could be?
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Thank you Marcia, and I really want to thank you for all your help.

Unfortunately, they don't have any clue as to what caused it. I will be seeking a new Vet now, as I am not too happy with the way they handled this, if they had given me the medication for the viral infection in the beginning, Sammie may not be blind now. They said the first time I brought her in that it might be a viral infection, if I would have know that it could cause blindness, I would have demanded the Viral medication right away! I did find out that they are the local vet for all the Petcos in this area, which doesn't build my confidence in them at all.

I am just so upset, especially for Sammie, she is such a sweet girl and shouldn't have to suffer like this. Unfortunately, after I finish with the meds, if she isn't any better, I may have to put her down, it comes down to quality of life.

Man, This Really :censored: It is quite heart breaking.
 
My first female ever had something similar (she was 8+ years old). Her eyes were always closed which I flushed with saline solution in accordance to my Vet's advice. Soon after her eyes began to swell so I took her in a second time. The Vet examined her and was baffled. He had no idea what was wrong with her but she had huge tumor-esque growths in her eyes that he took out. The swelling went down and she began to eat (which she hadn't done before). The next week the tumors were back, here eyes were swollen to grotesque sizes. The next die she died in the middle of a shed. I was so heartbroken at the time that I couldn't even handle taking the body out of the tub. Later I found out my dad disposed of the body before I could get a necropsy done (which I doubt would had shed any light on the problem).

Anyways, that's my eye-related issues.
 
*the next day she died...

It's too early in the morning, lol. I need my coffee? I'm looking for excuses here.
 
I am so sorry to hear that. I feel your pain. Thank you for sharing your story though.
 
I'm really sorry to hear about your geckos Jeanne. It is very sad, and I know how frustrating it can be. It is odd that it is only happening in the snows. Perhaps you could contact the originator of the line and ask if they have had any similar issues. I wish you luck on your search for a new vet. I still can't help but wonder if it might be some sort of bacterial problem. I'll keep you and the geckos in my thoughts, and always know you can call me anytime if you feel I can help out.
 
Thanks Kelli.

I did contact the person I got them from, and they are baffeled as well. They said that none of their Snows have had any eye problems.

I mentioned that to my vet and they said they didn't think it was. But I looked up flagyl in the "Understanding Reptile Parasites" book and it says it is a "Anti-bacterial agent". Wouldn't that have worked if it was a bacterial infection?
 
USAGECKOS said:
Wouldn't that have worked if it was a bacterial infection?
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Jeanne, different bacteria are sensitive to different antibiotics. If the infection originated in the eye, then the opthalmic medicine is the normal protocol. If the infection is systemic, then a broad-spectrum antibiotic is the usual treatment. You may want to have the gecko's eye swabbed and sent to a lab for a culture growth and a sensitivity test to identify the strain of bacteria.
 
Golden Gate Geckos said:
Jeanne, different bacteria are sensitive to different antibiotics. If the infection originated in the eye, then the opthalmic medicine is the normal protocol. If the infection is systemic, then a broad-spectrum antibiotic is the usual treatment. You may want to have the gecko's eye swabbed and sent to a lab for a culture growth and a sensitivity test to identify the strain of bacteria.
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Calling my vet right now :slamit:
 
The Exotics person is out. They are going to call them and call me back later
 
Hi Jeanne,
I am so very sorry to hear about what is happening to your Snow’s. I know how much you enjoy them. It is really a drag that the Veterinarian you went to didn’t give you the proper medication from the start. :hot: I know you didn’t get your Snow’s from me but I have never had any problem with the eyes on my Snow’s either. Is the Snow Carrot-tail cross Male you received from me doing OK?

Once again I am sorry and I hope the medication will at least clear up the problem on the other two. Good luck,
 
I understand what you are going through. I have three females myself that are having eye problems, two are related, mom and daughter and a third that has always had bad sheds since her first. Mom just had two bad sheds in a row, and she's never had that problem, and the daughter we have no idea what is cause hers. The one with the bad sheds all the time is one that tears me apart the most, cause she may have this problem the rest of her life, if we can't get her to shed correctly at all. I've been debating about putting her down so she doesn't have to keep suffering like this. But ever time I get to that point she's doing good keeping her eyes open and eating then within a few days she sheds again and we are back to square one.

The weird thing is that mine are all females as well as yours.
 
Albey said:
Hi Jeanne,
I am so very sorry to hear about what is happening to your Snow’s. I know how much you enjoy them. It is really a drag that the Veterinarian you went to didn’t give you the proper medication from the start. :hot: I know you didn’t get your Snow’s from me but I have never had any problem with the eyes on my Snow’s either. Is the Snow Carrot-tail cross Male you received from me doing OK?

Once again I am sorry and I hope the medication will at least clear up the problem on the other two. Good luck,
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Thank you Albey.

The male I got from you is doing great, unfortunately with no females to breed him to, he is up for sale. Even if my female snows get totally healed, I will not breed them, just in case it is a genetic problem.
 
BalloonzForU said:
I understand what you are going through. I have three females myself that are having eye problems, two are related, mom and daughter and a third that has always had bad sheds since her first. Mom just had two bad sheds in a row, and she's never had that problem, and the daughter we have no idea what is cause hers. The one with the bad sheds all the time is one that tears me apart the most, cause she may have this problem the rest of her life, if we can't get her to shed correctly at all. I've been debating about putting her down so she doesn't have to keep suffering like this. But ever time I get to that point she's doing good keeping her eyes open and eating then within a few days she sheds again and we are back to square one.

The weird thing is that mine are all females as well as yours.
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Felicia,

I am so sorry to hear this, I hope things turn around and they get better.

The geckos with the eye problems, what are their symptoms? And, what morph are they?
 
USAGECKOS said:
The geckos with the eye problems, what are their symptoms? And, what morph are they?
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Mom and Daughter are Trempers, and the bad shed girl is a SHT....no snows.

Mom's problem we believe is that I changed her moist hide substrate. She has been put back on moss, and she is getting drops, Falcon (gentamicin sulfate). She's had been not wanting to open her eyes but is getting much better. She may be taken out of my breeding project due to her not wanting to breed, not ovulating, and when placed with a male she stops eating for weeks at a time. She's my loner girl don't look at me, don't touch me, don't put anyone in my tub.

Daughter is the one that attacks the tub and hurts her mouth all the time. That's been all healed up and she's finally stopped hitting her mouth on the tub. (covered tub sides real good this time). She is actually a lot better than she's was. Her inside of the lid has been swelling up, currently getting the same drops and finally eatting.

The third one, my poor baby, she just won't open her eyes at all and has had to have an abscess removed from her one eye. The vet put it and a vial and gave it to me so I could see what it was. She is also on the same drops.

All three will be going back in for check ups in a few days. The vet and I will be talking about the bad shed girl and what we think is best for her to live a long healthy, happy life, or to determine if she can even have one.
 
I hope everything works out, I know how stressful this can be, keep your chin up!
 
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