# Leopard Gecko, hard pink lump behind right, front leg. Help!!



## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

Ok guys here is the whole story. 
I have a leopard gecko approx 5 and a half years old, she has been good as gold forever, eating well, shedding well, active, bright eyed and fat tailed. Had some shed issues when young but this got resolved by adding a moist hide.

Cage setup.
slate flooring, under floor heat mat, moist hide halfway between cool and hot ends, multiple hides and a tunnel network, wood to climb on and light for 10hrs a day. temps are around 96 fahrenheit in the hottest part down to about 88 in the coolest part, there are hides in each area and one inbetween. Fresh water available 24/7, calcium and mealies available 24/7. shedding approx every 3 weeks ish. This has been her setup for a while and she has done well up to this point. handled approx 1 -2 times a week.

It all started about 6 weeks ago when i noticed she was a bit lethargic and was sitting on top of her hide for most of the day and night and not moving, i noticed no fresh poo for a few days so i decided to monitor her food intake and check her over physically, no obvious lumps, bumps, scrapes etc etc. However she didnt eat for a good few days (counted the mealies in the bowl) so to ensure she wasnt dehydrated i gently put drops of water in her lips which she drank, and i tried waxworms, and crickets and hoppers but she ignored all of it. I did this for a few more days and she seemed to perk up, in and out of her hides, had a shed and i started finding normal looking fresh poo and she was eating. hurrah i thought all better, she was behaving normally.

well the past week she has been hiding in her hide again and not coming out which isnt like her, i noticed she was shedding and thought it was that, however a few days later i noticed she was shedding again. 
I got her out to check her over and make sure she had no shed stuck to her toes etc, but it seems like she was half way through one shed when she started another so couldnt get it all off. i got her out to gently bath her in luke warm water and to try ease her old shed off with cotton buds. However whilst doing this i immediately spotted a hard pink lump about double the size of a pea behind her right arm.
This is NOT the same as the fat deposits that gather there, i have seen those before and know what they are. 

She also seemed to flinch like it was painful when i touched the area, so i took a few photos and put her back as i didnt want to stress her or cause her pain, i only attempted to get the shed off around her legs as i didnt want any constriction issues - the rest of her body was clear of shed. I also noticed her tongue was 90% white rather than the dark red i have noticed in the past. I also think her tail is slimmer than it used to be. I also noticed small brown dots on the area around the hard lump that again seemed painful to her, like little sores.

her are some pictures of the lump

(in this photo you can see some of the sore spots almost directly above the hard lump behind her leg)



























I am going to take her to the herp place in the morning for advice, as i am wondering if she has an abcess or a tumour. Im slightly shocked that she has developed this in the last week to 10 days without me noticing, i got her out and handled her a couple of times almost a week ago and she seemed fine, with no lump and walking around happily so i think this has come on quick but i dont know what it is.

Anyone seen this before or got any advice or guidance? Im in the Surrey area so a good herp vet recommendation would also be great.

I feel a bit like i have let her down somehow, i dont want her to suffer or be in pain.

Cheers for bothering to read this, 

Ed


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## Dan-lincs (Nov 15, 2010)

aww bless, i hope everythings ok

not had this experience but from reading what u have put id guess thats what it is especially if its uncomfortable.

you are deffo doing the right thing n im sure a good vet will help you out.

theres a post somewhere on vets n people who have reccomended them but cant find it for the life of me, must b cos i should be in bed


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## Dan-lincs (Nov 15, 2010)

aha found it, its in the stickys at the top of the page.

lizard faqs hope that helps


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## pigglywiggly (Jul 19, 2008)

its a bit too far back for airbags, and does look like it could be an abcess.

looks like you need a herp vet trip to find out for sure if its an abcess that can be treated, or a growth that needs removing.


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## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

Ok, vet appt booked for tomorrow morning at seers croft in horsham, will report back what they say. Fingers crossed.


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## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

Right, quick update, as i just got back from the vets.

general check over, she is a reasonable weight at 76g but definitely off colour. Vet thinks it has started with a scrape on her skin, perhaps from shed that got stuck on her flank or something that she pulled off - this has then set up a skin infection/inflammation issue which has resulted in the fluid sac on the affected side to swell - potentially a collection of pus, or it could have been the other way round - difficult to tell, chicken and egg......
Vet doesnt think its a tumour, but cant say for certain.

So 
- given a shot of fortum intramuscular injection, due a repeat on sunday.
- faecal sample sent for microscopy etc 
- f10 barrier ointment cream (fungicidal and germicidal) to be applied to her skin once a day
- carnivore care recovery food, i am to feed her 0.7ml of this twice a day to make sure she doesnt lose weight whilst unwell and not eating.
- daily baths in tepid water with the affected areas cleaned with a 1/10 iodine solution

vet says she is unwell but could bounce back quick as long as faecal is ok, she doesnt lose weight and the antibiotics work. they are going to review her again sunday and may potentially drain the lump if it seems to have not improved. 

she has no signs of egg binding, and her mouth and eyes and snout and vent etc are all clean, the vet thinks she is in good condition apart from this event which she thinks will resolve.

so good news, but i have got a few hard work weeks ahead of me but thats ok

total vet bill £100.50 for those interested, and another £14 on sunday for the follow up injection


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## Fatally_Blonde (Jun 12, 2009)

I hope she's okay - we had one taken to work with a similar problem.

If it does need to be drained, be prepared for the smell. My god is it bad. I could smell it for days afterwards...:blush:

Let us know how she gets on. She's a lovely looking leo.


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## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

Faecal came back negative. Phew!


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## Dan-lincs (Nov 15, 2010)

glad everything went ok


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## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

Ok bad news, 

After a month of daily baths, antifungal cream, twice daily critical care diet liquid feed, and 2 courses of antibiotics (intramuscular and oral) she just wasnt getting any better, and was at the point that despite feeding liquid feed was loosing weight.

She refused to eat on her own no matter what, and the leg area was just not healing, it ended up becoming ulcerated and she seemed in pain and was just disinterested in anything. 

The options were a)amputation or b)euthanasia.

I chose euthanasia, i had to think carefully about it, but i think it would have been unfair on her and in all likelihood she wouldn't have made a full recovery. Not an easy decision, and it felt crappy driving home. 

RIP little gecko :-( I am going to clean and donate all the equipment to the reptile rescue centre in Brighton.


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## dramen (May 29, 2012)

Very sorry to hear that as was keeping my fingers crossed that she would be okay.
It couldnt have been an easy decision to make and i hope its a decision i never have to make ever!

RIP little lady


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## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

dramen said:


> Very sorry to hear that as was keeping my fingers crossed that she would be okay.
> It couldnt have been an easy decision to make and i hope its a decision i never have to make ever!
> 
> RIP little lady


Thanks for your words, yes I hope you never have to do it either.

ed


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

So sorry to hear your sad news.


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## mstypical (Feb 16, 2011)

Sounds like you did your very best for her, don't beat yourself up. RIP little lady eace:


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## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

harshest thing is sorting out the viv and tidying all the stuff away


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## curleywhirly (Jun 18, 2012)

Oh my god, this is very touching... I'm am so sorry for your loss MrEd. I admire the care you had for your gecko and I think it is amazing just from reading this, the amount of love you had for your gecko. I think it is great what you are doing in donating your equiptment. You are a very admirable person and I hope she rests in peace.


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## MrEd (Jul 12, 2008)

Thank you for you kind words, thats nice.

Im at a loss what to do at the moment, do i get another leo or 2? or something different? Part of me wants to not get anything, but part of me does.


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## curleywhirly (Jun 18, 2012)

Well if i was you, I would get another 1 or 2 because it's a great hobby and your clearly a great owner anyway. It would also help to maybe take your mind off things in a way, start fresh kind of thing. Tbh I actually got my two on sunday and I love 'em! haha.. Their just amazing creatures and have such great personalities!


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## mstypical (Feb 16, 2011)

MrEd said:


> Thank you for you kind words, thats nice.
> 
> Im at a loss what to do at the moment, do i get another leo or 2? or something different? Part of me wants to not get anything, but part of me does.


I wouldn't let it put you off, you're clearly a nice person for geckos to live with, any problems straight to the vet, lots of love there, a couple more geckos would be lucky to live with you!


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