# swelling on face of leopard gecko



## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

our male leopard gecko has 2 swellings behind his eyes on either side of his head which have appeared tonight. it is stoping him closing his mouth properly and made his head double in size. other wise he seems healthy and has been eating and drinking today. if any one has any suggestion these would be greatly appreciated.


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## CWD (Feb 11, 2007)

Vets ASAP


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

our nearest vet is in bedford and they can not see us till morning


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## LouiseK (Mar 17, 2007)

I agree to get him to a vet asap, i suppose tomorrow morning will do... hope hes ok, got any pics?


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)




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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

He's got what looks like a proper couple of eye infections going there.

One of our geckos had the same thing, but on just one side.

I'm betting the vet will give you antibiotics and some Fucithalmic eye drops to put in his eyes... but it COULD be a surgery job if the abcesses behind his eyes dry up and leave caseinated pus.


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

ouch that looks bad number one rule if in doubt get it vetted lol good luck with him fingers crossed he makes a full recovery


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

fingers crossed for ya hun. let us know how it gets on

Cat and cel x


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

Have just got in from the vets as we went to bedford as they have a vet qualified with reptiles

After examining Kanga our male gecko they say he is fine 
the swellings are still there but they say these have come up because he is male and lives with his females 
he was examined by the boss of the practice as well and who said he is very healthy looking although he is big for a normal gecko not fat but all over big
they say just keep an eye on him


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

hmmmm i find it strange that if this is the case, that no other experienced gecko keepers have mentioned or commented on this, though i suppose vets are never wrong are they...... <<koff>>

ill continue to keep my fingers crossed

Cat x


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## freekygeeky (May 25, 2007)

wellt hats ggood, although i have never seen this personally.....


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

what a load of bull. if that was the case then every leo breeder (and theres loads) would have the same problem. mine just bred and my male dont have them. if i was you id go to another vet for a secoind opionin


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

we had not heard of it before either but how can I argue it`s not 

I never went to vet school
anybody know of any other reptile vets any where near northampton


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

forgot to say he has eaten 3 mealworms today and been at his water bowl
we have also removed him from his females so they will not stress him


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## daughterofthedarkness (Nov 21, 2005)

difficult to tell from the photos but my opinion is that he has an infection, i've seen this before, get him to another vet for a second opinion mate, a course of baytril (antibiotic) should clear it up. : victory:


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

I know I sound stupid but can anyone tell me what is between the eye and the ear of a leopard gecko as that is where the swelling is .
the eyes are clear the mouth is clear . the vets say that the swellings are full of fluid


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## cezl (Mar 19, 2007)

jeremy at alan rhoads surgery is a reptile specialist. its where all our reps are registered i can get number if needed x


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

cezl said:


> jeremy at alan rhoads surgery is a reptile specialist. its where all our reps are registered i can get number if needed x


Hi jeremy is nolonger at rhodes they gave me the name of the vets at
bedford
would you be able to ask matt if he has heard of this before


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## cezl (Mar 19, 2007)

yes will do. know worries!


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## MayMay88 (Sep 6, 2007)

Hope Everything Goes Okay... Your Lizzy Is Gorgeous

fingers Crossed


Amy x


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## LouiseK (Mar 17, 2007)

If you go to livefoods.co.uk along the top they have a "vets" tab and that has a list of vets that claim to have experience with reptiles for different areas.

He looks awful, i found the pics quite shocking really 

Hope you manage to get him what he needs... maybe if you request the anti-biotics if they don't offer them next time. A bit more money in their pocket and they shouldn't do him any harm if used for the short term and they are unnecessary...


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

No, male leopard geckos do NOT get swellings in their head from living with female geckos. 

That's DEFINITELY an infection - rather like a sinus infection, from what I understood when my vet treated our male - and nothing to do with sexual maturity at all.

Incidentally... how and with what do you supplement him?


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## Muzz (Aug 3, 2007)

yeah it is an eye infection, has he shed recently within the past week? i seen this quiet alot, caused by some skin behind the eye irritating it so it becomes swollen, and canbe a nasty infection causing blindness, but i could be wrong...if im right when u get to the vets then try adding a moist box for them helps them shed better


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

they are given calcuim on there feed each day and they are given multivitamin once a week 
his eyes are perfectly clear the swellings are behind them 
he shed nearly 2 weeks ago


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## Muzz (Aug 3, 2007)

yes it's possible he has skin stuck behind his eye and that's why it's causing it to swell


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

Muzz said:


> yes it's possible he has skin stuck behind his eye and that's why it's causing it to swell


 
have checked him for shed skin and also washed his face with some 
moist cotton wool but there is no shed on him swelling has gone down abit today


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## xXFooFooLaFluffXx (Aug 4, 2007)

you may have checked him for shed skin but how can you check behind his eye? ya cant so there could be some behind there, please please please get your gecko t another vet, id hate for you to lose him after so many ppl have advised to go to another vet.....

Cat x


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## karma (Jul 12, 2007)

Dont quote me on this but i read somewhere once that a overdose of calcuim can cause swelling as the excess is trying to by flushed out via the head and nostrils,

If this was the case there is often a white discharge from the nostrils,

Like said dont quote me on it but its just a suggestion.

ps Go to another vet,hope all goes well

edit----And also get the first vet told and your money back.


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## This is my Clone (Jul 8, 2007)

I saw a Leo exactly like this at The Sea life centre in Skegness. I asked one of the keepers what was wrong with it, and they said nothing. I was shocked!


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

karma said:


> Dont quote me on this but i read somewhere once that a overdose of calcuim can cause swelling as the excess is trying to by flushed out via the head and nostrils,
> 
> If this was the case there is often a white discharge from the nostrils,
> 
> ...


leos carnt overdose on calcium. there clever. they no if they need it ir if they have to much already. thats why leos will help them selfs to calcium powder out the bowl and also why they sometimes refuse food thats dusted. so it says in my leo book :lol2:

but what i dont understand is why a vet would say that. if he did they should have there liecsense revoked


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

The vet probably said it because there ARE some lizards where a male in breeding condition might show temporal swellings. If I remember rightly, iguanas are one of them.

It might be that he's got a piece of stuck shed INSIDE his eyelids (since they shed part of the inside of their eyelids as well as the outsides) and that's what's irritated him.

It does look EXACTLY like what happened to my Alya, except that it's on both sides instead of just one, and Alya's eyes stayed clear too - it was just that his head was swollen, so he couldn't open the eye on that side.

Really, he should go to another vet who's willing to try him on an oral course of antibiotics, just to see if that will help.

You haven't changed anything about his enclosure, have you? It sounds funny, but I'm wondering if he might not have a little bit of an allergy (says she, with the tissues and the antihistamines) and that's what's given him the fluid swelling?


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## br9twy (Apr 19, 2007)

jamie_coxon said:


> leos carnt overdose on calcium. there clever. they no if they need it ir if they have to much already. thats why leos will help them selfs to calcium powder out the bowl and also why they sometimes refuse food thats dusted. so it says in my leo book :lol2:
> 
> but what i don't understand is why a vet would say that. if he did they should have there license revoked


But surly if your leo's hungry they will eat what ever food is offered even if they don't need the extra calcium supplement on it.


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## LouiseK (Mar 17, 2007)

My leo doesn't... I have a dish of calcium in there that i've seen him having a good old lick at and there are times that i've offered him dusted bugs and he's taken one lick and turned his nose up, then eaten them when i offer him without dust.

I don't dust my bugs for my leo anymore, just gutload them 

The fact some reps do get swellings is no excuse imo. You either know what your talking about or admit your not sure and refer him to someone who does.

Animalfreak -
Did you get him checked out again? Hows he doing? 

Did you tell the vet he is wrong and that he should refund you?


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

WE spoke to the vet who saw our leo and he will not give it antibotics
he says it is as he said some lizards do this
we are trying another vet but they can`t see him till monday and then they are suposed to ask first vets permission to take on case
have given me appiontment for monday morning
the swellings are reduced a bit he is still eating and drinking and wandering around and showing interest in all the usual things
the only thing we have changed is our supplier of meal worms 
did wonder if it was something on these that may have caused it , as it came up within 3 hours of being fed on these mealworms but the 2 females that live with him are fine


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## PSGeckos (Jul 15, 2007)

Animalfreak - I would listen to Ssthisto, she/he is extreamly knowledgeable, what's the harm in getting a second opinion of a vet at the risk of possible blindness? - Opps just seen you've posted that your getting another vets opinion 

I've just had a look through Ron Trempers book and there is apicture in there exactly like you gecko, and the diagnosis was an inflammed eye lid due to subsaturate trapped under the eye lid leading to bacterial conjunctivitis.


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

br9twy said:


> But surly if your leo's hungry they will eat what ever food is offered even if they don't need the extra calcium supplement on it.


 
nope :lol2: louisek beat me to answereing tho


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## LouiseK (Mar 17, 2007)

jamie_coxon said:


> nope :lol2: louisek beat me to answereing tho


Sorry, its a hazard of me having so much time on my hands atm :Na_Na_Na_Na:


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

:lol2: its my own fault, been to busy playing freecell.... god what an interesting weekend im having so far


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

animalfreak said:


> WE spoke to the vet who saw our leo and he will not give it antibotics
> he says it is as he said some lizards do this
> we are trying another vet but they can`t see him till monday and then they are suposed to ask first vets permission to take on case


That sounds a bit silly - they should not need to ask any kind of permission to take on a case. You're paying the vet, not the other way 'round!



> the only thing we have changed is our supplier of meal worms
> did wonder if it was something on these that may have caused it , as it came up within 3 hours of being fed on these mealworms but the 2 females that live with him are fine


Could be something to do with that, yes - some critters are just more sensitive than others. Maybe it is something to do with the mealworms.


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## jamie_coxon (Jul 18, 2007)

ok im gonna get monstered for saying this but have you actually taken it to a vet yet?


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

yes you are 
we drove from northampton to bedford as we were told by our vets that the reptile expert has left and they are sending all ther reptile clients to Scott vets 
as we said they examined him the vet also took it out the back for the boss to look at and the responce was as stated before
if you would like to know consultation was £33.00


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## Nat (Jan 26, 2005)

Im sorry but that gecko definately needs treatment. I have also kept leos and can also say that males DO NOT get these swellings from being woth females. Ur vet needs to give u a refund and if u dont get ur oy sorted out and treated soon (even if it means going to another vet) it will get worse and in the worst case senario u could lose him! Think about it, I know what id do


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## purejurrasic (Mar 18, 2006)

I agree totally, this is NOT normal for a leopard gecko. the vet you saw is wrong in stating that.

As you say the eyes are clear, I would go with ssthisto that its some kind of sinus infection, may well be a reaction to something, maybe the moss, where did it come from?

If the swelling is reducing, keep an eye on it, it should continue to do so as the infection / fluids drain off.

If the swelling fails to carry on reducing or indeed increases, he is not fighting it off on his own and needs antibiotics to help, so a visit to a different vet is called for.


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

just a update
after the 3rd visit to the vets we now have a course of baytril 
on second visit they took a sample of the fluid in the swellings to send to the lab
he also had x rays taken of head 
had to stay with same veternary practice but saw a different vet there and he seemed to know his stuff


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## Nat (Jan 26, 2005)

great to hear!! Keep us posted on his progress and when u get his results bak!
did they say how long the results should take?? x


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

they didn`t say just said they would ring me when they are in
just gave medicine and then gave him 2 ml of water as I have not seen him drink in 2 days.
also he is now in shed


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## PSGeckos (Jul 15, 2007)

How's he doing now? Any news on the results of the fluid drawn?


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## Mr-T (Jan 25, 2007)

I'm gonna bump this one cos I wanna know what has been happening with this?
It annoys me when a vet of all people tells you the two unnatural lumps behind the eyes of your leo is perfectly normal. I just want to make sure the leo is fine and that you received remmuneration for a misdiagnosis. If it was me I wouldnt be expectingn to pay fro treatment. 
When my leo was sick last year, the consultatation and treatment with flagyl, vitamin B injection and dose of parafin cost £23.00. So to be charged £33.00 for a consultation which resulted in the wrong diagnosis should be challenged!


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

sorry it`s taken so long to update this 
Kanga is nolonger inproving 
he has been on baytril since the 13th, he has to have 0.04ml once a day
he is still not eating and I have not seen him drink so the only fluid he gets is the 1 to 2 ml I place on his nose a he licks of
1 side of the swelling has reduced to half the size but the other shows no improvment
the vets say the biops were inclonclusive
we are trying to get another appiontment for him as the left side of his face seems painful
any advice please I don`t know what else to try


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## Ssthisto (Aug 31, 2006)

If they were fluid pus swellings, I would guess that the fluid pus is now caseinated pus (cheesy, solid crap) ... and he may require surgery to have that removed. 

I would also strongly recommend, if he hasn't eaten for quite a while, that you syringe feed him with a pureed slurry mix, and maybe supplement with a little bit of Avipro. 

Out of curiosity, have you or the vet looked inside his mouth? It couldn't possibly be something wrong with his teeth/mouth, could it?


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

yes both ourselves and the vet have looked into his mouth and there does not look like there is a problem there
the swellings still feel like fluid they are soft and move about when touched


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## Finch (Sep 14, 2007)

Poor chap hope it gets better .


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

have given kanga his antibiotic and he took it ok but 5 minutes later he was blowing bubblles out of his mouth as though he had been sick
whatever happens he is going back to vet tomorrow


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## animalfreak (Jan 4, 2006)

this is a really bad day 
unfortunately even with giving Kanga his antibotics each day , we came down this morning to find he had passed away .
was suposed to return with him to vets monday morning to talk about operating on him to drain swellings


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## Finch (Sep 14, 2007)

Poor guy R.I.P little feller


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## leopardgeckos4me (Nov 11, 2006)

*aww rip lil guy *


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## CWD (Feb 11, 2007)

RIP little guy


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## joe0709 (Sep 22, 2007)

sorry to hear that 

R.I.P little guy


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