# Lump under leopard gecko's eye!



## MissAmyGage (Sep 1, 2014)

Hello!
Over the last couple of days, I have noticed that my leopard gecko has formed a lump under his right eye. I went on holiday 4 weeks ago, and had a friend looking after him while I was gone. He seemed fine when I got back, 2 weeks ago, but in the last couple of days I have noticed a pea sized lump under his eye. The lump seems to cause his right eye to close slightly, and I have noticed his mouth doesn't completely shut on that side either! My friend said that she found a few escaped mealworms in his cage at some point, is there a possibility that they could have bitten him and caused it to swell? He hasn't been eating for a little while, but I have asked advice on that, and everyone says that he's just being stubborn because he seems fine in himself! However, when he does try to eat a mealworm, I notice that instead of eating it rather quickly and easily like he used to, he seems as if he has difficultly chewing, as now he chews them quite slowly and carefully. I would love to hear anyone's thoughts about whether there is anything I can do in the time before I can get him to a vet!
Many thanks,
Amy


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## Blazin (Mar 25, 2007)

It sounds to me it may be some stuck shed that's acting like a wire. I haven't kept Leo in a few years though so I'm sure others here will be more help. May be worth seeing if you can open his mouth a but more to see


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## MissAmyGage (Sep 1, 2014)

Thank you! I will try to get him to open his mouth a bit more to get more if a look! Thank you for you help


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## MissAmyGage (Sep 1, 2014)

I managed to take a look inside his mouth and it does seem significantly different to the other side! It does seem quite swollen inside, and when I ran my finger along the side of his mouth there was this hard, dry substance! I guessed that this was shed skin which has got stuck inside his mouth and gone hard. I am going to monitor him everyday and make sure this hard substance stays away and the area stays clean!


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

The dry hard substance could also be dried puss as he may have an infection. I would get a vet to look at him to determine what the problem is.


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## CloudForest (Nov 27, 2013)

Goto a Vet asap

untreated infections can quite suddenly lead to septicaemia, infection of the blood, book an appointment today


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## MissAmyGage (Sep 1, 2014)

Thank you everyone for your input! I am going to book an appointment at the vets first thing tomorrow morning, and hopefully he should be back to his normal self in no time


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## MissAmyGage (Sep 1, 2014)

Just to update! I took my gecko to the vets the other day, and it turns out he had a huge abscess in his mouth! The vet thinks that it is most likely from a mealworm bite  he had it removed the other day and is now on the mend. The lump under his eye is now gone, and he is able to shut his mouth properly on that side. There is no sign of anymore of that hard substance, so i'm hoping that we got to it just in time! The vet said he's not sure whether or not it will reoccur, so we have to keep a close eye on him and take him back to the vets next week. Thank you all again for your comments and for helping me!
Many thanks, 
Amy


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## Debbie1962 (Dec 5, 2008)

As I suspected then. Horrible things abscesses, you would not believe the amount of gunk they get out of them yuk. Yeah it is possible that the abscess can fill up again if they didn't manage to get all the poison out but at least you know what your dealing with now.


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