# Black film over leopard geko eye, HELP!



## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

I just noticed last night that my leopard geko has a kind of black film across one eye. You can't see the eye or anything. He keeps licking the eye like there is something in it and you can see him try to blink. The muscles move but the eyelids don't. The eye is not actually shut it is partway open but as i said before you can not see the eye. Needless to say i am very worried. He is very close to shedding and so i have been keeping the entire tank humid as he often has bad sheds with some still left around his toes that i have to get off. However although he looks like he should have shedded days ago he still has not. Although it looks like some skin has come off his nose. I don't know what to do. I read online that i should try putting a drop of preservative free saline solution in his eye which i have in abundance as i am a contact lens wearer. But i don't want to do this only to find out that it does nothing or perhaps even harms him. It's also worth noting that he has not been eating as much lately. I have in a properly heated tank on reptile carpet. Should i take him to a vet? i have not before as i don't know of a herp vet in my area do you know of one? I am near Shrewsbury in Shropshire and am willing to travel if it helps him.

Any and all help is welcome.


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## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

Oh also the other eye is fine and i feed him crickets and mealworms as well as the occasional wax worm although i don't do this with any frequency. I dust these in calcium and D3 as well as vitamins ocassionaly. I also have a calcium lick in the tank at all times.


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## sheena is a gecko (Apr 22, 2011)

You do need to take him to a vet. It could be anything from ulceration, a foreign body trapped in there to an infection or abcess behind the eye. Try googling reptile vets for your area : victory:


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## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

The earliest i would be able to take him is tommorow. Would he be ok till then?


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## sheena is a gecko (Apr 22, 2011)

Chances are he won't die but with eye problems it's always the sooner they're looked at the better.


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## mayock69 (Sep 22, 2009)

there's a really good reptile vet in Wrexham not to far from you


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## GeckoD (May 30, 2010)

Agreed, vet treatment sounds necessary. A clear picture of the affected eye may help with diagnosis on here also...Is this possible?


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## Mal (Jul 22, 2007)

The sterile saline drops wouldnt cause any harm to the eye and may help remove any debris. However putting the drops in can be a little stressful to the gecko. As already stated, a vets opinion is essential. The eye is a very delicate organ and the wrong choice of treatment can cause lasting damage. I would keep the gecko in a tub that is kept as sterile as possible to reduce the risk of introducing infection into any injury in the eye. Paper towel to line the tub rather than a loose substrate. I would also use paper towel in the moist hide and change that twice a day as it would be a place any bacteria could thrive. Hopefully its something simple that the vet can easily fix. Good luck with things and please let us know how you get on at the vets.


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## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

Ok so i have phoned a vet that I found and have made an appointment. The earliest they could take him is monday at 9:00am. It's about a 1hr drive though so how should i take him. could i just put him in a Tupperware box with air holes and make sure the car's air conditioning is on so it is nice and warm? I will take a picture and post it here shortly. Thanks for all your help so far.


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## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

Check what type of Contact Lense you're using, as some contain Oxipol (a combination of Cleansing agents) or Polyhexanide which is a polymer and has antiseptic values and is used as a soothing and deep cleaning solution in Medicine (first aid, minor operations). 

Check what percentage is in your solution so you don't add anything that could cause more harm in large doses. Most are something stupid like 0.000000001% but I know different lenses have different solutions.


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## _jake_ (Jul 3, 2008)

gonzo the geko said:


> Ok so i have phoned a vet that I found and have made an appointment. The earliest they could take him is monday at 9:00am. It's about a 1hr drive though so how should i take him. could i just put him in a Tupperware box with air holes and make sure the car's air conditioning is on so it is nice and warm? I will take a picture and post it here shortly. Thanks for all your help so far.


That'll be fine, just make sure he can't be thrown around inside his container.


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## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

Ok so i have taken some pics. I tried uploading but they just came up as broken so instead, links :

DSC_0017.jpg picture by _c4llum - Photobucket
DSC_0024.jpg picture by _c4llum - Photobucket
DSC_0020.jpg picture by _c4llum - Photobucket

And for the purposes of comparison here is what his other eye looks like

DSC_0021.jpg picture by _c4llum - Photobucket

So, what do you think? i tried to get a really close up shot but it would not autofocus and i am terrible with manual focus.


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

From those pics it just looks like he is shedding, the lower eyelid has come away from the old skin and the eye is open underneath it - if that is the case he should look normal very soon!


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## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

Well that was what i thought initially but i looked around at images of shed in the eye and nothing looked like that. And he has not actually shed yet. He has been like that for a few days so how could it be shed? Also if it is shed then what is the black shadow under his eye? and you say that his eye is open underneath but you cannot actually see his eye at all so how do you know that?


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

I do not know that for definite, I can only comment on what I can see in the picture, and what I have seen in my own geckos. Without a close up picture it is hard to see whats going - but from the picture it looks like you can see the eyelids and they are open. Also along the top of the 'film' there is a whiter line, which looks like the bit that was previously attached to the edge of the eyelid. I would keep an eye on him, and you have the vet appointment ready if needs be.



gonzo the geko said:


> Well that was what i thought initially but i looked around at images of shed in the eye and nothing looked like that. And he has not actually shed yet. He has been like that for a few days so how could it be shed? Also if it is shed then what is the black shadow under his eye? and you say that his eye is open underneath but you cannot actually see his eye at all so how do you know that?


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## RedGex (Dec 29, 2007)

How's the leo doing, how did you get on at the vets?


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## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

I'm afraid i did not. I woke up yesterday to find that he had begun to shed and did not want to take him when he was in the middle of that. I humidifyed the tank and just left him to do his thing. But today i awoke to find that he had, in fact, done nothing. Whereas normally he will pull the skin off with his mouth this time he has just left it. There are pieces of skin hanging off him and everything. Should i leave him or should i try to get it off myself? i did pull some very loose skin off of his back but that is all i have done so far. Here are some pics to illustrate what i am talking about. I also got a closer pic of his eye, which by the way is the same. He has been like this like this all day and most of yesterday. And does not seem to be doing anything to rectify it.

DSC_0051.jpg picture by _c4llum - Photobucket
(i got the skin off of his body and you can see that i have tried to pull some off his tail but he did not like that and kept flicking it so i left him be)
And his eye:
DSC_0050.jpg picture by _c4llum - Photobucket

edit: if you are wondering what that is on the carpet it is water droplets.


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## superharber (Jan 1, 2012)

awwww hope hes gonna b ok


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## Higgt4 (Apr 25, 2009)

Is he not using his wet hide?


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## gonzo the geko (Nov 28, 2010)

No, he seems to have a pathological aversion to it. Any advice about the shedding?


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## Higgt4 (Apr 25, 2009)

maybe put him in a tub he can't climb out of and put a little lukewarm water in the bottom, maybe about half an inch deep until he gets used to it then maybe a little more, after 5 or 10 minutes you can gently try to remove any loose shed, my local pet shop used to do this with one leo who had trouble shedding, and he absolutely loved getting his bath
maybe help in this case, just remember never leave the gecko unattended in his 'bath'


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## Pbgf0411 (2 mo ago)

Whatever became of the eye issue.
How was it treated?


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