Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, so I posted a few days ago. I have a hatchling who hatched on Tuesday of last week. She has shed but with much difficulty and my assistance. Poor little girl looks like her eyes are all dried out. Like they never really developed. She looked like this from day one and her paired egg died a day or two later after not hatching (the egg started to mold and collapse. after 2 days i took it out and the little one was developed w/eyelids but died - never hatched). I am now debating over what is the right thing to do. I do not think she can eat on her own. I syringe fed her last night and she ate it with gusto - like 0.5-1.0mL. I just want to make the right decision and need some feedback from people who have encountered this before. Sarah was nice enough to give her opinion - but others are defiantely wanted. Please help. Ideas and honesty desired.

Here are the links.

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n216/jagilmer/LittleGirl-CloseDark.jpg

http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n216/jagilmer/Scenery/LittleGirl-Compare.jpg
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!

It's a bit hard to tell from the pics what's wrong. The eyes do look underdeveloped. If you're looking for a definitive answer I'd take it to the vet if I were you and see what's going on there. I know of a case where someone thought a gecko's eye went bad and it turned out to be hardened pus over the eye. The vet was able to remove it and with use of antibiotics the gecko was on the road to regained sight and a full recovery.

If it has no chance of seeing then perhaps it was not meant to be. A wild born gecko in this shape would be unlikely to last this long. A good question to ask yourself would be "can my gecko live as a gecko was meant to live?". If the answer is no then perhaps it's time to let him go humanely.

I know some folks feed their blind geckos by hand when they get to be very old. It's a hard choice to make no matter which route you go. Maybe there's no wrong answer to this one but you'll have to consider your own resources and commitment if you choose to keep it around.

I have a diabetic cat that has to get insulin shots twice a day. With the shots he's a pretty normal cat and it's worth it to me to keep him around. One day he may eventually get to the point where insulin does not help his problem (i.e. kidney failure) and then I'll have a hard time letting him go.

It's never easy.

Thank you for the reply. It is a hard decision for me to make. There really is no eyes there for me to see. I have tried shining light in them and there just seems to be nothing there. She definately can not see. And would not make it in the wild. I guess I just want opinions and then I will decide if it is something I should take to the vet or if I need to make a difficult decision. It has only been a few days but it would be rough for me. But it needs to be considered as I don't know if she will ever eat on her own. Thank you though.
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Jessica

0.1.0 Sharpei-Husky mix...all attitude
1.1.0 Ball Pythons
2.2.0 Corn Snakes
2.3.0 Leopard Geckos
2.2.0 Carrot-tailed Viper Geckos
1.0.0 Veiled Chameleon
...and a saltwater tank!

if she cant see then more than likely she wont eat on her own. most leos with vision wont eat simething if its not moving so a blind one wont have much of a chance. you can however if you are commited enough feed him by hand for the rest of its life or train him on where a food bowl is and possibly use sounds to alert him that food is in the bowl. i dont know if its been done but it would be worth a shot if you have the time and dedication to do so
adam
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hybrid breeders association
0.1. normal corn het hypo,anery
1.0. snow corn het hypo,anery,amel
1.0. amel corn unknown hets(4ft 8inch long)
1.0 sinacorn
1.1 kenyan sand boas
0.1 mbk
0.1 albino nelsons
0.2 normal leo geckos
1.0 blizzard leo gecko
0.0.1 snapping turtles
0.0.1 3 lined mud turtle