Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So my son has a juvie leopard gecko who's eye keeps getting a layer of yellow gunk on it. He obviously can't see when that happens so I will clean it for him with a q-tip. It just pulls right off.
He doesnt' seem to be losing weight and still comes out at night.

When this happens i put some polysporin on it for him and it will be fine for 4 or 5 days.

It doesn't seem to be spreading to the other eye or my 2 other geckos ( they are in a sperate cage )

He is on aspen for substrate and has a heat pad and heat lamp.
Does he need more humidity ? Should I take him to the vet?
thanks alot

amanda

Firstly you should get rid of the aspen bedding and switch to plain paper towels, newspaper or reptile carpet because unless you have that heat pad on a thermostat or rheostat its probably getting way too hot and with that aspen bedding the leo can sit right on top of it and get burned, also check your temps cause usually just one heating pad is enough if not more than enough to reach the 88-90 degrees they need. And no, leos come from the desert where there isnt much humidity at all and too much humidity can and will give them respiratory problems, as far as the eye stuff goes i have no idea but i thought i would mention the other things and the aspen bedding could have something to do with that if a little piece got into its eye or scratched it.
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coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (dorito, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (cricket,penny)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, athena)
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)
0.1 pyrenees mix

awww poor guy. I'll switch to paper towel for him. Also the lamp isn't a high wattage.. i dont want to fry him. He sleeps under it sometimes. I've seen him sleep on both ends. So it's not to hot.
But I will check it to make sure.

Thanks for the advice about the aspen. Didn't know it could scratch his eye poor little guy.

asherah

Two of the best caresheets i have found that will explain pretty much anything you want to know are http://www.geckosetc.com/htm/care.htm

http://www.crestedgecko.com/lg_care.htm
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coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (dorito, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (cricket,penny)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, athena)
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)
0.1 pyrenees mix

Sounds like the little guy still has some Shed stuck on his eyes. When you use the wet Q-tip to try and get rid of it make sure you get All of it. Sometimes pieces can get stuck under the Eyelids where you can't really see it. If the q-tip does not work you have to be very carefull and use a pair of tweezers to pull all of the old skin out of the eye. Try to get a pair that does not have any sharp points if the q-tip method does not work. Good luck. Here is a another excellent forum you might want to take a look at.

http://geckoforums.net/index.php

I've never seen an eye problem on a leopard gecko that had a humid hide. Yes, dry cages are important, but i would always provide a simulated moist burrow. I use a wet paper towel inside a small deli cup with an entry hole just large enough for them to fit in. If you place the cup partially on the heat pad area you will notice that the cup becomes full of condensation and your geckos are inside of it most of their life. Some geckos seem more affected by dehydration than others and there is a possibility that the eye thing is an injury explaining why the others seem fine but proper hydration will result in perfect sheds and loosened eye gunk. I would also ditch the light and aspen. good luck

Yes, im sorry i should've clarified, i do use humid hides on each side of the aquarium as well, i use damp moss in a small butter container.
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coheed196
1.1 raptor leos (dorito, sunshine)
0.1 beardie (scarlet)
1.1 veiled chameleon (cricket,penny)
1.1 panther chameleon (apollo, athena)
0.1 albino burmese (peaches)
1.0 pit bull (ajax)
0.1 pyrenees mix

ok I gave him a humid hide made out of a deli cup his food came in.
I showed it to him and he checked it out.

oh and hes on paper towel now aswell. Hopefully he'll get better now I feel bad for him poor guy.

asherah