Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yesterday, I accidently put one of my male in the wrong tank (which also has a male in it; both adults), when I noticed a few minutes later, the 2 had finished fighting already. One of them got bitten near the bum, the wound is not too big but is bleeding a bit. The other has several wounds around its neck and ear, the wound at the back of its neck is pretty big, but not bleeding too much. Don't know how I could be so careless, I hate myself and would rather they bite me instead. Anyway, my problem is:

They had fine sand as their substrate, so there is sand stuck to their wound. Now, I had moved the two to 2 plastic containers with paper towel lining (will be changed everyday), I tried my best to clean their wounds with disinfectant, but there are still a bit of sand that I couldn't get off (especially near or inside its ear). I don't want to force it too much, and stress him; is it ok to let it naturally come off? Will it affect its healing? I'll clean their wounds with disinfectant once everyday, is this enough?

How do I know if it's getting well or if the wound is infected?
Usually how long it takes for wounds to mend? Thanks in advance for helping.

Gothra

Leopard Geckos are really quite robust, and heal rather quickly. You can keep neosporin or bacitracin ointment on the wounds, but be careful around the eye. As far as the sand in the wound, how deep is it? If it is superficial, it will probably come off with the scab after it heals. If not, perhaps you can use a moist cotton swab and gently wipe the area to see if you can get it out. I honestly doubt it will be a problem, but keep an eye on him for signs of infection.

I understand how bad you must feel... but try not to be hard on yourself. I made the very same mistake several years ago, and when I heard all the commotion, I stuck my hand in the tank to separate the two males and I was bitten savagely! There was blood everywhere (mostly mine!) My one male that took the beating almost died, but survived although he had one of his feet bitten completely off and his head was so bad the skin was hanging and his skull was exposed. He took quite a few stitches, and was so stressed/depressed over the ordeal he would not eat for almost 2 weeks. I cried for days over how I could have made such a foolish mistake. I still shudder when I think about the trauma, but he is just fine today!
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Marcia McGuiness
Golden Gate Geckos
www.goldengategeckos.com

Im not gettin at u But Why do most leopard gecko owners dont listen to advice that is given to them.Why use sand that u gota replace wit more sand . When u can use repti carpet.They come in two's.So u use one when thats dirty u use the other one while u cleanin and drying the other.And u dont have to worry about spendin money but the food for the geckos.I use repti carpet in all 3 of my cages.2 tanks holds 5 geckos together and another holds a 1 and half foot python.They seem to love it !
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Jae from Jer'z

my reptile collection and their names..
1.0.0 normal ball python [1½ ft.] Jumangi
leopard geckos
1.0.1 tremper albinos [juveniles] Yoshi & Laly
0.2.0 albino [babies] Peatree & Little Foot
1.0.0 hypo [adult] Tigga
0.0.1 normal [seems pregnant] Queens