Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all.

I posted earlier about a baby I hatched out last night.

Well ... upon closer inspection ... he definitely has some deformed facial features, and I am almost certain he is blind. He did not react in anyway to the lights, the flash, my fingers or my presence.

He is active, has gorgeous colors and is almost a perfect little leo. I just hope I can get him to eat.

Thanks Geeboo and Starling...

Joel

The whole at the top-right is less than 1 cm wide ... (to give an idea of size)...

>>Hi all.
>>
>>I posted earlier about a baby I hatched out last night.
>>
>>Well ... upon closer inspection ... he definitely has some deformed facial features, and I am almost certain he is blind. He did not react in anyway to the lights, the flash, my fingers or my presence.
>>
>>He is active, has gorgeous colors and is almost a perfect little leo. I just hope I can get him to eat.
>>
>>Thanks Geeboo and Starling...
>>
>>Joel
>>
>>
>>
>>The whole at the top-right is less than 1 cm wide ... (to give an idea of size)...
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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your head will collapse, but there's nothing in it, and you'll ask yourself, "where is my mind"

chances are that even if he eats he will have eye problems for life. seems like babies with eye deformities are more prone to infection in and around the eyes. you also have to worry about if he has any internal damage. it very well might be best to have him euthanized, it is hard to do but sometimes it has to be done, especially if he cant live a normal life. excessive heats seems to be the number one reason for eye deformities, i had some temp spikes earlier this year alot of eggs were lost and i have a couple hatch with eye deformites, both looked healthy but never did well so i had them put down. it really sucks, i am sorry for your misfortunes and if you need anymore help do not hesitate to ask
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

I did e-mail you almost a week ago on some hatchlings with deformities. I understand that it may be a bit busy for you. I just wanted to check on that.

so no i didnt recieve your email LOL
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

That's what I get for not reading properly when running on 3 hours sleep. Well...at least you an Kelli are pretty close buds? LOL.
Now...if you were Waxie...I'd really worry about my sanity...

LOL yeah kelli is my bud, so you were closer than if you HAD said waxie, at least kelli and I are both female LOL and we both live in Texas hehehe
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-robin day
Geckoheads And Geeks

Yes, his eyes are definately very deformed, in fact it looks like he doesn't even have an eye on one side. Almost certainly blind, though it is possible it has very limited vision (e.g. light/dark?) out of one eye.

His forelegs look like they may be deformed as well. I would be concerned that if those organs are deformed, there may be other defects internally.

If he is indeed blind you will need to hand-feed for the rest of its life, if it lives. Some people would euthanize now, others would do everything they could and had feed for the rest of its life if need be, to see if you can get to it live.

Geckos normally don't eat until a week or so after hatching, so I would not try handfeeding for a week.

I just replied on your post further down. The defect on your little one's eyes look very similar to the defects on my little albino's.

Good luck, hopefully the little one will be able to eat on his own.

well I don't want to sound cruel but I would put it out of it's misery and suffering. It will never be able to live a meaningfull life like that. It looks to have quite a few problems more than just the eyes. The head itself looks deformed along with the shoulder area. I am not saying don't try to help it if you like but if it was me I would let it go while it is young and not very aware. Sorry I hate to see poor things like that.

I agree with geboo. Unfortunatly, you have to play god in the situation. You have to consider the quality of life this gecko would have. Just out of curiousity, What kind of supplementing schedule do you have for the adults, and what brands? deformities this severe can sometimes be traced back to deficiencies or toxicities of nutrients in the adults, perticularly vit. A.
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Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

Does anyone actually have proof that eye deformities might be caused with vitamin A? I have yet to find any papers regarding this subject. I plan to help put a rest to the questionable validity of this subject within the years to come with a large databank of blood tests, comparison of detailed captive and incubation notes, as well as lineage studies. I guess we will see what happens. As for the gecko above, it seems that the quality of life for the animal will likely be in poor condition despite your best care possible with a good chance of problematic eye infections and who knows what eternally. Put the gecko to rest now before you become emotionally attached and before the gecko has to go through unnecessary pain and stress.
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Justyn
Intense Herpetoculture

Justyn,
I was wondering the same thing. What I know about the subject is through personal conversation with several large breeders That I'm friends, and one Vet who is a herp nutritionist. It's based on educated guess work, and trial and error. I can tell you that since I switched to a supp. with preformed vit. A as well as beta-carotine, I have had less eye deformities in my hatchlings. It could also have something to do with calcium and d3 levels. All 3 nutrients work synergistically with each other from what I understand. Let me know if you find any info.
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Bill DiFabio
Azteclizard.com
Email Me

I'll let you know. Later this year I will be putting together a group of breeders to obtain information on the occurrence of leos with deformed eyes. I am very interested on the outcome of this project as it should help people everywhere produce better geckos and it will be a nice step in the knowledge of herpetoculture as well.
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Justyn
Intense Herpetoculture

Hi,

This is Stevie. She's 6 years old and as you can see has a similar eye deformity. She can see -- in a limited sort of way and I do have to hold the prey for her, but she eats well and is fat.

While these guys require extra care and it could be that some have other problems, if the little guy takes bugs from your fingers and everything else seems normal, there is not reason that he/or she could not have a pretty good quality of life.

Stevie is housed in her own enclosure and I've been thoughtful about how her hides and rocks are placed--I try not to move stuff around too much.

best,

keats

Wow, look at the tail on that thing, lol. Obviously, by the look of that picture, some can lead happy meaningful lives, and it is nice to know theres some hope. If its just the eyes, not organs, I think it could live just fine if its willing to take bugs from ur hands but if theres deformities in the organs and such, I would get it put down, sad but the best thing to do. Bye, and good luck with him, Just hope 4 the best,
MaC