Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok heres my story. i have an albino leopard male who had been bitten by a cricket i think about two weeks ago. he had a small wound right above his right eye wich i cleaned with perokide on a q tip every day. i also applied neosporin. now two weeks later the wound is gone but his whole right side of his face is swollen and his eye will not open. he tries to eat crickets but has a hard time catching them cause he can only use one eye. i have been breeding leopards for about 5 years and have never seen anything like this before. hes a real trooper but the problem is, is that he hates to be held. i dont want to stress him out too much but does anyone have any ideas on how i can help him? ive had him for about 7 years and would hate to see him die. i would take him to a vet, but where i live, no one knows a damn thing about reptiles. people usually come to me for advice but this time, i have no ideas please give me some suggestions!

WOW Sorry to hear about your Leo. Sounds like a large infection set in when the wound closed. Sounds similiar to orbital cellulitis in people, which can cause you to lose an eye if it's not cleared up in time. Maybe if you went to your regular vet you could get him or her to consult with a vet over the phone that does specialize in reptiles. I'd research and find where the closest one is and take that information with me to my vet. But it sure sounds like something your going to need meds for to clear up. Best of luck to you, let us know what happens with him !!

Eye problems should never be taken lightly. Please don't try and treat the critter at home.

If infections aren't dealt with ASAP, the occular infection spreads to the optic nerve, and ultimately to the gecko's central nervous system. And CNS issues are ALL bad. This is why immediate treatment is needed - eye infections can really, truly kill the little guys.

Shelley raised a very important point - take the leo to the vet. At this point, it doesn't need to be a reptile specialist...just a reccomended local vet that is willing to see the gecko.

I'd first try an opthalmic antibiotic ointment. The vet should have something on-site that can be used on leos safely. Its often the same stuff they use for cats, hamsters, and people. The vet just needs to make sure the potency is lowered to the correct ratio for the leo (and they definitely get bigger than hamsters, so I imagine this is feasible!)

Are you absolutely sure its a cricket bite? These things are usually caused by substrate issues. Either way, I'd personally have my vet flush the inner eyelids. They do this with a little needle to get rid of gunk...but I can't remember what the flushing needle is called...? I'm sure a vet in your area can do this too. They do it for kittens and "pocket pets".

If it was my leo, I would seriously consider a course of antibiotics if the infection was bad enough to be causing noticeable inflammation to surrounding areas, like you said. The vets use a range of antibiotics and can mix them at any ratio dependent on the critter's weight - from a Great Dane to a mouse - I imagine the local vet can help answer questions here too.
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Too many Leos
1.0 feline "Spot"
0.1 canine "Tika"