Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A close family friend has a leopard gecko he purchased 8 years ago who appears to be having trouble seeing. He has always been a good eater but now he doesn't seem to see his food even when it's right in front of him. This is making it difficult for him to eat and he has begun to lose weight. There are no visible signs of illness or eye infection. Is this a common problem and does anyone have any ideas on what can be done to encourage him to eat?

Look at his eyes closely see if there is white over the center or anywhere in the eye. If you see that then it can be eye caps,,,, old shed skin that did not come off and covers the eye. Need to get that off, either take to a vet, or I use terrimycin eye ointment for a couple days and usually lifts off with a q-tip or comes off on it's own after a short time.

IF it is that then I think when they have it they do have a hard time catching insects/seeing properly, and would lose weight.
**BUT.... I do not see your gecko and I'm NOT a vet so I really do not know what's wrong with him. This is just something you can visually look for. Hope he snaps back real soon

Mega/ Mack Snow Rator

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Eve
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do leopard geckos actually have actual scales over their eyeballs??? having eyelids, i would not think they do??? i know the geckos without eyelids shed thier eyecaps...and try to give him meal worms or crickets with hemos or feeding tongs, just touch them lightly to his lips and he should snatch them up! if it dont grab them, try wax worms..but feed with caution, they are really high in fat and leopard geckos can get "hooked" on them and wont want anything esle. maybe try three or four wax worms, then switch to mealies. good luck. i have seen leopards go blind from eye infections, from sand(and other stuff scratching the eyeball)in the eye...but never known them to have an actual scale over thier eyeball. i could be wrong...if i am, someone please let me know. i have even watched leopards go through a complete shed from beginning to end and never seen one pull anything off of the actual eye itself...

No, Leopard geckos do not have scales over there eyelids, the eyelids are very soft, and do close when they sleep.

Hi

I have one gecko that has only been able to see like shadows since she was young, but she still wound up finding the mealworms and eating, and has kept her weight on.

Her eye's seemed to have gotten worse about a week and a half ago, and I thought that she had lost one and it dried up.

I took her to the vet., and he pulled this thick piece of yellow infection out of it, that you couldn't just look and see it for your self. It was like "Wow". The vet. said that she also had pin worm. He got that out of her eye and messed around in the other eye, and gave me medication for the parasite, and medication for infection in her eye. You know with all that poking around in the eye's that it would take awhile for the swelling to go down, and I feed her by syring feeding her chicken baby food mixed with a little water so it wasn't so thick. After a week, I got the biggest grin on my face, because I went in there and she had both eye's open. She is doing great, and I'm very excited.

I don't know where you live, but I will give you my vet.s info., so that you can call and ask him for idea's or what you can do, and he could even, probably tell your vet. what to look for and what to do.

My vet. has been written up in journals for his knowledge in reptiles.

"Clarkston Veterinary Clinic - Howard J. Schwartz D.V.M.
E-mail = clarkstonvet@sbcglobal.net
248-625-1821
Clarkston, MI