Does my leopard Gecko have skin cancer?

[MonkeyMir]

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My leopard gecko (Victor) had been having skin stuck on him and sores appearing. I took him to the vet who prescribed silver sulfadiazine cream, enrofloxacin and a food supplement called carnivore care. Victor is about four 1/2 years old. Today I gave him a bath as the vet told me to but he started scratching his back which peeled of some non-shedding skin. I put on the cream but he scratched it off as well. the vet said because he is a hert albino he has a higher chance of having skin cancer. what should I do?

[Geopard Lecko]

My leopard gecko (Victor) had been having skin stuck on him and sores appearing. I took him to the vet who prescribed silver sulfadiazine cream, enrofloxacin and a food supplement called carnivore care. Victor is about four 1/2 years old. Today I gave him a bath as the vet told me to but he started scratching his back which peeled of some non-shedding skin. I put on the cream but he scratched it off as well. the vet said because he is a hert albino he has a higher chance of having skin cancer. what should I do?

can you take pictures?

[MonkeyMir]

sick gecko.jpg
here it is

[Elizabeth Freer]

sick gecko.jpg
here it is

I'm very sorry your leo is having these troubles. I've never seen a leo whose torso looks like this. How long has this problem been going on?

I understand what you've said about keeping the silver sulfadiazine cream in place.

Victor will be more comfortable if you can first remove stuck shed on his toes and head. Please follow the directions in my next post.


PS:
After you remove as much stuck shed as possible (head & toes), apply the silver sulfadiazine cream. Then cover the wounds with a dry piece of gauze. Hold the gauze in place with a stretchy wrap that encircles his stomach.

[Geopard Lecko]

do you use a heat lamp or ceramic heat emitter? or deep heat projector?

im sorry your leo is going thru this

[MonkeyMir]

I am using a red heat lamp 24/7 and a non heat emitting white vitamin lamp during the day. He has had shedding problems getting progressively worse for a couple months. He got really skinny and weak about a week ago, he has had medicine since then and has seemed to be getting healthier until the scratching.

[Geopard Lecko]

i would recommend not using the heat lamp, and the other one, do you mean UVB? can we see a pic of that light?

its recommended to use a heat mat that goes under the tank and is controlled by a thermostat to keep the temps between 89-94f

i think what has possibly happend is he has a "sun burn"

i would also give him a humid hide with clean moist paper towels preferably over the heating mat.

[Elizabeth Freer]

Please buy Victor an under tank heat mat and a thermostat. Both are super important. We can recommend a good size UTH as soon as we know the dimensions of his enclosure. A thermostat automatically turns off the heat source at a preset temp. A thermostat keeps a leo comfortable, prevents fires, and saves on electricity.

I recommend 88-92*F ground temps right on top of the substrate underneath a leo's warm dry hide.

UVB bulbs (vitamin bulbs ?) are recommended for minimum 20 long (30 x 12 x 12 inch tall) enclosures and larger. Certain UVB brands are far more effective than others.

In order to increase humidity and loosen stuck shed, place Victor in a plastic food storage box a little bigger than Victor.

• Poke holes in this box so Victor can breathe.
• Place a couple layers of wet paper towels in the bottom.
• Spray down sides and lid.
• Place Victor inside.
• Snap on the lid.
• Place this box on top of Victor's heat mat or underneath a low wattage bulb (25 watt incandescent). The heat will increase the humidity.
• Wait at least 1 hour.
• Monitor Victor frequently.

For stuck toe shed:

• After 1 hour or more, see whether some of the toe shed has loosened.
• Gently use tweezers starting at the base of the V formed by spread toes like when you make the peace sign. Go upwards. Gentle twisting pressure with a soft-bristled toothbrush and a q-tip (dry and wet) may also be effective. Don't try too hard. Do what you can.
• Then place leo back in the sauna box for a few more hours.
• Repeat above procedure.
• Instead of wet paper towels, try very shallow water in this humidity box.

After Victor's sauna -------> to remove stuck head shed:

• Hold a cotton ball or wet washcloth on top of his head for 15 or so minutes.
• Don't cover Victor's nose!
• Try twisting movements with both wet & dry q-tips to loosen stuck shed.

[Elizabeth Freer]

May I ask how long you've had Victor?

[Hilde]

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Skin problems like that are often caused by a shortage of Vitamin A.
Does the supplement you use have pre-formed Vitamin A, or beta-carotene?
My guess is a shortage of Vitamin A, and/or a Vit A - calcium imbalance.