[Lisa4kids]

Hello,
My daughter (19 years old, a zoology major, and an avid gecko lover) has a leopard gecko that is approximately 10 to 12 years old. I say that because he was given to us 4 years ago by the woman she babysat for, and she didn't really know how old he was at that time. She guessed 6, but who knows?
He has been very healthy, until a couple of months ago when some of his skin shed got caught in his eye and it got infected. She completed his one month of antibiotic eye drops and has been putting saline in his eyes every day for the past 4 weeks since he finished the medication. She said he still doesn't open his eyes too well, and they have gotten watery again. He hasn't eaten any mealworms, crickets, etc...in 2 months now, and is strictly syringe fed baby food. She has taken him to the vet 3 times for this (once before it was infected, once for the infection diagnosis and once more for them to just recheck him and tell her it may be that he is just getting old) and she is getting frustrated because she just wants him to be better and he doesn't seem to be improving. She is bringing him back to our house this week, and I plan to take him to a different exotic pet vet...can anyone tell me what questions we should ask, or what we might do for him?
Adding that, he wasn't very well taken care of when we got him (he was thin, very gray looking, and wasn't kept in any humidity or even a light/heat source. I'm afraid that may have taken some time off of his life-span. I'm prepared for the worst, and it's probably best that he be here with us instead of with her at school, but I just wanted to get input.
Sorry for my rambling...
Thanks!

[M&S-328]

Well you definitely should have the vet check out the eyes again. Its possible there may be some shed still stuck in there and it may have to be lanced out (definitely not a "first option" though).

As for lack of appetite, it could have much to do with the eye issues, but I would also have a few fecal tests done as well. Ask them to check for parasites, viruses, and crypto. Sometimes they dont check for everything because it takes multiple tests and they are used to just do a general one.

Hopefully they will give you something to help boost its appetite. Or at least some type of rept-aid food to replace the baby food.
Perhaps also try a waxworm and/or a pinkie. Neither of those are "recommended" diets, but personally I feel they can be decent treats and can sometimes help to "restart" the eating process. However you should absolutely NEVER feed a leo more then one of either of these per week. It is not a good diet substitute - its just a "treat" or an appetite "helper".

If your leo is 10 years old (which, by the way, your vet should be able to help give you a good age approximation too), then it could still have another 5-10 years of life left! Of course the poor living conditions it had before may have shortened its lifespan by some - but your vet should be able to help access all that.

Good luck!

[Lisa4kids]

We had him to the vet yesterday and all they did was put him back on the same antibiotics he was on before. He had lost 15 grams and I just don't think he looks good at all. She did mention that she wondered if his systems are just trying to shut down, but all we can do is try the treatment again. She did say he had mucous in his mouth...and he has been sneezing, so I just don't know. Also, she used some sort of tool to open his mouth and now the inside part is all scabbed up. The other vet we took him to before we moved, never used any tools..my daughter is very upset and has been crying all day because she feels like nothing we can do will help him.
I am VERY nervous about caring for him too. She leaves tomorrow to go back to college, and I will have to give him medication, and syringe feed him, and I'm really not very good at handling him to begin with.
How will I know what to watch for, and when will I know if he's suffering too much? I just don't know if we're doing him any justice by force-feeding him, etc...