Leopard Gecko With Lip Sore?

[PoppyDear]

Hello everybody! I am a bit new to this site but I need some help with my leos and I thought this would be the perfect oppertunity to join.

I have 2 female Leopard geckos, each is about a year old, they live in a twenty gallon tank with a sand mat at the bottom. They have two hides on the cold side, one that is three levels and presses up against the side of the tank so I can see them. The other is a hide that doubles as a water bowl. On the warm side (I have an UTH that takes up maybe a third of the tank) I have a tree stump hide and a log hide. Also some thermometers and a calcium bowl. The tank is cleaned completely every two weeks and feces are cleaned out daily, or whenever there is some in there.

Moving to the geckos themselves, they are named Arcalis and Lizzie. My family got them from a website that is like sort of like a garage sale list for our neighborhood. They came with lights, calcium sand, two hides, and a mealworm dish. This was all in a ten gallon tank. We of course, removed the sand, got a bigger tank, a heating pad, got rid of the lights, and more. I feed gutloaded crickets and sometimes mealworms. They each usually get six crickets or ten mealworms each every other day as they are not quite a year and were slightly under weight when I recieved them.

I appologize for all the excess information, I am not sure what I should include that could lead to a more accurate diagnosis and or treatment. I know that a diagnosis on the internet will almost never be completely accurate, but I want to be close. Moving on to the lip sore (Finally!).

So Arcalis, the slightly bigger of the two (Arcalis is eight inches while Lizzie is seven), has a sore right on her lower lip. I noticed it maybe 2 weeks ago, It doesn't look like it has gotten better or worse. The geckos have never really fought, I keep an eye on them. However, a while ago when I fed them together, they did nip each other, but since then I have seperated them when feeding and have had no issues since. She has been eating and pooping, as well as shedding well. When she hunts crickets or mealworms, the sore bleeds, not much but it does bleed. It might be possible that she nicked her lip on the sand mat when hunting. Could it be mouth rot? I am not sure what to do, if you guys could give me suggestions, that would be great! I will try to send pictures, I am trying to figure that out.





Also, I am aware that the stick on thermometers are not accurate, we have just kind of, left them there. The temperatures are 73° on the cold side, and 90° on the warm. We do not have a probe, but the sand mat does a good job of keeping the heat down to an appropriate temperature. We have monitered it and constantly check it.

 

[acpart]

Welcome to GU. The pictures aren't that clear, so it's kind of hard to see (and remember, I'm not a vet), but it looks to me as if the sore is on the outside of the lower lip, as opposed to in the gum where the teeth are. If it's in the gum, it may be mouth rot. Otherwise, it may be because the gecko rubbed a bit too hard on something when it was shedding. In either case, you can start by cleaning it gently with a q-tip and warm water. If it gets worse, you should take it to a reptile vet (arav.org).
The stick-on thermometer isn't telling you anything about the temperature on the floor, which is the important measurement. You can get a reptile digital thermometer with a probe for less than $10 in most pet stores. That will be more accurate.

Aliza

 

[PoppyDear]

Welcome to GU. The pictures aren't that clear, so it's kind of hard to see (and remember, I'm not a vet), but it looks to me as if the sore is on the outside of the lower lip, as opposed to in the gum where the teeth are. If it's in the gum, it may be mouth rot. Otherwise, it may be because the gecko rubbed a bit too hard on something when it was shedding. In either case, you can start by cleaning it gently with a q-tip and warm water. If it gets worse, you should take it to a reptile vet (arav.org).
The stick-on thermometer isn't telling you anything about the temperature on the floor, which is the important measurement. You can get a reptile digital thermometer with a probe for less than $10 in most pet stores. That will be more accurate.

Aliza

Thanks for answering me! I will try to get better pictures, its hard to get a gecko to hold still and look at the camera.

I am working on the thermometer with a probe, I know the stick ons are not accurate, they just sit there as I stated in my above post. Thank you for your help, I will begin cleaning! Do you have any tips for her lip when it comes to feeding her? It reddens and bleeds slightly, but it doesn't seem to deter her from hunting. I will take her to the vet if her condition worsens or she begins to refuse to eat.

 

[acpart]

The sore looks to be on the outside of the mouth just below the lower jaw, right? Mouth rot usually occurs inside the mouth on the gum. If you have a magnifying glass, check to see that there isn't anything sharp sticking out of it. If it looks clean, just try to keep it that way, don't worry about a little bleeding and go with your plan of what indications you see that require a vet visit. I hope it goes well.

Aliza

 

[PoppyDear]

The sore looks to be on the outside of the mouth just below the lower jaw, right? Mouth rot usually occurs inside the mouth on the gum. If you have a magnifying glass, check to see that there isn't anything sharp sticking out of it. If it looks clean, just try to keep it that way, don't worry about a little bleeding and go with your plan of what indications you see that require a vet visit. I hope it goes well.

Aliza

Thanks! And yes, it is only on the outside. I have decided to feed mealworms and or crickets with both (hopper?) legs amputated in a small bowl to minimize the bleeding so it will heal faster. I think when she hunts it is irritated when she misses or accidentally hits the sand mat. I am keeping an eye on her, I really do appreciate your help!

 

[stefanoandvincent]

My gecko recently had a sore on her mouth as well. I ended up taking her to the vet because it eventually proved to be early stage mouth rot due to stuck shed, but that doesn't look like that your gecko has. It really just looks like she may have rubbed up against something (maybe the sand may - sometimes those are a little too rough for leopard geckos because their skin is actually pretty soft and thin, especially on their bellies). If you think that's the case and that may be where she got hurt, maybe take that mat out and replace it with paper towels or something. BUT, you don't have to do that if you don't think it's necessary because I know a lot of people who use that same mat and have never had issues.

ANYWAY, my vet gave me a special antibiotic/ointment for the injury on the inside of her mouth, but he told me to use Neosporin on the external one. Just make sure you use one that has NO pain relief in it. That can and will kill your gecko. Just plain old original Neosporin! Could help it clear up a bit more quickly.

 

[Elizabeth Freer]

Silvadene cream (silver sulfadiazine) is the cream many vets prescribe for treatment of reptile sores.

Neosporin ointment is not recommended because leos lick everything.

 

[PoppyDear]

My gecko recently had a sore on her mouth as well. I ended up taking her to the vet because it eventually proved to be early stage mouth rot due to stuck shed, but that doesn't look like that your gecko has. It really just looks like she may have rubbed up against something (maybe the sand may - sometimes those are a little too rough for leopard geckos because their skin is actually pretty soft and thin, especially on their bellies). If you think that's the case and that may be where she got hurt, maybe take that mat out and replace it with paper towels or something. BUT, you don't have to do that if you don't think it's necessary because I know a lot of people who use that same mat and have never had issues.

ANYWAY, my vet gave me a special antibiotic/ointment for the injury on the inside of her mouth, but he told me to use Neosporin on the external one. Just make sure you use one that has NO pain relief in it. That can and will kill your gecko. Just plain old original Neosporin! Could help it clear up a bit more quickly.

Thanks for the help! She shed yesterday and her mouth is looking so much better, I have been feeding her on paper towels so she doesn't irritate the sore by hitting it on rough surfaces. My other leo is doing well on the sandmat with her feedings. After it heals I will watch them, if the problem arises again I will consider changing the substrate. A vet visit doesn't look like it will be required, it is only a small pink area with a little scab, and it heals more each day! Thanks!


Mara

 

[PoppyDear]

Thanks so much! Her sore has gotten much better since her last shed, which was only a couple of days ago. I just cleaned it with warm water and that seemed to do the trick. It is only a small pink area with a tiny scab, I will continue to watch it, but it looks like she'll be okay. Thanks!


Mara