Samurai Drifter
New member
Hello! Sorry in advance for the long post. If anyone does happen to read it, and is able to weigh in, I'd be very appreciative.
My roughly 15-year-old leopard gecko Merlin was recently diagnosed with early stage gout, which the vet believed was due to age-related decline in kidney function. He's got mild swelling in his front legs and back knee. At the vet's advice, I began administering .05 mg of allopurinol per day (extremely easy, I just drip it onto one of his crickets). I've also been giving him warm baths with a little bit of cherry extract, which I've read as an effective treatment for gout in both humans and reptiles.
Shortly after I got him back from the vet, he shed again, and while he did not have any immediately apparent retained shed this time, he started keeping his left eye closed after shedding. He usually opens it up after I get him out and start handling him, and I can see when he opens it that the eye appears to be red and mildly cloudy.
Rather than stress my gecko out by bringing him into the vet again in our cold weather climate (I live in Minnesota and it's in the 30s-40s right now), especially because it's been raining almost non-stop for a week, I called and described what I was seeing to him over the phone. He prescribed gentamicin eyedrops to treat a possible infection, and basically said that it wouldn't hurt anything if it wasn't an eye infection. So I went and picked up the eyedrops.
The only problem is, having heard of negative side-effects certain antibiotics can have on the kidneys in the past, I did some research and found a number of articles citing the nephrotoxic side-effects of gentamicin, which are apparently particularly notable. Even if it's only used topically, he's definitely going to be licking his eyes, which will result in the oral consumption of the medication. If his kidneys are already compromised, the last thing they need is more damage from antibiotics. However, at the same time, I can't let an infection run rampant.
As of right now, I'm washing it out with basic, sterile eye-wash from the drugstore until I figure out what to do. It is worth noting that the eye appears less clouded today than yesterday.
So, the vet has already been seen- the clinic came recommended by the University of Minnesota as the best clinic for reptiles, and the vet I saw is the reptile specialist. The question is whether I trust his prescription, given what I've read about gentamicin. People make mistakes, and it was something he prescribed at a moment's notice. This is also a pretty specific, unusual problem he may not have even had occasion to deal with before, though he did specifically say that the eyedrops would not interact negatively with the allopurinol.
Basically, I was just wondering if any of you had any experience using gentamicin to treat eye infections, or had used it on any reptiles that had gout and/or impaired kidney function? Also, I'd just be interested to hear your more experienced opinions. Even though I've had Merlin around for over 15 years now, and know a little about caring for leopard geckos, he is the first one I've had and I'm not an expert on their health problems. So any advice would be appreciated. Should I administer the eyedrops and trust the vet, despite what I've read? Should I continue washing out his eye a little bit longer to see if it shows further improvement on its own, and consider antibiotics a last resort? Should I consult with another reptile vet?
Merlin's gout has been so under control since it was diagnosed that I would hate to have a medical mishap reverse his situation and send him downhill. Besides his mildly swollen joints, you'd never know he had gout. He's active and has as good of an appetite as he's ever had (and has for the month and a half since the swelling was noted- hasn't obviously increased since then) so my hopes are relatively high that he has the opportunity to continue living a happy life for some time.
TLDR: Is it okay to give an old leopard gecko Gentamicin drops for an eye infection if he already has early stage gout?
Basic Information
Species of lizard: Leopard Gecko
Gecko's name: Merlin
Morph: Unknown
Gender: Male
Age: ~15 years old
Weight: 50 grams
Enclosure dimensions (length x width x height): 20 gallon long
Substrate provided: Reptile carpet
What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarium type, other): Analog thermometer is used to monitor ground and air temperatures
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide: 90 degrees
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: ~80 degrees
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground: 70s
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, Ceramic Heat Emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): Under Tank Heater and red basking light. UVB light for short periods every day as a source of D3.
Insects and worms, list type: Crickets, mealworms, hornworms
Regular diet fed to the insects: Zoo Med Adult Bearded Dragon food & Flukers Cricket Quencher (calcium-fortified).
Regular diet fed to the worms: Have not typically gut-loaded my worms. Hornworms I feed as quickly as possible after picking them up from the pet store to avoid them growing too much. Mealworms I keep around in case I run out of crickets, and pretty much just keep them in the fridge in their original packaging.
How often do you feed your gecko? Daily since his gout diagnosis (I use a cricket to administer allopurinol, and I want to make sure he's getting as much nutrition as possible), before that, several times a week.
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? Crickets are dusted with pure calcium. There's also a pure calcium (no D3) dish in his enclosure. D3 is obtained via limited usage of a UVB light.
If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs: Swollen legs/back leg joint for approximately 1 1/2 months. Within the past several days, squinty left eye, cloudy and red when open.
Additional Information
General
Gecko's total length:
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it: He was tiny, and I got him when I was 12 years old, so I'm having difficulty remembering.
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): Probably a large chain pet store (PetCo, PetSmart, etc).
Captive bred or wild caught: Unknown, but probably captive bred.
Vivarium
Number of hides: 3
Location of hides: One on cool side, two on warm side.
Is there a humidity hide? location? Yes, one on the warm side.
Please describe any other furnishings: There's a decorative animal "skull" and a desert log.
List recent changes in the environment, if any:
Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent ("screw-in type bulbs): wattages: 75w red basking bulb. UVB light, which is on for approx. 2-3 hours per day.
Fluorescent (tube bulbs):
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: Yes, during the day I keep the blinds slightly open to allow a small amount of sunlight into the room he's in.
Heating
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners): Yes
Are you using a thermostat(s)? Yes
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? Splits time between warm humid and cool dry hides. Seems to prefer the humid hide a bit lately.
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much?
Humidity
Is the humidity measured? Yes
Humidity range:
Diet
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? The crickets are gutloaded with bearded dragon food.
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both? Both, depending on how much time he has spent under the UV Lamp
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? Without.
Multivitamins (include brand name)? No.
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet: Added the occasional Horn worm.
General Health
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? About a month ago we got him a bigger cage that includes a hide that is kept constantly moist. He also is getting Allopurinol for gout. For the last few weeks he has been more energetic.
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? Increased since improving his environmentand introducing Allopurinol.
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): No
Discharge from the eyes or nose: YES. Once, had what looked like a tear drop with a little bit of red color in it immediately after eating crickets. This came out of the problem eye.
Increased breathing rate or effort: No
Change in the droppings: Slightly more frequent, but it looks healthy and does not happen more than 2x perweek.
Urates
---white or yellowish: They had been yellowish a couple of weeks ago, but they have gotten less yellow and the one from yesterday did not look yellow.
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: Previously 1:1, now 1:3
Abnormal skin color or shedding: Has had shedding problems in the recent past.
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: No
Weakness: No
Regurgitation: No
Previous problems and/or illnesses: Gout, shedding problems
Other Critters in Same Cage or in Household: Cat in the household, but is kept out of the room.
List other animals that are kept in the same cage: None
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months): None
Are any of your other pets ill? No
My roughly 15-year-old leopard gecko Merlin was recently diagnosed with early stage gout, which the vet believed was due to age-related decline in kidney function. He's got mild swelling in his front legs and back knee. At the vet's advice, I began administering .05 mg of allopurinol per day (extremely easy, I just drip it onto one of his crickets). I've also been giving him warm baths with a little bit of cherry extract, which I've read as an effective treatment for gout in both humans and reptiles.
Shortly after I got him back from the vet, he shed again, and while he did not have any immediately apparent retained shed this time, he started keeping his left eye closed after shedding. He usually opens it up after I get him out and start handling him, and I can see when he opens it that the eye appears to be red and mildly cloudy.
Rather than stress my gecko out by bringing him into the vet again in our cold weather climate (I live in Minnesota and it's in the 30s-40s right now), especially because it's been raining almost non-stop for a week, I called and described what I was seeing to him over the phone. He prescribed gentamicin eyedrops to treat a possible infection, and basically said that it wouldn't hurt anything if it wasn't an eye infection. So I went and picked up the eyedrops.
The only problem is, having heard of negative side-effects certain antibiotics can have on the kidneys in the past, I did some research and found a number of articles citing the nephrotoxic side-effects of gentamicin, which are apparently particularly notable. Even if it's only used topically, he's definitely going to be licking his eyes, which will result in the oral consumption of the medication. If his kidneys are already compromised, the last thing they need is more damage from antibiotics. However, at the same time, I can't let an infection run rampant.
As of right now, I'm washing it out with basic, sterile eye-wash from the drugstore until I figure out what to do. It is worth noting that the eye appears less clouded today than yesterday.
So, the vet has already been seen- the clinic came recommended by the University of Minnesota as the best clinic for reptiles, and the vet I saw is the reptile specialist. The question is whether I trust his prescription, given what I've read about gentamicin. People make mistakes, and it was something he prescribed at a moment's notice. This is also a pretty specific, unusual problem he may not have even had occasion to deal with before, though he did specifically say that the eyedrops would not interact negatively with the allopurinol.
Basically, I was just wondering if any of you had any experience using gentamicin to treat eye infections, or had used it on any reptiles that had gout and/or impaired kidney function? Also, I'd just be interested to hear your more experienced opinions. Even though I've had Merlin around for over 15 years now, and know a little about caring for leopard geckos, he is the first one I've had and I'm not an expert on their health problems. So any advice would be appreciated. Should I administer the eyedrops and trust the vet, despite what I've read? Should I continue washing out his eye a little bit longer to see if it shows further improvement on its own, and consider antibiotics a last resort? Should I consult with another reptile vet?
Merlin's gout has been so under control since it was diagnosed that I would hate to have a medical mishap reverse his situation and send him downhill. Besides his mildly swollen joints, you'd never know he had gout. He's active and has as good of an appetite as he's ever had (and has for the month and a half since the swelling was noted- hasn't obviously increased since then) so my hopes are relatively high that he has the opportunity to continue living a happy life for some time.
TLDR: Is it okay to give an old leopard gecko Gentamicin drops for an eye infection if he already has early stage gout?
Basic Information
Species of lizard: Leopard Gecko
Gecko's name: Merlin
Morph: Unknown
Gender: Male
Age: ~15 years old
Weight: 50 grams
Enclosure dimensions (length x width x height): 20 gallon long
Substrate provided: Reptile carpet
What type and brand of thermometer (digital with probe, temperature gun, LCD strip, analog (circle), combo digital thermometer/hygrometer, stainless steel aquarium type, other): Analog thermometer is used to monitor ground and air temperatures
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide: 90 degrees
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: ~80 degrees
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground: 70s
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, Ceramic Heat Emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): Under Tank Heater and red basking light. UVB light for short periods every day as a source of D3.
Insects and worms, list type: Crickets, mealworms, hornworms
Regular diet fed to the insects: Zoo Med Adult Bearded Dragon food & Flukers Cricket Quencher (calcium-fortified).
Regular diet fed to the worms: Have not typically gut-loaded my worms. Hornworms I feed as quickly as possible after picking them up from the pet store to avoid them growing too much. Mealworms I keep around in case I run out of crickets, and pretty much just keep them in the fridge in their original packaging.
How often do you feed your gecko? Daily since his gout diagnosis (I use a cricket to administer allopurinol, and I want to make sure he's getting as much nutrition as possible), before that, several times a week.
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? Crickets are dusted with pure calcium. There's also a pure calcium (no D3) dish in his enclosure. D3 is obtained via limited usage of a UVB light.
If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs: Swollen legs/back leg joint for approximately 1 1/2 months. Within the past several days, squinty left eye, cloudy and red when open.
Additional Information
General
Gecko's total length:
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it: He was tiny, and I got him when I was 12 years old, so I'm having difficulty remembering.
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): Probably a large chain pet store (PetCo, PetSmart, etc).
Captive bred or wild caught: Unknown, but probably captive bred.
Vivarium
Number of hides: 3
Location of hides: One on cool side, two on warm side.
Is there a humidity hide? location? Yes, one on the warm side.
Please describe any other furnishings: There's a decorative animal "skull" and a desert log.
List recent changes in the environment, if any:
Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent ("screw-in type bulbs): wattages: 75w red basking bulb. UVB light, which is on for approx. 2-3 hours per day.
Fluorescent (tube bulbs):
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: Yes, during the day I keep the blinds slightly open to allow a small amount of sunlight into the room he's in.
Heating
Ventilation space for your UTH by elevating the tank above the shelf (some UTHs come with sticky feet for the tank corners): Yes
Are you using a thermostat(s)? Yes
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? Splits time between warm humid and cool dry hides. Seems to prefer the humid hide a bit lately.
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much?
Humidity
Is the humidity measured? Yes
Humidity range:
Diet
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? The crickets are gutloaded with bearded dragon food.
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both? Both, depending on how much time he has spent under the UV Lamp
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? Without.
Multivitamins (include brand name)? No.
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet: Added the occasional Horn worm.
General Health
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased? About a month ago we got him a bigger cage that includes a hide that is kept constantly moist. He also is getting Allopurinol for gout. For the last few weeks he has been more energetic.
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased? Increased since improving his environmentand introducing Allopurinol.
Have you noticed any of the following?
Weight (loss or gain): No
Discharge from the eyes or nose: YES. Once, had what looked like a tear drop with a little bit of red color in it immediately after eating crickets. This came out of the problem eye.
Increased breathing rate or effort: No
Change in the droppings: Slightly more frequent, but it looks healthy and does not happen more than 2x perweek.
Urates
---white or yellowish: They had been yellowish a couple of weeks ago, but they have gotten less yellow and the one from yesterday did not look yellow.
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: Previously 1:1, now 1:3
Abnormal skin color or shedding: Has had shedding problems in the recent past.
Parasites on the skin or in the feces: No
Weakness: No
Regurgitation: No
Previous problems and/or illnesses: Gout, shedding problems
Other Critters in Same Cage or in Household: Cat in the household, but is kept out of the room.
List other animals that are kept in the same cage: None
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months): None
Are any of your other pets ill? No
