Possible Blindness

Ajxackt

New member
Basic Information
Species of lizard: Leopard Gecko
Gecko's name: LAM
Morph: giant
Gender: Male
Age: unknown. Rescued as an adult three years ago.
Weight:*70g

Enclosure dimensions (length x width x height): just moved to a 20L (30x12) was in a 30b (36x18)
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
What is the ground temperature right on the substrate under the warm dry hide:*88-90
What is the air temperature on the warm end about 4 inches up from the ground: 85-90
What is the air temperature on the cool end about 4 inches up from the ground:*80
What device(s) are used to maintain the temperature (Under Tank Heater, heat light, Ceramic Heat Emitter, Flexwatt heat tape, hot rock, other): UTH and heat light

Insects and worms, list type: previously dubia roaches, mealworms
Regular diet fed to the insects: fluckers cricket diet and orange cubes, and various veggies
Regular diet fed to the worms: fluckers cricket diet, various veggies

How often do you feed your gecko? Typically freefed about 50 mealworms to last a week with dubias a couple times during the week
Please list any supplements (with brand names) used. How are they given and how often? Repashy calcium plus, fluckers calcium. Worm bowl has excess powder to lick up and bugs are dusted.

If your gecko is sick, please describe the signs and how long your gecko has been showing these signs: a little under a week ago, LAM started walking strangely. He was very hesitant and shaky, low to the ground. We have no idea his age, so we couldn't tell if it was an age related thing or what. He still ate willingly and was alert. I gave him some extra supplements and Repashy's grubpie, which he ate eagerly. Yesterday I was in his tank, grabbing his food bowl and noticed he wasn't alert of my presence. I grabbed my tongs and offered him worms and he would repeatedly miss the worm. He would poke it with his mouth and then try to bite it, but by the time he would move to bite, the worm was gone. I got him to eat his usual amount by holding the worms down for him. He has also stopped drinking on his own, presumably because he cant find his water bowl, so I am syringe watering him, which he takes eagerly.
I am worried about him because we know very little about his past other than he was cared for very wrongly. When we got him, he was being fed crestie diet and lived on 'bearded dragon substrate' aka, tough walnut shell bedding. That obviously changed very quickly.
It has been brought up that he may have a congenital Vit. A deficiency because he doesn't shed well no matter what we try. My other three leos all live in very similar habitats and do great shedding. Would a Vit. A Definciency cause rapid vision loss? His eyes are clear, but his pupils do not dilate as they should. Would adding a separate Vit. A supplement help? If so, what brand? I obviously don't want to risk overdosing.
My local exotic vet is closed for now, but I am planning on taking him as soon as I can, at the very least for a quality of life assessment.


Additional Information

General
Gecko's total length: ~8in
Length of your reptile when you first acquired it: ~7in
Source (pet store, breeder, previous owner): previous owner
Captive bred or wild caught: captive

Vivarium
Number of hides: 1.5
Location of hides: big hide on hot side, smaller structure used as a hide on the cool side.
Is there a humidity hide? location? When he starts to shed, the hot hide become a warm moist hide.
Please describe any other furnishings: shale rock bought from pet store, a waterbowl.
List recent changes in the environment, if any: just moved to a smaller tank after we noticed the problem.

Lighting
Artificial lighting
Incandescent ("screw-in type bulbs): wattages: 60w
Fluorescent (tube bulbs): no
Access to ambient daylight from a distant window: no

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)? No
Which hide does she/he spend most of her time? Warm hide or not hiding at all.
Is the temperature decreased at night? by how much? Overheat lamp turned off at night. Temp gradient about 80-75

Humidity*
Is the humidity measured?*Analog
Humidity range:*10-40%. Higher only during shed.

Diet*
Are the insects and worms formally “gutloaded” 1-2 days prior to feeding off to your gecko? If so with? Insects live on gutload diet, fluckers cricket diet.
What calcium brand are you using? with D3, without or both? Repashy calcium plus and fluckers calcium with and without D3
Is the calcium in the tank with D3 or without? Without
Multivitamins (include brand name)? Calcium plus and repti-vite
Please list any recent additions/changes in the diet:*added repashy grubpie after noticing the problem.

General Health
Is your gecko’s general activity level normal, decreased, or increased?*Decreased slightly. Bumping into things
Is your gecko’s appetite normal, decreased, or increased?*Decreased
Have you noticed any of the following?*
Weight (loss or gain):*loss
Discharge from the eyes or nose: no
Increased breathing rate or effort: no
Change in the droppings:*no
Urates*
---white or yellowish: white
---size of urates as compared to size of feces: about same/smaller
Abnormal skin color or shedding:*no
Parasites on the skin or in the feces:*no
Weakness:*wobbly on feet
Regurgitation:*no

Previous problems and/or illnesses; shedding problems are chronic. Aided with a bath.

Other Critters in Same Cage or in Household
List other animals that are kept in the same cage:* N/A
Recent acquisitions (new pets within the past 6 months): new beardie, but in a different room.
Are any of your other pets ill? All other reptiles in the house are not ill.
 
Last edited:

acpart

Well-known member
I'm not an expert but as far as I know Repashy calcium plus has the correct amount of vitamin A that can be effectively used by a leopard gecko. I notice that the enclosure is quite hot (air temp). My reptile vet feels very strongly that too much heat dehydrates the gecko and can lead to eye problems. (Here's the article he wrote for Gecko Time:Eyelid Dysecdysis in Leopard Geckos - Gecko Time - Gecko Time).

Aliza
 

Ajxackt

New member
LAM used to drink very readily and very regularly. He also gets baths about once a week because of his shedding problems. His shedding problems are never his face, always his vent and fingers. 90 is the highest that tank ever gets, typically sitting lower. We had him at lower temperatures before and he was lethargic, so we bumped it up a couple degrees and it helped him. All of my leopard geckos have about the same heat setup.

The biggest thing I see with that article is that people are less concerned about their pets as an individual and more the equipment put into it, which is why he is advocating for people to stop freaking out about exact temperatures and to actually handle the reptile they are trying to create the perfect environment for so they can notice problems before they get as bad as those pictures. The only eye problem the vet talks about is dysecdysis, which is caused by foreign debris remaining in the eye. His eyes are crystal clear and not inflamed in any way, the same as always.
 
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