gecko appetite/ eye problems

Question
My gecko has been having some serious health problems. one of her eyes is covered in a sort of crust. i keep her tank moist but it wont come off. also, she hasnt eaten in a very long time. i took her to a veteranarian and they put her on an antibiotic and gave her a dewormer but her condition his getting worse. she hardly ever moves and i think shes dying. i cant afford to take her to the vet again and i dont know what to do.

Answer
Hi Brett,

That is really an unfortunate situation. You and your vet are obviously in the best position to judge whether further treatment  presents any hope for her.
From your description, there are just a couple things I would suggest trying that hopefully may help somewhat and not just prolong her suffering.

The crust on the eye is unlikely to come off without physical intervention. Geckos are visual hunters and when their eyesight is affected they are unable to hunt effectively and they simply stop eating. The stress produced often causes them to stop drinking as well and dehydration sets in as well as malnutrition.

Proper hydration is usually the first priority with sick animals. The first thing I would do is give her a soak in a a bit of tepid water. If she is too weak to hold her head up then dribbling water over her snout may trigger her to drink.

That crust over her eye sounds like it needs to be directly moistened and physically removed. You can try flushing the eye area with water while she is soaking or use saline (for contact lenses). Once the crust is  moistend and softened you may be able to gently and more easily remove it with a cotton tipped swab. Hopefully, her eye is not damaged underneath and that will allow her to regain some sight on that side.

Lastly, I would try to get some nutrition into her. In her current state your best option is to try a few drops of chicken based baby food dabbed onto her snout. If she is still responsive enough she will likely try to lick it off, otherwise you may need to try to get a few drops directly into her mouth. Good luck with her.