Leopard gecko: Eye problems, shedding problems, clouded eye, not eating.

Question
Hello,

My friend and I own a 4 year old female leopard gecko. Up until this summer,
our leo, "Owyn", has always been a fat pig of a lizard.  My friend and I don't
live together, we purchased the gecko to share, and the lizard changes
residencies every 6-9 months.  Strange, I know, but we like it.

Owyn went under my care again early this May (2010). When she came to me,
my friend mentioned her feet shedding problems. We took care of those with
her sitting in warm water, and she was fat, happy---her usual self.

For the past month or so, there have been some problems.
1) Weight loss--she's so skinny! And her tail shrunk, we are used to it being
this large bulbous thing. My friend who is pretty good with lizards and has 5
leos of her owns said this was malnutrition--which is odd, as ALL her food is
dusted.
2) She's having issues with shedding. She finally got this last shed by herself!
But her last two sheds I have had to pull off via warm water both times.
3) Most of her shedding issues have been with her eyes...we took her to Petco
to have someone who's not afraid of snatching the lizard and working at her
eyes (I was really scared I'd poke her eyes)...he got it off, but now I notice the
bottom of her left eye is cloudy. He also reccomended using

Here is the care I provide her:
*Substrate: newspaper
*Diet: Mostly mealworms, crickets rarely, cats aren't good to have around
crickets. ALWAYS dusted. We also have a small cap of the dust by itself in her
tank.
*She has a humid hide she doesn't use really, and moss scattered throughout
that I spray at least once a day.
*Her heat was at 90. She has a undertank heater and an overhead UV red heat
lamp. We're using a flourescent and the undertank for the time being as per
reccomendation of petco guy.
*We have a log that she likes to hang out under.
*Her tank is regularly cleaned.
*She was fed every other day when she was fat and healthy. Right now we're
just waiting for her to actually eat what's in her dish.

My friend and I are both in a situation that is not ideal to taking her to a vet--
we're both moving this weekend. She to Green Bay, WI and I to Madison, WI. I
am taking her with me at it is most convenient at this time. We are planning
to at least call a vet clinic to get advice/rates on services...neither of us are
rich by any means (we're recent college graduates who have not yet found a
job with our degrees).

I read Sharon's story about her Leopard Gecko, Max and her situation seemed
VERY similar. Should we try the slurry? Saline? I'm going to maybe get into
touch with the UW School of Veterinary Medicine to see if there are some
accessible and affordable options if thats the route we undoubtedly have to
go.

Aside from her issues--if I handle her, she curls up and rests like she always
does, and sometimes just wants to run anywhere.

Thank you for your time!

~emily

PS: Any more info needed? Let me know! :)


Answer
Hello Emily,

Your tank setup sounds great, really.  That is excellent, I don't think it is anything with your setup though, honestly.  
What type of thermometer do you use to measure the temperatures with?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
How rapid of weight loss is going on?  How long has this been going on?
Which brand of UVB are you using?  Most UVB lights are not colored, that is why I ask.  :-))
If she is losing weight that quickly, you will need to begin to assist feed her with chicken, turkey or beef baby food.  Use a plastic syringe or plastic dropper to drip food onto the end of her nose.  She should like the flavor & should start taking food in that manner.  

Do her eyes look infected?  You could try getting some sterile saline solution & putting that into her eyes twice daily right now.  What is probably one of the issues is that she wont use her moist humid hide & she is having shedding issues because of that.
Where is the hide located, on the warmer end?
Do you have any pictures of her?

Tracie