Leo eye with absess

Question
Hello Tracie,
I was thinking of your expertise today.
I used to have three leopard geckos and was breeding them: we got six hatchlings back in 2008. I remeber you had given me some advise. Well, one of the babies was given to a friend. I just visited the friend because they mentioned their was a problem with the geckos eyes. (The other geckos that I had, I'd give the my mother who had some eyes infections and took them to the vet to get ointment and to put a couple of them on Baytril).
   Anyhow, the one that the friend has, "Squid Pickle" he appears to have some shed stuck near the back of the eyes. Each eye had absesses -or buldges- behind them. One burst, and there was some blood. The gecko is not skinny- he looks real strong and fat. his tail looks healthy.  I advised them to start with a humid hide with peat moss in a tuperware with a hole- to make sure he can shed properly next time. So they will do this.
I also said a vet visit might be a good idea, but also told them I'd research to see if the Terramycin would be a good idea to get right now. My question is, if the eyes look like they have a film in them, the Terramycin seems to be recommended often, but there is also anotehr ointment that is stronger that the older adults got from their vet-  I think it starts with a G...Gennacin or something like that ( I will double check). But due to the bulging absess behind the eyes, I was wondering if it is highly likely that it is an internal infection - and whether an ointment can take care of it. I looks like the one that burst has gone down quite a bit...but I could not see in that eye to check for mucus or reside in the eye. The other eye with the current bulge, however, definitely looks slimy. Any thoughts on this?

He is housed in s 10 gallon, alone, has two hide both dry - they will change to one humid hide. and a very fine calcium sand substrate. (Still not sure if there are "some" calci substrates that are safe- Was also wondering about the "ingredients" and if some are actually safe or maybe not). He is close to 2 yrs old.

Answer
Hello Crystal,

I believe that I remember you!  I hope things have been going well for you.
Well, the infection or abscess behind the eye socket is probably going to be caused by improper temperatures & humidity.  That causes poor shedding & once they get retained shedding fluids can build up underneath the eye caps, get irritated then infected.
The Terramycin is very good for eye irritations & infection & is pretty strong.  The Gentamicin, which is what you are referring to, is very strong & only comes in liquid drops I believe.  It is pretty much impossible to find without getting a prescription.  
Since he is having eye problems, I would not house him on sand at all.  I would just use paper towels right now to cut down on dust.  Leopard geckos are very bad about licking everything around them & are notorious for becoming impacted on the calcium based sands.  That stuff clumps up like cement so it is best to avoid it altogether.

If she wants to try the Terramycin, I sell it on my site.  Here is a link to my site, if she decides to try it:
http://www.bug-de-lite.com/

Otherwise, she will need to see a vet to get the Gentamicin eye drops, or even Baytril if there is a full scale system infection going on right now.

Tracie