Leopard Gecko abscess

Question

Leo Scab   QUESTION: Hello :)
I have had my leo since March and about a week ago i noticed that my leo's mouth had a scab/abscess on his left side. It was small and was towards the corner of his mouth. His eye on the opposite side of the scab is also not opening as much and it seems like there is some kind of gooey substance in it. There wasn't much though, just a tiny bit.

After i noticed the scab/abscess i noticed that he had stopped eating. Before yesterday, he had not eaten for about 4 days.
Last night he took 1 worm from me and tonight i had to hold him and put the worm in his mouth for him to actually take it (he ate 3). He has not lost any weight yet.

At first i was really worried about this, but then i realized he could be getting ready to shed and i was right. He usually stops eating when he is about to shed. He just started to shed today and should be done by tommorrow night.

I have a feeling that the scab/abscess may have been caused by a cut on his rock hide or possibly from a cricket bite (i left a cricket in his tank for 2 days, then removed it).

I have looked in his mouth. There is nothing wrong with the inside of his mouth; it looks normal. Where the scab is it looks like there is a piece of the skin he is shedding that is connecting to his upper jaw. Also on the opposite side of his mouth, it looks like there is another scab forming in the exact same place (still too soon to tell, but i'm watching carefully).


I was wondering if maybe the shedding has anything to do with his one eye being shut a lot? He can still open it, he just doesn't like to. Also if there is a problem with his eye, is there any type of eye drops i can use to help clear it up?

Is it possible that the scab could come off after he sheds?
Does this sound like a case of mouth rot (there is no puss and he can still shut his mouth).

I plan on seeing a vet next week if he does not get any better.

If this helps:
He is in a 10 gallon tank.
He's 42 grams and 11 months old.
I have him on reptile carpet.
There is a calcium powder dish and a dish of water at all times.
He has a heat lamp on in the day and heating pad at night.

Thank you :)


ANSWER: Hello Haley,

His setup sounds fine.  What are the temperatures during the day for him, & do you also use an undertank heating pad in combination with the heat lamp?  He does need a daytime hot spot of around 88-90 so do make sure that is optimal for him.  
Of course, the heating pad should be on 24/7 as they need belly heat.
I don't think that it is mouth rot right now, no.  If you feel that he could have suffered from a mouth injury from a rock or cricket bite, then we should treat it as an injury.  Do you have any betadine or nolvasan?  They are both good antiseptics that you can use for injury by getting a swab & cleaning the area very well.  That will help kill any bacteria that may be present in that area.
The eye, is it retaining shed yet?  That can cause them to keep their eyes closed, or open & close them intermittently until the skin is shed.  Do you have a moist humid hide for him on the warm side?  If not, he does need the extra humidity in a little hide/cave to help with shed.  Otherwise, they do have a tendency to retain shed.  

If he starts to lose weight, then you will need to intervene & begin using some chicken or turkey babyfood to help him out for awhile.  Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for answering Tracie :)

The temp is around 86 degrees. I will put his heating pad on during the day from now on.
My gecko is doing better right now. His scab did come off when he shed the skin around his mouth and he is moving around a lot more.

The only thing I am worried about right now is his eyes. He had a difficult time shedding (usually he just takes a day to shed) and i think that some of the shed is stuck in both of his eyes. He can still squint, so i can see his eyes, but most of the time he keeps them shut.

He hasn't had anything to eat for 2 1/2 days now and he won't take anything from me. I am not too worried yet though because he has not lost any weight.  

I called my vet office and they told me to just take a wet cotton ball and drip some of the water around his eyes. They also told me, if i could, to get water in his eye to help get the shed out. So far, none of this has worked.
Do you think he will get it out by himself somehow or do you think that I will need to take him to the vet so that they can remove it?
Are there any eyedrops or anything that i can use (i don't want to damage his eyes).

Thank you :)


ANSWER: Hello Haley,

The temp of 86 is ok, maybe try to get it to 88-90 for a warmer range.  Yes, his heating pad needs to be on 24/7 as they always need some type of belly heat.  
So he is doing better now?  That is excellent.  I hope his mouth heals up completely soon!
Yes, that is a difficult call as to how to get his eyes cleared up.  The best way to get that skin off is to soak him in warm water daily, & as the vet said, a cotton ball would work, but a swab works better.  So, maybe get some sterile saline eye solution to flush the eyes out along with soaking him & using a swab to try & loosen the skin safely.  
I know it is hard to get the skin unstuck once it is stuck on.  That is great he has not lost any weight though.  Is he eating anything right now?

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I got the temperature up to about 89 right now.
His eyes are still shut, but he can open them a little bit when he wants.
He has not eaten anything yet. I try to give him a mealworm/waxworm and he just spits it out. I would try crickets, but he can never catch them and since he can not see, it would be difficult for him. I will keep trying this weekend though.
I am going to give him another warm soak tonight and try getting that skin out of his eye area...

He is still pooping and still hasn't lost any weight...
His poop is a little runny though, does that mean that he might have worms? i read somewhere that it's not good if it's runny...


Answer
Hello Haley,

Well, I am happy to hear that he has not lost any weight though.  If he continues to not eat however, I would recommend starting to feed him some chicken or turkey babyfood a few times a week just to get some nutrition into him.  
His eyes must be bothering him a decent amount not being able to see real well.  I hope you can get that skin off of his eyes.  
If his stool is overly runny & smelly, that can indicate worms & or parasites.  Can you get a fecal done on him possibly, to get that checked out?
Let me know how things are going.


Tracie