My leopard gecko needs HELP!

Question
QUESTION: hi! i have two 5 year old, female leopard geckos and i NEED HELP!!
their names: gary and patootski
we recently went away on vacation for a week and came back to them acting strangely.
when we first got back, both were sleeping in or near their water dish. all day. and they didn't seem to like opening their eyes.Especially gary. she always kept one eye closed, but not a specific eye. sometimes the left would be closed, sometimes the right. also,patootski had a healthy appetite but gary would not eat. even with food in front of her.
gary looked especially sick so i looked up some forums online and read i should give them warm baths. i gave gary a few warm baths and the other, patootski, (who seems almost perfectly healthy) i gave only one warm bath. i added some reptile vitamins to the baths too, as i read this should help. these baths didn't seem to help much. gary perked up a little, but she still kept one eye shut and is STILL sleeping in her water bowl all day.
since gary wasn't eating, i took her out of the cage and hand fed (not force fed) her meal worms by wiggling them in front of her face or laying them in front of her on a paper towel. since then, gary will now eat out of their food bowl.
HOWEVER,as of today, august 11, gary's eyes look GLUED shut, and patootski looks like her eyes are starting to close like gary's did, but this might be regular for her. i'm starting to get a bit scared. i've read all sorts of forums, all suggesting weird things and saying strange things would happen to the geckos, but none that were too similar to my case.
here's some info on my care of them:
they have an under the tank heater that covers 1/3 of tank and 2 basking lamps, one for day and one for night.
i give them water daily (it evaporates quickly)
i feed them every two to three days
i feed them a mix of mealworms and crickets. we get crickets about every other week, and i dust the crickets and mealworms sometimes with vitamins.
they have a carpet for substrate that covers 2/3 the cage floor, the other 1/3 has rocks that are too large for them to swallow(let alone fit in their mouths) and  on the side with the rocks is their poo corner, where i laid down a paper towel for easy clean up.
Patootski is DEFINITELY the dominant of the two. a month or two ago they fought when i hadn't fed them enough. OH! patootski DID bite gary's eyelids. maybe they got cut and didn't heal?
also, what might be important, they DO NOT have a shed box. i tried giving them one for awhile but they never seemed to use it when they shed. and truthfully, i got lazy with their shed box and didn't know how often to water it or whatever.
i'm willing to do whatever. let me know if they need a vet.
please. we need your help!!

and also, im not sure how this website works so if you could, please email me.
if there is any other info you need, let me know.

ANSWER: Hello Kate,

So Gary is the female having the most trouble correct?
Do both eyes remain shut?  Do they look like there is any liquid or any type of discharge coming out of them?  I would get some saline solution to try & get those eyes washed out.  
There is an antibiotic eye ointment called Terramycin, that may help to clear the eyes up.  You can buy it from here:
http://www.beanfarm.com/store/agora.cgi?cart_id=8553347.12558&product=Health_Car

Did anyone come in to check on them while you were gone?  If not, then it might have gotten a little dirty in there perhaps & they could have gotten a slight infection from feces.  There are certain bacterias that can affect the eyes & lining of the eyes if conditions get too dirty.  I don't know whether or not that is what has happened or not, just a possibility.  

It is also possible that they did get into a fight.  Have they ever fought like that before?  If that continues, you may need to separate them, for their safety.  

Your setup looks fine to me, other than not having a moist hide to help with shedding.  The temps, do you know what they are currently?
Let me know how they are doing.

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thank you soo much tracie! i really appreciate your help!!
gary IS the one having the most trouble.
and yes, since today, both eyes remain closed. well, last time i checked it didn't look like she had any discharge or eye gunk.
as for the saline,
luckily i wear contacts so saline is close at hand. but how many times do you suggest i rinse out her eyes? more than once? if more than once, how frequently?
we did have someone who took care of the lizards and our other pets, but i didn't tell her to change the paper towel they use because, honestly, i don't even know how often i should change it.
how often should i change it?

unfortunately, they have fought before. from what i have witnessed, they've fought three times total. however, it has always been when they haven't been fed enough.
they are in a 20 gallon tank. it IS a reaptile tank, so it is nice andlong. they are full grown adults. is this tank too small?
they haven't fought in over a month though. ever since their last fight, i've made sure they have enough to eat, so they haven't fought since.

as far as temperature goes,
during the day, it can be anywhere between 84 and 90
at night it stays either slightly below or above 80
HOWEVER there HAVE BEEN TIMES when i have looked at the thermometer in their tank and it read around 95. this only happens during the day and ever time it has, i immediately turn off the day light for several hours until it reaches the low eighties.
this has happened on numerous occasions and i have been wondering if i shoud get a thermostat to control that pesky day light.
oh wait! i just realized! over vacation, the temp could have raised well above 90 everyday. since i didn't tell our petsitter about the proper temperature for the lizards, they could have been in a really hot cage everyday. could this contribute to their current conditions?

thank you soo much for your time! you're truly a godsend!

ANSWER: Hello Kate,

Well, as far as washing out the eyes, you can wash them out 2 times per day.  Those saline eye drops, as long as they are sterile, should be ok, just a drop or so to help flush them out if there is bacteria in them.  The Terramycin works very well too if you want to get that also to use daily for a couple of weeks.
If the temps did get too hot during the time that you were gone, then they probably spent too much time on the cool end & were aggitated due to improper temps.  If that is what happened, then they may not have gone to the warm side often enough.  I don't know if that is what happened or not, but just a possibility.
A 20 long is a decent size & should be large enough for 2 adult female leos.   
When they fight, do they normally bite each other like that, or just have a little aggressiveness towards each other?
I hope that she does not have a respiratory infection, or the start of one anyway. If her eyes do not improve or she starts having other symptoms like difficulty in breathing or mucous in her mouth or nose then we will have to intervene more.
Have they eaten anything now?

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Hi thanks again for answering my questions!
as for their fighting, it was very aggressive. they would bite each other and not let go. they would twist and wriggle around while biting each other, and even flip when doing this. but keep in mind, they haven't fought in awhile.
as far as eating, they haven't eaten since monday, i think. i've been "gut loading" their mealworms with vegetables. right now the mealworms are snacking on escarole. i was planning to feed the mealworms to the geckos either tomorrow or friday, so they haven't eaten in the past two days.
i started giving gary saline washes, i've given her two since yesterday.
she does NOT look good at all. i was able to examine her eyes (only when she opened them, they are glued shut all the time. yesterday, it was only her left eye that looked infected. it had a very cloudy membrane on it. Today, it is unfortunately worse. her left eye is even cloudier and her right eye is just starting to get a bit cloudy.
And, when i was holding her, it sounded almost like she was sneezing quietly when she breathed. is THIS what you meant by difficulty breathing? i did not see any mucous around her nose, i didn't check in her mouth though.
i've already talked to my mom about taking her to a vet. she does NOT like my lizards that much and does NOT want to pay $300 just for a visit. so tomorrow, i'm going to call all the vets in my area that i found on the herpetologist connection website and find out how expensive the visits are.
so i can't guarantee that i'll get her to a vet, but if gary's condition seems bad to you, let me know and all do whatever i can to get gary to a vet ASAP.
ugh, if my dad wasn't away on business this wouldn't be an issue. he gets back friday though, and he'll probably be back at night.

is it dire that i get her to a vet as soon as possible?
or is their any kind of home remedies i can do?
if this isn't too serious, i can get her to the vet easily on saturday
but if it is dire i will do my best to get her to the vet friday.

i'll feed them tomorrow, but gary does look like she's slimming down a bit. not in her tail as much as her stomach.
oh, and is escarole a vegetable that's OK to give to the meal worms? i mean, will it cause any problems for the geckos when they eat the mealworms?

thanks soo much again!

Answer
Hello Kate,

Well, it sounds like she has a bad respiratory infection, at best.  Do you want a site to where you can order Baytril from, to get her on some medications immediately, without going to the vet?  I can give you a site so you can order it from & then I will dose her for you.
This is important, yes, otherwise she is going to go downhill really fast.  
Escarole is fine for the mealworms, but, they need more food than that.  Try getting some chicken laying mash for bedding for them.  The worms need to burrow into bedding & it is great gutload also.  Then use potatoes or carrots for moisture for them.
Let me know about the meds.

Tracie