Feeding and Medication

Question
Hey Diane,
I Just wanted to say thanks for the advice for my leo.  The infection seems to have cleared up a little.  She still has no interest in live food, but she has been drinking a lot of water and I've been feeding her some babyfood every day.  Getting her to take her medicine is still tough, but she takes it eventually. I'm worried though, because she hasn't opened her eyes in a few days.  They're swollen and  it looks like she has two black eyes.  She's much more active than she was a few days ago, and she gained a lot of her weight back, its just that her eyes seem to be swollen shut.  I have a follow-up vet appointment in 3 days to check her weight and give her another antibiotic shot, but I just wanted to know why her eyes won't open, and if there's anything I can do to help it.
Thanks :)  

Answer
Hiya Melissa,
Glad to hear you see some improvements... that's a good sign.  On the swollen eyes, there are many things that can cause that in a leo.  Dehydration, parasites(internal or external), infection(bacterial or viral), foreign matter in the eyes and also low temperatures.  Do you have a warm area that is 88-92 degrees?  You may want to add overhead heat if you don't already have it.  Usually something like a 40-60 watt light bulb will work, but that is dependent on what it takes to get the correct temperatures.  Also, going the other way, if you are using over head lighting, can the light be too bright?  You may want to switch to a ceramic heat emitter which produces no light.  The best thing to do is play with the temperatures and when you go to the vet, be sure to bring it to his/her attention and ask if blood work is needed which would/could diagnosis the problem.  There have been rare cases where a parasite has actually invaded the eyes which your vet should be able to gain information on this.  If things don't change, I would try to get a vet appointment sooner.
Please keep me posted and best of luck to you and your leo!!  I have fingers and toes crossed in hopes your leo recovers quickly.