Capella's Journey

Well, as some of you guys know, I adopted a old leo (7-8 yrs) that isn't in the best shape. You can see my introduction of her here : http://www.leopardgeckoforum.com/t2529-meet-my-new-addition

I want to update you guys on her with this thread as I go along and attempt to get her better. And I also hope for you guys to chime in if you think I should do anything different with her.

I named her Capella because it means 'bright star' and I wanted to give her something thats uplifting...even though she's "just a gecko."



When I first got her (Saturday, 1/22/2012) she had extremely bad stuck shed on her feet to the point where when I got some of it off her feet were swollen and black and purple. Capella is getting a sauna about every day to try and get some of it off. She has what looks like some dead digits aswell.
Here are some pics of her feet after her first sauna:



She relaxaed so much as soon as some of that shed came off. I am worried about her front paws because she doesn't like to use them when she walks. She looks like she's in alot of pain. I definitly think she is going to lose some digits.

You guys also pointed out to me that she looks like she has some mouth rot. I don't know how to fix it so if you guys could give some advice on it that would be appreciated. I am working on makeing a vet appt for her on that aswell. I got the stuck shed on her nose off and she looks much better than in these pics and there will be more updated pics of her in about a week.



Capella also has something wrong with her right eye. I examined it further and it looks like there is something stuck in it. I can't really tell.
Bad eye


Good eye


She is a bit sluggish but she still roams around. Please give me some advice if you have any, I really want to get her better. She is too sweet to lose.

Also, do any of you guys know her morph?? Just a normal or high yellow? Thanks guys!

awww bless her
what a lovely name you've given her

I wish I could give you advice on her eye, but I haven't a clue.. is it stuck shed?
For the mouth rot, I recommend you go to the exotic vets and get some medicine.. but there might be other things you can buy to help and I'm sure another member will be able to help you.

It's such a shame that she might lose some of her toes.. but at least maybe she will lose some of the pain they are causing her.

Good luck with her recovery! you are doing a great job! She has a lovely pattern =]

i would soak her in sum luk warm water an rub an that old skin off her toes

Thank you guys.

Sarah -Yeah I have no idea what to do about her eye. It does look like stuck shed but at the same time it doesn't. I've got no idea??? Sometimes it just looks like she has no eye at all depending on the way its turned. I've got no idea where a exotic vet is here which is why i'm having trouble getting her a vet appt.

Drip- thats what the sauna's are im useing q-tips and tiny tweasers to help get the shed off.

ok lo my stubs dose the same thing every shed i dont know why he dont like using his shed box :/

mayb something got in it try flushing it?

LindseyM16 wrote:Thank you guys.

Sarah -Yeah I have no idea what to do about her eye. It does look like stuck shed but at the same time it doesn't. I've got no idea??? Sometimes it just looks like she has no eye at all depending on the way its turned. I've got no idea where a exotic vet is here which is why i'm having trouble getting her a vet appt.

Drip- thats what the sauna's are im useing q-tips and tiny tweasers to help get the shed off.

Poor little girl:( It's highly possible she has a systemic infection which needs antibiotic. Your doing a great job, but do your best to try to find a vet asap.

Good Luck

You are doing a great job, Lindsey. Keep up the good work.
I would continue with the saunas, as that will help the stuck skin. Her toes may have several layers of skin on it, or they could be "dead" as you said. The saunas will help to determine that.

Until you are able to see a vet I would try flushing her eye out with plain saline solution eye drops. If it is just stuck shed, it should come out fairly easily with the eye drops. If it is something more serious, such as infection, you will need to see a vet to get a prescription. For the mouth rot, she would also need a prescription.
Here is a website that has a list of herp vets: http://www.herpvetconnection.com/
You can find one according to your state.

She looks like a normal to me. She has a very pretty patterning.

Good luck Capella!

hope she gets better

Agree'd with what's been said so far. Capella might not like her moist hide depending on what substrait you're using in it. My boy won't use his moist moss hides but loves his moist hide with paper towels in it. He was tub raised and I don't think he likes the way the moss feels under him. Something else is where your moist hide is placed. It should be on the hot side of your tank near the uth so that it steams up nicely for her. When you moisten it do so with hot water. It'll cool off enough in just a few minutes for her to be able to safely go into it but the moist humid air it makes in the hide will last for hours. What type of moist hide box are you using by the way? I find that a simple disposeable tupperware dish is great for this as it seals and keeps all the mositure in. Simply cut a small hole in it for your leo and voila... instant sauna... see all the moisture in there? And it isn't directly on the uth but on the piece of slate that makes Eros' hot hide



and an ariel view just so you can see it's placement



Her poor lil feet. You're doing a great job getting the shed off but it is IMPERITIVE that you get the rest of as soon as possible, even if it means giving her 2-3 saunas a day until it's gone. Be VERY careful pulling the shed off with tweezers. There are places where it could be so adhered to the good viable skin beneath that you end up ripping off the good skin with the shed so be VERY careful and honestly I would limit use to qtips only. You can also use some mineral oil on her feet between saunas to keep the skin moistureised making it easier the next time you sauna her plus the stuck shed won't dry back out and re-tighten on her feet. Her feet are all purple and swollen because the stuck shed constricts blood flow and when you removed it is was like breaking a hole in a dam and it allowed the blood flow back thru. I imagine her feet feel like pins and needles right now, like your foot might if it falls asleep on you, because of the resurgence of blood flow and possible nerve damage from the stuck shed. Please please please get the rest off as soon as possible if you have any hope of saving her toes.

As far as her eye goes... if it looks sunken and collapsed it could be dehydration, but if that were the case I'd expect you'd see it bilaterally and not just in one eye, I would guess that there is an irritant in there, and like Kathryn said you can use plain saline solution, I recommend the stuff for contact lenses because you can get a good powerful stream out of that bottle, and really blast under the eye lid rims to get out anything that might be stuck. You may need to do this for 5-10 minutes at a time and maybe run the bottle under some warm water for a while to warm it up a bit, makes it more confortable for her.

As far as her mouth goes... her nasal cavity (the bridge of her nose) looks really swollen to me... I really think that she has a systemic infection that is running the course of her sinus tract which encompases the eye ducts, the nasal cavity and the mouth and throat. If this is the case you absolutely need a vet because the antibiotics you would need to fix this are generally prescription only, and might be so bad that the vet would want to give her a shot or 2 of antibioticcs to get a good jump on things. Call the vets closest to you and ask if they have a vet that works with herps/lizards. At this point a semi intelligent vet is better than no vet at all even if he isn't an exotics specialist. If you go back and check some of sams threads (samsleopardgeckos) if you click on her profile then go into the statistics tab you can find all her previous threat posts. she has posted a lot about antibiotics and dosing leos so that you at least have some knowledge when you bring her in and can tell off the bat if the vet is a complete moron who might do more harm than help.

Keep up the good work kiddo... you're doing an amazing job with her.

awwww bless her, her legs are looking better now most the shed skin is off I still think with her eye and mouth that she needs to see a vet as there is probably a infection in there.
Good luck with her hun, you've done a great job so far xx