Echo is my 12-year old leopard gecko. A few months ago he had a really bad shed, and ended up hurting his eyes- one eye was completely closed/infected. I brought him to the vet who prescribed eye drops. She also did things with his hemipenes and a pair of tweezers that I'm pretty sure he will never forgive me for
So I had to give him eyedrops twice a day, and eventually his eyes improved. This entailed wrapping the squirmy guy in a washcloth.
The vet was adamant that he would need surgery to remove abscesses on the top of his head, but at our follow-up appointment she determined surgery was unnecessary.
The next problem was getting him to eat. He lost a fair amount of weight throughout this whole ordeal. He is finally eating again.
This was at the follow-up appointment. He was noticeably skinnier than he had ever been.
Well now he is extremely skittish. He never liked to be handled, so I always left him alone. He would bask on top of his hide practically all day. He never moved when I opened the lid of his tank, or walked past, or whatever.
Now he hides all day. If he pokes his head out and sees someone walk past he FREAKS OUT and hurries back to the safety of his cave.
I'm worried that he will never be the same.
I covered part of his enclosure with paper to make him feel more secure, but I don't know if that's a good idea. He is already in a secluded part of the house.
The only way I can get him to eat is if I put his food dish at the opening of his cave, so he barely has to leave the security of his cave.
If you have any advice of what I can do to make him not hate life, I would appreciate it!
Chunky monkey in his happier days:
So I had to give him eyedrops twice a day, and eventually his eyes improved. This entailed wrapping the squirmy guy in a washcloth.
The vet was adamant that he would need surgery to remove abscesses on the top of his head, but at our follow-up appointment she determined surgery was unnecessary.
The next problem was getting him to eat. He lost a fair amount of weight throughout this whole ordeal. He is finally eating again.
This was at the follow-up appointment. He was noticeably skinnier than he had ever been.
Well now he is extremely skittish. He never liked to be handled, so I always left him alone. He would bask on top of his hide practically all day. He never moved when I opened the lid of his tank, or walked past, or whatever.
Now he hides all day. If he pokes his head out and sees someone walk past he FREAKS OUT and hurries back to the safety of his cave.
I'm worried that he will never be the same.
I covered part of his enclosure with paper to make him feel more secure, but I don't know if that's a good idea. He is already in a secluded part of the house.
The only way I can get him to eat is if I put his food dish at the opening of his cave, so he barely has to leave the security of his cave.
If you have any advice of what I can do to make him not hate life, I would appreciate it!
Chunky monkey in his happier days: