Open sore's developed on back

[bidden]

My albino Selma has had a pretty rough history with me, when I got her she was pretty skinny, just they way she had always been. She did not take to the move well and stopped eating for about 2 months, about 4 weeks ago she began eating like a maniac for some reason. I thought things were looking up but then.....

2 weeks ago she developed a blister like sore in the middle of her back that eventually popped into and open sore. I took her to the vet immediatly and after a negative fecal test the vet said it was probably self inflicted from hitting something in her cage.... She stiched it up (3 stiches on her back, she was not happy) and I thought all was well. I removed all objects that could have possibly scraped her and She began eating again even more than before and her tail was fattening up.

I got back from a vacation this weekend and noticed she has developed the same type of sore on the top of her back leg. I'm pretty worried now... and not sure what to do. I'm going to call the vet today and see, but I don't just want to take her back to stich that up too....

Here's some background info:
-she's about 2.5 yrs old
-she is in her own cage, slate tile substrate, underpad heater set to a steady 86 on one tile, she has clay pot hides with all edges sanded smooth
-fresh water every day
-eats crickets


Any input here would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

[Matt.B]

Do you just leave the crix in with her because they have been known to bite on reps if there hungry turning it into a pretty nasty infection.

[bidden]

no crickets we left in the cage, I make sure of that.

[Dark_Angel_25]

Could you post some pictures of the sores? This may help as seeing a photo may show someone who had the same thing and and they might recognize it...

[Samba]

This is a puzzling problem. I, too, have had many problems with albinos... for some reason they seem more delicate than normals. They are already born intentionally bred with a genetic mutation that would ensure 99.99% of them don't survive in the wild.

I had a female for a couple of years, who always remained petite, no matter what. Her heaviest recorded weight was 37 grams in October of 2003, she about 2.5 - 3 years old at the time. In that same period, which she achieved her heaviest weight, she also stopped eating. Her weight declined slowly, and despite assist-feedings (chronicled here) she dropped to about 15 grams in early Feb. 2004. On Feb 19th she began eating again. I have no idea what prompted her, but she, like you described, "began eating like a maniac". She seemed almost 'desparate' to eat, but the damage to her body was too great. She died in May 2004 ( if I recall correctly), suddenly. I was actually caught off-guard, even though I'd been caring for her for so long. I have no idea what happened to her, as I'd had her as a young baby, and things started going downhill.

She didn't have any of the sores you describe, and fecals were negative... so I hope you find out what's going on with your little gecko.... Good luck!

P.S. Sorry about the deppressing story and photos... I hope we can exchange information and learn more about leo illnesses...


Here's some photos of her throughout her final weeks. I still get all choked up looking at them...

As you can tell, she was extremely skinny....

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/sambagurl/Girl/05bff47b.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/sambagurl/Girl/f0bde4f0.jpg

She began eating again for a short period...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/sambagurl/Girl/976cd4be.jpg

I miss this face...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/sambagurl/Girl/bd1db442.jpg

[bidden]

Computer is down @ home so I can't get pics.. sorry. They almost look like a blister when it opens.

I just heard from the Vet, they are letting me take her in for N/C exam. I'm torn now, I've already paid $150 to get her checked/stiched and I can't afford to drop $100 everytime she develops one of these sore's if they are not treatable.....

Thanks Samba.

Selma weighted 30gr at her visit 2 weeks ago and that's after she gained some weight. I'm hoping she'll be in the 35 range now. I'll let you know how it goes.

ps. that bottom pic is adorable :)

[Siretsap]

Are you sure it's not little pieces of shed skin that get stuck? Often, we tend to overlook those little spots, and since they continue to grow, the old skin makes the skin stretch and break open. You can often see it appear on the tail of geckos.

If not, Then you could try having her checked for some sort of disease (but be aware that the costs for a blood exam are very high and not many places do the tests on reptiles).

Last idea I have, think she might have mites?

[Samba]

Bidden, I don't think this situation is uncurable... and, in the event that it actually is uncurable, I'm sure it would be better for Selma to be put down. I know that's hard to think about, but perhaps your vet can find a solution... The blister/open sores thing is really, really puzzling to me, and I'd be very interested in knowing what it is and what casues it, just in case I ever run into it someday...

Well, keep us updated, and good luck!

[bidden]

Well it's not any external parasite, the vet did an exam of the wound and fluids in wound.

The only thing she can think of is that it was self inflicted. She was possibly scratching the wound on her back and out of instinct took a strike at what was attacking her.... her own leg.
2 more stiches later :(
Thankfully she did everything no charge.

Selma was not happy last night after the topical freezing wore off, she was going crazy. It's soo sad.

On the plus side she weighed in @ 40gr!!! that's a 10gr gain in 2 weeks. Hopefully she'll continue to eat after this.

She goes to get the first set of stiches out next week. I'll keep you posted on how everything goes.

[Samba]

Aww, poor Selma! Hope she's feeling better! Keep us posted, and try to get pix... I've never seen stitches in a gecko before! LOL Looking forward to the updates... =)

[bidden]

I took a couple pics last night, I'll see if I can get them loaded from work... stupid home computer's still down