Crested Gecko Eye Melanoma

[Sven22]

My gecko is 3 years old, and I started to notice abnormal licking of her eye about 2 weeks ago along with some darkening. I did some preliminary research, and learned that crested gecko eyes can change different colors so at first I was not that concerned. Eventually it started getting darker and I noticed her pupil had some problems focusing. I took her to my local herp vet (Dr. Darren Auger in Ottawa, Canada) a few days ago and he had a closer look at what I had initially thought was probably some sort of eye infection.

After his examination he told me it wasn't an infection and instead looked as though it was a melanoma growing on the inside of her eye that is pressing against her iris stopping her eye from functioning normally. He mentioned steroid drops to slow the growth but he said he wanted to do some further research since he has never seen such a thing in a gecko.

My question is this, has anybody seen this or had any experience with such a thing in their gecko? If so what was the end result? Was the gecko in any pain?

I've become quite attached to my little gecko and have become quite concerned. I’m hoping someone out there has seen this or has some advice?

[Andrew Gilpin]

one of my 3 year old females started showing a section in her eye similar to that, however it's not quite as spread out, it's just on one side. I have not noticed abnormal licking of the eye, and it does not seem to affect my crested in any way. just wanted to let you know i've atleast seen it, but can't help you out any more than that.

[Dr Alan]

Intraocular tumors, sometimes melanomas, sometimes other tumors, can occur in many species. If it is a melanoma, the potential for it to be an aggressive and malignant (cancerous) tumor is high. Unfortunately, the only way to establish a diagnosis is by biopsy, and in larger animals, that often means enucleation (surgically amputating the eyeball). How that would play out with a crested gecko is questionable, since there's not a great deal of skin to work with, and the surgeon would be dealing with the eyelid crests. In mammals other than humans, enucleation usually entails removing the globe and closing skin over the socket. This would present some difficulties with a crested gecko, and replacing the globe with an artificial eye is very problematic and costly. Your veterinarian might be able to obtain a diagnostic biopsy via fine-needle aspiration of the suspected tumor but even if that was successful in establishing the diagnosis, you still would likely be looking at further surgery (enucleation).

It might be possible to enucleate the eyeball and just leave the "socket" empty (get her a patch!) but then you'd be dealing with the cosmetic issue - and I'm unsure how that would ultimately look, as well as having an open wound and a possible infection problem, given crested geckos' habit of eyeball licking.

[Christopher]

I have a female with a dark eye that was a slow grower and runt. She is now normal adult size. That eye seems less reactive to light and seems a bit sunken, but she eats and acts just like all the rest of my geckos. I work as an assistant at a veterinary teaching hospital in the oncology department, I'd be very interested in hearing more about what you or your vet learn about the problem!

Christopher

[CassyB]

OH MY GOD! This is why I came to this site in the first place! My 3 year old little girl's left eye looks strange. Her right eye is clear and dialates quickly but I just noticed that her left is darker in a patch and the pupil looks slightly cloudy and isn't focusing as quickly. I haven't noticed any excess licking. Is there anyone out there that has more info on this?! I hate that so little is known about them and I'm so worried about her. My vet doesn't do exotics. All of my geckos (I only have seven) have always been so healthy I don't know of any good exotic vets in my area and I don't know what kind of information is out there anyway. Are most exotic vets trained in eye problems? Of geckos that were thought to be extinct for 100 years? Has anyone besides those who have already posted ever had eye problems with their cresteds? At least I know now that I'm not imagining it.

[Dr Alan]

Originally Posted by CassyB

Are most exotic vets trained in eye problems? Of geckos that were thought to be extinct for 100 years?

The eye problems peculiar to obscure geckos don't comprise part of the core curriculum of anyone's training but to a certain extent eyes are eyes, whether they are dog eyes, gecko eyes or horse eyes. If there is no regular veterinarian willing to do exotics near you, I'd suggest looking for a veterinary ophthalmologist. Most of the boarded veterinary eye specialists I know are quite willing and happy to work on anything from an elephant to a snake.

[MarcFD]

i have the same problem, i just noticed yesterday my geckos eye has sunken alot more than the other my geckos size in leal life like
|-------------------------------------------| i think that big, hes like 6-7 months old hes a bit small i think... but his eye look like it has sunken and i dont see him moving his eye and i dont think he can see with it either.
its hard to see what a ecko has becuasse they dont speak english hehehe there is also a spot under his eye like in that picture, bu t its bigger
i havent found any info relating to mine i hope u can tell what it is

[floydsmom]

sunken eyes can sometimes indicate a dehydration problem in geckos; it's not necessarily something like what the above gecko is having troubles with. try putting her/him in a deli cup and misting for a bit *put some paper towel in there as well* over the course of a couple hours, it should become less sunken in if there was a dehydration problem.

[MarcFD]

yea i usially forget to spray i feel bad that im resposible for him but hes gettin problems should i just spray extra?

[floydsmom]

if you're not spraying barely at all, i can almost say conclusively this gecko is super dehydrated. get it out of its tank, put it ina small container with a lid, (that has air vents in it- likea deli cup) put in paper towel, and mist it. shut the lid and re-mist every fifteen minutes for an hour or so. your gecko needs to be misted! once a day heavily mist his enclosure, or else he can die from lack of moisture.