Eye infection? What is this?

[Oosie505]

So I took Pio out today to do some 'splorin, and his left eye looked a little funky to me. I don't know if this is something I'm just now noticing (doubt it) or something that has just recently occurred...but he looks like he may either have some sort of eye infection or the membranous tissue of eye turned inside out and is pushing up through the eye? I haven't touched it yet, just looking for opinions of what it might be?

I was going to try to clean it with a saline solution to dislodge any debris in his eye, then treat it with terramycin, or use a moistened q-tip to see if it's actually attached. Any help would be appreciated, thanks!


The eye that concerns me (left eye)


The right eye...everything looks good here

[Coomassie]

Fatal saw something like this in one of her skinks. It was in the advanced discussion forum. If I recall correctly it was an infection and your skink needs a vet ASAP.

[Oosie505]

Good to know, thanks! Just went and read Fatal's thread...I'll keep an eye on it tonight and see how it looks tomorrow - will probably try and flush it and treat it with terramycin as I said. In many reptiles, globular eye discharge is an indication of hypovitaminosis of Vitamin A, but this looks like the actual eyelid itself.

[Fatal_S]

My skink had an extreme case of mouthrot, and the thought was the infection got into the eye. He nearly died, the vet was afraid to even touch him at first he was so nearly gone. Even with lots of medicine part of his mouth fell off, and one eye is still bulged slightly. Since the infection is gone and he's doing well, the vet and I decided we would leave him be. So he looks odd, but he's doing well.

Does your skink have MBD? The photos make me think MBD.

I would flush with saline, but if it's not just goo build up I'd ask a really qualified vet. I wouldn't want some nincompoop messing around with my animals eye

Good luck.

[Oosie505]

Hi Fatal, thanks for responding. I don't think it's MBD...He's not even 3 months old yet and he came from a pretty reputable and experienced breeder. I've only had him a week now. That's not to say it's not possible...can't rule out anything really, but aside from his eye, he appears to be in otherwise perfect condition.

To me, it just looks like tissue on the inside of the eye got inverted...the problematic eye seems to be fine itself, it's just the tissue surrounding it. It doesn't seem to be bothering him too much, so I think I'm going to see if the problem will resolve itself within a couple days, and if not, it's off to the vet. Whatever the case, I'll be keeping a close eye on it.

[Fatal_S]

It wasn't the eye that makes me think MBD, more the head shape. Just seems slightly off for some reason, and makes me think of my MBD skinks. It could just be the photo angle, or me being crazy.

[Spindown]

Did you make it to the vet yet?