It is unlikely to have many health related issues with Leopard geckos as they are very hardy and tolerant with their environmental requirements. With good nutrition and proper care they can live a long lives. It is not uncommon for a Leopard gecko to live ten to twenty or more years. However; even with a good habitat and diet, illness can still occur. You should find a veterinarian who has experience with reptiles before a health problem arises.

Below is a guide to some of the more common health issues that may affect Leopard geckos. They will not often suffer from the diseases and ailments listed below, but it is included here to make you aware of some of the medical problems that can occur in rare situations and how to deal with them, if they arise.

QUARANTINE All sick or injured geckos should be quarantined (kept seperate from other animals) for 60 - 90 days or untill proven healthy to prevent the spread of disease and parasites to other animals and to reduce stress to the animal being quarantined. We recommend you handle sick or ill geckos as little as possible to reduce stress. Provide fresh food, water, a dry hide and a humid hide. It’s not unusual for a injured or sick gecko to stop eating for a few days, but be concerned if the gecko refuses food for more than a week. Always use a hand sanitizer between handling different animals.

IMPACTION Impaction is a condition in which the digestive tract is blocked by a solid or a semi-solid mass. If it is not treated it can become fatal. Impaction can be caused by various sources. The most common of which is ingesting loose substrates. Impaction caused by ingesting loose substrates develops overtime, so the symptoms may be gradual. Most often it will go unnoticed until it is too late. Another cause of impaction is feeding food that is too large. You should never feed geckos insects that are larger than the width of the gecko's head. Feeder insects that are too large can get stuck in the digestive tract, causing blockage. Low temperatures can cause inadequate digestion, one more reason to make sure you have proper temperatures. One more cause of impaction is dehydration so always provide your reptiles with fresh water.

The safest substrates to use include:

• Bare tank bottom
• Paper towels
• Reptile carpet
• Tile / slate
  

High risk substrates that can cause impaction if ingested include: 

• Playsand
  
• Pine / Aspen shaving
• Bark / Woodchips
  
• Dirt
  
• Corn cob
  
• Walnut shells
  
• Gravel
  
• Kitty liter

Moderate Symptoms include:

• Constipation
• Substrate material found in fecal matter
  
•  Straining to excrete fecal matter

Moderate-Severe symptoms include:

• Slight leg trembles
• Regurgitation
• Slight bumps along spinal area
• Paralysis
• Lack of appetite
• Lethargy
• A blue-bruised area on the abdomen
• Difficulty breathing

If you suspect your gecko is showing symtoms of impaction you should set the gecko up in a quarantine enclosure. Include a heater to help acheive appropriate temperatures. Use paper towels as the substrate, as they are disposible and easy to clean. using paper towels  insures that the reptile will not be able to ingest any more loose substrate. If your gecko is showing severe symptoms take it to a vet, ASAP.

Now what you want to do with the reptile, itself, is to purchase a small dropper, in order to administer a few drops of either mineral oil, olive oil, or vegetable oil, daily. Give the reptile warm soaks at least once a day, as well. Make sure to not let the water get hotter than the reptiles normal basking temperatures. You want to try to get as much fluids in the reptile as you can without too much force. Try giving the reptile pedialyte by using a dropper. Do not give the reptile any solids, yet. Try providing the reptile different baby foods. Insectivores can be provided chicken and turkey baby foods. Make sure to add supplements to the baby food. You may have to use a dropper to feed the reptile the baby food, but see if it will eat it on its own, first. This method may take several days to get the impaction moving through the reptile's body, but DO NOT let it go more than 10 days. The next option really isn't an option. You should take your reptile to a vet. Hopefully, you know, or have found, a good reptile veterinarian in the area. The vet may try to flush the impaction out by giving the reptile enemas. NEVER try this on your own!

To prevent impaction keep your gecko on an appropriate substrate. Do not house geckos, under one year of age, on loose substrates. Feed appropriate sized foods. Make sure the temperatures in the enclosure are at the correct level. Keep a bowl of calcium and fresh water in the enclosure at all times.

CALCIUM METABOLISM AND METABOLIC BONE DISEASE (MBD) Calcium deficiency represents only one of the possible causes for metabolic bone disease. MBD is generally caused by 1. too little calcium, 2. too much phosphorus, 3. too little or too much vitamin D3, 4. too little ultraviolet light (UV B), 5. too little protein or a combination of these factors. Less common is MBD caused by disease of the kidneys, liver, small intestine, or of the thyroid glands When any of these deficiencies, excesses or organ dysfunctions occur, the normal metabolic processes of the body are disrupted.

Probably the most troubling thing about metabolic bone disease is that it is most likely caused by a mismanagement of the reptile's diet and / or environment. A healthy animal in it's wild environment would not be likely to get MBD. It is only  where the animal is not provided a balanced diet (a diet that meets the animals needs, not the convenience of the owner) or with lack of environmental stimuli (photoperiod and UVB exposure) that this disease occurs.

Calcium
Calcium interacts with phosphorus to form calcium phosphate; this is the hard, dense material which forms bone and teeth. Calcium is essential in intra- and extracellular fluid exchange, blood clotting, and maintaining a regular heartbeat. It is also important in the initiation of neuromuscular as well as metabolic functions. Unsurprisingly, most of the calcium in the body is stored in a very usable form: bone. The balance of the calcium is found in the serum and is either ionized and ready for use, or is bound to protein and not ionized.

Calcium absorption is also affected by the degree to which it is soluble and thus usable. Acidic levels of the ingested food, and the presence of substances such as oxalates (found in spinach, soy, rhubarb, beet greens, and to a lesser extent in collards and carrots) binds the calcium, rendering it unusable. Diets high in fat (such as found in tofu, bird seeds such as sunflower or rapeseed) relative to the levels consumed in the wild, can impede calcium absorption; faulty fat metabolism can adversely affect the metabolism of vitamin D. Diets high in oxalates or fats, in other words, both lead to metabolic bone disease, coming by different routes.

Phosphorus
Phosphorus when combined with calcium (in the form of calcium phosphate), forms bone in the body. In addition, it is used in nearly all of the body's metabolic processes and is important in cellular function. It is extracted from foods, and its use is controlled by vitamin D and calcium.

Phosphates, other than the calcium phosphate found in bone, is not retained in the body, but is continually being excreted (in urine and feces) and so must be replaced. It is utilized to maintain the acid-base balance in blood, saliva, urine and other bodily fluids.

Generally, equal amounts of soluble calcium and phosphorus ions are required for balance; ideally, the ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be 2:1. Too much calcium results in a phosphorus deficiency and impaired metabolic function. Too much phosphorus in the diet forms insoluble calcium phosphate which renders the calcium unusable; as the body continues to absorb the phosphorus, hypocalcemia—metabolic bone disease—results.

Vitamin D
There are two forms of Vitamin D. Plants produce ergosterol, which has been synthesized into ergocalciferol, Vitamin D2. Cholecalciferol, or Vitamin D3, is created in the skin by ultraviolet radiation (UVB).

(Plant sources of Vitamin D2 are not sufficient for proper calcium metabolism; it is thought that this form of D is metabolized too quickly. Vitamin D3 is best obtained through regular exposure to ultraviolet radiation; in studies of iguanas, those iguanas receiving Vitamin D3 injections or diet supplements fared less well than those iguanas whose main source of D3 was from ultraviolet radiation.)

Symtoms of MBD
Swollen limbs and soft or swollen jaws are the most common symtoms, as are lameness, partial paralysis, tremors, broken limbs, and painful movement. Anorexia and emaciation are common when the jaws have become so weakened that eating is difficult or impossible.

Treating MBD
Treatment depends upon the cause of the problem. In most cases changes in the animal's diet and environment are required.

In many instances, it may be just as difficult to make an owner see that there is a problem in these areas as it is to get an animal to eat foods which it is not accustomed to eating. The old, inappropriate foods may be mixed in with the proper foods, in decreasing quantities, if the animal absolutely will not make the switch to the proper foods.

Owners are encouraged to provide access to direct sunlight whenever possible, augmenting that on days which are too cold or overcast with adequate exposure to fluorescent lights developed for reptiles to provide UVB. As fluorescent light bulbs do not provide much heat, many reptiles require both fluorescent lamps for ultraviolet radiation as well as lights or other equipment to provide heat. Proper temperature is just as important for digestion and metabolism as is diet and UVB lighting.

Prevention
Prevention is less expensive and less painful than the cure. Be careful what you feed. When feeding omnivorous or herbivorous lizards and chelonians, feed a properly varied diet which is low in deficient foods, and be very sparing or avoid completely offering foods high in oxalates, fats and tannins, all of which impede calcium metabolism.

When raising rodent or insect prey, don't skimp on their care and feed. The healthier they are, the more nutritious they will be. If you buy them from a pet store, gut-load them before feeding them to your animals: set them aside for at least 24 hours after purchase and provide nutritious food for them to feed upon. Insect prey can be sprinkled with vitamin and calcium supplement powders just prior to feeding out.

The initial outlay for proper equipment and housing may be expensive, and preparing fresh foods may be time consuming, but all are worth it when weighed against a future of pain and deformity and, all too often, early death.

MOUTH ROT (Stomatitis) Mouth rot is a bacterial infection that can affect both the mouth and gums of a leopard gecko. Symptoms include bleeding gums, loss of appetite, blackening of the teeth and swelling around the mouth. This disease almost never occurs in healthy geckos. It is generally brought on by dirty living conditions, fighting, accidental injury and rubbing the nose on glass, and low temperatures.

To prevent mouth rot, maintain a clean terrarium and be sure your pet is getting an appropriate level of heat. For mild cases treatment involves cleaning the mouth area daily and possibly using an oral antibiotic. It is extremely painful for the gecko and can prove fatal if not treated by a veterinarian as quickly as possible. 


RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS A respiratory infection can occur if your leopard gecko’s habitat is too cold for long periods or a poor diet which weakens the animal's immune system. Mucus bubbles on the nostrils and labored breathing is a sign of infection. In most cases, these infections can be treated by feeding a healthier diet and increasing the temperature of the cage.


PARASITES Leopard geckos can be affected by parasites, both internally and externally.

Internal parasites Symptoms of internal parasites include loss of appetite, bloating, vomiting, sudden weight loss, sluggish movements, and constipation. This can be treated by changing and thoroughly cleaning their habitat and using medication. There are dewormers for reptiles available at pet stores. Internal parasites may need to be treated by a veterinarian, who will generally prescribe a regimen of oral or injected medication.

 External parsites Mites are external parasites that can affect Leopard geckos. They are tiny and difficult to spot. Mites will attach themselves to the skin, and suck blood. If many mites are present, they can quickly drain a significant amount of blood, causing a lack of appetite and a weakening of the immune system. If you think your pet is infected you will need to act quickly to rid your Leopard gecko of these mites. First, try soaking the gecko in warm water. Apply cooking oil (vegetable, olive, etc.) paying particular attention to avoid the eyes. Be sure to thoroughly check the nostrils, vents, and skin folds. Place the animal in a separate enclosure and clean the tank. When cleaning the enclosure, dispose of the substrate, any live plants, and other furnishings that are able to be thrown away. Clean the enclosure with a 10% bleach solution, letting it soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, thoroughly rinse and dry it. There are also many mite treatments available at pet stores that will usually need to be sprayed on both the leopard gecko and it's enclosure. One final option is to take your gecko to the veterinarian who may prescribe a mite killer.


REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS 

 Egg binding This happens when a pregnant female leopard gecko refuses to lay her eggs. You can encourage her to lay eggs by providing a laying box which is moist, dark, and warm. Sometimes, the eggs will be reabsorbed by the gecko's body if not laid. In some cases it may be necessary to have them surgically removed by a vet.

Prolapsed hemipene A prolapse is the eversion of tissue into an area where it should not be. In reptiles three types of prolapse that may occur that can be seen by the owner. They are potentially very serious, and if they do not correct themselves within a very short period of time, the reptile must be seen by a vet.

In the normal course of defecation, the male hemipenes may be everted, that is, will be forced out of the vent. They will revert back (be pulled back in by the muscles) into their normal position within a few moments. During breeding season, males will frequently evert their hemipenes in conjunction with depositing some seminal material. As with eversion during defecation, the hemipenes will rapidly retract into the tail.

If the reptile is constipated, either due to dehydration, impaction (due to a foreign object, or from being heavily parasitized) the strain of trying to defecate may result in either a section of the colon or cloacal tissue, or one or both hemipenes, being everted through the vent. Severe parasite infestation and dystocia may also result in prolapsed tissue. In severe cases, or if the animal is already weakened by the underlying condition, he or she may not be able to retract the tissue. If left outside the body, it may become contaminated with feces, urates, substrate, or other matter, and will start to dry out. If not cleaned and replaced, the tissue will die and require amputation and may result in infection if untreated.

You can try soaking the animal in a warm bath to which sugar has been added. Heavy concentrations of sugar in the water will act to draw out the fluids engorging the swollen everted tissue; this may reduce it enough to be inverted by the lizard. The tissue may be rinsed with fresh water. If the soaking does not work within 24 hours the animal should be placed on a damp towel and taken to the vet as quickly as possible.

SHEDDING PROBLEMS If your gecko's habitat is too dry, it may have trouble sheding it's skin completely. This can lead to circulation problems, espicaly around the toes and tail tip. If you see bits of old skin stuck to your gecko after it sheds, you'll need to help the process along. You can do this by misting your gecko and gently rubbing off the old skin. You can use Zoo Med's Shedding Aid to mist the gecko. This product works well to loosen up the old skin. It's pretty easy to prevent this problem. You can increase the humidity level by misting daily. Leopard geckos should always be provided a humid hide when shedding (see humid hides on the husbundry page).


TAIL LOSS (Caudal Autotomy) Even though Leopard geckos can grow a new tail it can become infected while it regrows. Make sure to use Zoo Meds Repti Heal or an antibiotic ointment on the tail stump during the regrowth process to keep infection from setting in. You can prevent this problem by always handling your leopard gecko with care and remembering NEVER to pick it up by the tail.


MINOR INJURIES AND INFECTIONS Your gecko may get the occasional scrape or bite. You can treat these minor injuries and skin infections by using Zoo Med's Repti Heal or an antibiotic ointment. If your pet has a severe wound or skin infection which seems to be spreading or getting worse, then you'll need to see a vet who may give your gecko oral antibiotics.

If you keep a group of geckos together, fighting may occur and lead to injury. To prevent fighting do not keep more than one male Leopard gecko in a cage. Males will fight. Do not overcrowd your geckos. Make sure there are enough hiding places for each one. If you see one gecko hiding more than the others, it may need to be moved to a separate cage. The others may be picking on it.


BURNS Leopard gecko burn wounds are occasionally seen. This happens when a Leopard gecko is exposed directly to a heat source, such as a heat pad or sometimes improper or incorrectly installed lighting. Burn wounds can be identified by discoloration of the skin, localized blisters, swelling or pieces of skin sloughing off. It will usually go with a significant amount of pain and discomfort. Burn wounds can lead to other health problems such as infection, serious eating problems, and dehydration. Depending on the area affected or the extend, burn wounds can be graded from mild to very severe. Severe burn wounds are life threatening and should be treated by a vet.

This type of Leopard Gecko injury can be prevented by the proper installation of the heating equipment. Make sure that the heat pad is covered with a heavy substrate and that lighting is mounted high enough to prevent direct contact.

Leopard gecko burn wound treatment can range from topical antibiotic or antiseptic ointment in mild cases to hospitalization with antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and supportive force feeding in severe cases. More severe wounds might take weeks or months to heal completly and might lead to permanent scars and / or shedding problems.


EYE INFECTIONS Eye problems in leopard geckos can be serious. So, my first suggestion is to make an appointment with a qualified herp veterinarian to have your leopard gecko’s eye examined. In the meantime you can try to gently flush some sterile saline solution into the gecko’s affected eye. You can purchase sterile saline (get one that is preservative-free) at any pharmacy, and gently squirt saline into and around your leopard gecko’s eye. Do not force it under your leopard gecko’s eyelids and do not apply any pressure. Also, do not allow the tip of the saline bottle to touch your the gecko’s eye.

In some cases, leopard gecko eye problems can be caused by parasites. Occasionally, leopard gecko eye problems occur as the result of a foreign body, such as a piece of sand or plant material that lodges around the eye itself or under the eyelid. Other eye problems are the result of nutritional deficiency. Problems with shedding can lead to eye infections. In some cases, eye problems occur as a result of trauma to the eye, from a scratch, bite or abrasion. Infection can occur on the leopard gecko eye or under the eyelids, as well, and, in some cases, a eye problem is indicative of a respiratory infection or other systemic infection.

As you can see, there can be many causes of eye problems, so if a simple eye flush with saline doesn’t take care of the problem, I would strongly recommend you seek the assistance of a herp veterinarian who can diagnose and treat the problem.