Eye gunk, retained shed or discharge?

[rhacodactylloid]

Hey everyone, just joined the forum but have been lurking for a while. I have been a little worried about my dude Rango's eyes lately and want a second opinion on what's going on here.

About two months ago I took him to the vet because I was concerned he was flushing one eye a lot and would sit with it slightly squinted, or with the eye not centered in the turret.

The vet suggested it was likely he had shed that got pushed under the eyelid and reccomended artificial tears twice a day, which resolved the issue for the most part.

Recently (the past two weeks or so) I have seen Rango have dry stuff around his eyes in the mornings or I will see him sleeping at night with his eyelids not fully closed and his eye rolled back.

After heavy misting his eyes are able to open and shut for the most part, but I have no clue how to safely get the crud that's bothering him off his eyes. I have tried rolling a q tip over it but it doesn't seem to do much, and I'm nervous about damaging his eye.

Attaching a photo from today and another from a few days ago. I will try to get him in to the vet as soon as possible regardless, but any advice would be seriously appreciated!

 

[ERKleRose]

Welcome on here (officially), and what a handsome guy! I think having the vet remove the crud is the safest bet, along with them flushing his eye out. Have them take a culture of the gunk, too, to test it. I hope everything goes well!

 

[rhacodactylloid]

Welcome on here (officially), and what a handsome guy! I think having the vet remove the crud is the safest bet, along with them flushing his eye out. Have them take a culture of the gunk, too, to test it. I hope everything goes well!

Thank you! That sounds like a good course of action. He has an appointment wednesday afternoon at a good exotic vet nearby. Hopefully he can hang in there until then.

He is eating, drinking, and getting around just fine, so fingers crossed it's nothing too serious...

 

[ERKleRose]

Just keep an eye out (pun partially intended) for abnormal behavior/any signs of shutdown and whatnot, then you’ll take him to his vet or emergency vet asap. I’m hoping it’s just stuck shed! Definitely keep us updated!

 

[Beman]

Welcome to the forum. I agree with the above. Also note it looks like there might be an infection going on. You can see this the longer they have something irritating the turret that an infection will happen. So the vet may prescribe antibiotics.