# Ball Pythons > BP Breeding >  Hatchling with Enlarged Eyes...

## jsmorphs2

First one in our het VPI axanthic x het VPI axanthic clutch to poke its head out. Hope this guy hangs in there.  :Sad: . What are the odds it will survive?

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## Patrick Long

Werent they JUST talking about this in the NERD video?

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## jsmorphs2

You know I think he did show a hatchling like this. Didn't he say they kind of grow into their eyes  :Confused: . I'll have to go watch those again.

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## dr del

Hi,

I don't think the NERD video snake had the same look to the eyes - they looked normal iirc.

But we *have* seen exactly this quite recently as I remember having to look for a link for it.


dr del

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## ladizzlee

you have to go to the vet and they will drain it.

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jsmorphs1 (09-28-2010),_jsmorphs2_ (09-28-2010)

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## dr del

Hi,

I can't find the link I want yet but here are some that might help in the meantime.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ight=spectacle 

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ight=spectacle

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...light=Lacrimal

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...light=Lacrimal 


dr del

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jsmorphs1 (09-28-2010),_jsmorphs2_ (09-28-2010)

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## shelliebear

Yup yup--he's probably got fluid buildup behind his eye caps.  :Smile:  
I know of at least 2 people who have posted about this--I'll find the threads and post them if no one else has yet. 
Just take it to the vet and they'll drain it. One person had a BP they named "Bugsy" for this exact problem--she got it punctured and drained by a vet and looks much better.  :Good Job: 
It looks painful after they're done but I'm sure it feels better than having all that swelling, and they will probably eventually be able to see. 
I'd say that snake has a pretty good chance of making it.  :Embarassed: 
Anyone know what causes this? It seems like quite a few cases have been popping up recently. What makes them come out of the egg like this? Obviously it's likely to not be an injury if they're born with it. Some kind of defect, possibly?

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jsmorphs1 (09-28-2010),_jsmorphs2_ (09-28-2010)

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## dr del

Hi,

This was the thread I was thinking of.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ht=Ralph+Davis

That was not an easy thing to find **kicks forum search in the nuts**


dr del

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_Flikky_ (01-15-2013),jsmorphs1 (09-28-2010),_jsmorphs2_ (09-28-2010)

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## shelliebear

Ooooh! After reading the posts Skiploder made in the links from Dr. Del it now makes sense. Thanks skip and Del  :Smile:

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## MKHerps

This little guy has fluid build up in the eye.  This is usually caused because the duct that drains the fluid from the eye to the nasal cavity is blocked. It can be drained by simply using a syringe with a small needle( I have used insulin syringes) and aspirating the eye without toucking the eyeball. There is a sapce between the cap and the eyeball itself. There is alot of preesure on the eye right now and it can damage the eye if not drained.  Also from my experience the fluid comes back quickly and unless you figure out why the eye is not draining properly you will be draining the eye with a needle everyother day.  The hatchling may have a deformity to its face that is causing the duct to be blocked. These are very small passageways. In a human when you cry you get the sniffles because an excessive amount of fluid is being drained from the eye to the nasal cavity. It is the same thing in the snake.  I have had to do this with both pythons and an eyelash viper that got bit in the face during breeding.  Both snake eventually perished.  


Matt

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_jsmorphs2_ (09-28-2010)

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## jsmorphs2

Thank you all for the great info and Dr. Del for all the links!! The post about Bugsy is really helpful. 

The little guy is still in the egg and if it looks like its going strong then we'll have it drained (or do it ourselves with a vets tutelage).

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## jsmorphs2

"He" came out this morning. The umbilical cord was twisted around his yolk sack and it was left behind in the egg. There was a bit of umbilicus still attached to him but has since fallen off. He's a trooper for sure. 

Yolk left in egg


Right out of the egg, before picture. It seemed like even more fluid built up since yesterday.



*NOTE - I am not a veterinarian and would not recommend anyone trying this with their own animals. I have had experience giving animals injections and fluids and felt confident in my ability to do this procedure with out causing un-due harm to my animal.* Sorry, just had to add that  :Razz: .


I drained the fluid behind his eye caps. I used a TINY sterilized needle and cleaned the eye cap with chlorhexidine/water solution and gently pricked the side of the eye cap at an angle as to not chance getting his eye. Upon closer inspection there was a large gap between his eye cap scale and the actual eye so there was little chance of actually poking his eye. I used a q-tip to GENTLY message around the eye to keep the fluid moving with out putting direct pressure on his eye. After most of the fluid drained I swabbed on a bit of neosporin (non pain reliever) over the site. He was a very good patient so it didn't seem painful to him. I also inspected the inside of his mouth and it seemed normal however his head is small/under developed. 

After.



I have a feeling I will have to repeat this until his head grows a bit. Hopefully its only a size issue and nothing more complicated.

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## kellysballs

I hatched an animal similar to this last year. He eventually died. He never ate on his own and his eyes had to be drained every few days. His head was also shorter than normal. My vet agreed with the other posters here  that the duct was blocked or deformed and if the snake ate on his own and grew there was a possibility that his duct would have unblocked itself.

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_jsmorphs2_ (10-01-2010)

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## Generationshell

Poor snake  :Sad:  I really hope it gets better. Sounds painful

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## jsmorphs2

> Poor snake  I really hope it gets better. Sounds painful


Thank you. I'm not sure what the future holds for this little one but I'll give him a good shot.

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## shelliebear

Poor little guy  :Sad: 
My fiance and I wish you the best of luck, and we are hoping he makes a speedy (and complete!) recovery.
I hope he makes it.  :Sad:  He's so cute.
I'm sure he feels better now, but when I saw the picture of his eyes post-drained I almost cried. Looks painful.
Hang in there!  :Tears:

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## Anya

What a cutie!!! I just melted with that last pic...

Wishing him all the best!

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## jsmorphs2

I guess I should have updated this thread too  :Sad: . We weren't able to get him on track and unfortunately had to euthanize him. 


Here is more of his story  :Tears: .

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...+enlarged+eyes

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## xfallingpointx

bugsy ended up being put down ive read that most of the snakees that come out like that end up dying. Not trying to be negative thats just what ive read. Good luck though  :Smile: 

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