Pi's got something in/on her eye.

[Frea]

Hi, I'm kinda in the dark about snakes, although I've had Pi for over a year now. She's been totally fine (with the exception of one or two mites which go away with a bath) until now- one of her eyes looks odd. It sorta looks like it's crusted over (like she's going to shed, but she just did about 3 weeks ago), and it's got lines on the surface, like scales. I'm thinking it's either just something weird with the membrane over the eye, or fungus. The other eye is totally fine.
I live in Thailand, and I don't know any good herp vets (and I don't really trust the ANY of the vets around here). If anyone could tell me what it is, and how I can remedy it at home, I'd be really grateful.

Thanks guys.

[JLC]

Hi, and welcome to the forum! It's early Saturday morning here in the US, so most of our experts are probably still in bed. I'm sure one of them will try to help you soon.


In the meantime, would it be possible for you to post a picture of the snake and the eye? And detail your husbandry such as cage size, temperatures and humidity? The more information you can give, the more likely it is someone can help.

The only thing that I can think of is a retained eyecap. Those are usually perfectly clear with maybe a little raggedy look around the edges. But maybe it peeled away a little bit and has wrinkled or dried out or something to make it look odd? I've not heard of that specifically happening, but as I said, it's the only thing that comes to my inexpert mind. If it is a retained eyecap, it should be pretty easy for you to fix at home. But I would NOT mess with the eye at all until you're sure what you're dealing with.

[Frea]

Hey, thanks for the quick reply, JLC.


Mmm, I don't think it's a retained eye cap. Pi shed roughly three weeks ago, and her eyes were totally clear. (She's always been good with shedding. ) The weird lines on the eye only appeared about four days ago. Still, maybe you're right, that it's now dried and wrinkled. But would it take so long for it to show the wrinkles?

How long should I wait to see if it is/isn't just a left-behind eye cap?

[frankykeno]

Like Judy I am hoping some more experienced keepers/breeders respond to your post.

I can only go from my personal experience with retained eyecaps as I'm neither an expert nor a vet. We had one snake with multiple retained caps from previous poor husbandry. Most came off after we adjusted her humidity so her sheds were better, we did see something similar though.

Her one eye appeared clear but then after a bit of time looked much as you are describing (though again a guess without pics). After seeking advice from a breeder, we left it alone, making sure her next shed was again closely monitored humidity wise and she is now completely clear on that eye. She does have a bit of permanent eye damage on that side (there were probably 3 to 5 retained caps) but as far as we can tell she sees well enough.

At this point, until you get more responses to your question, I can only suggest you do not mess with that eye at all. Attempting to remove a stuck cap can result in some horrendous and permanent eye damage. Please be careful following some of the "advice" I've seen online about removing eyecaps.

It is unfortunate you do not have access to a herp vet, that must be a worry.


~~Jo~~