Eye cap problem

[Nagini88]

Does anyone know a good safe way to remove eye caps? I aquired a ball from my neighbor who was tired of dealing with her fussy eatting. She's had cronic eye cap problems, has gone to the vet twice because of it and lost 1 eye. Whats a good way to remove it? She isnt eatting because the poor thing cant see! ><

[Rapture]

The dangerous thing about retained eyecaps is that sometimes dimpled "new" eyecaps can be mistaken for an old eyecap that did not come off during a shed. If humidity is too low and a snakes eyes start to dimple or have creases in them, someone can mistake it for one that did not shed off and proceed to try to remove it. When doing so, they can permanently damage the eye, or pull the eye out of its socket. I haven't heard of any snakes actually becoming permanently blind or losing eyes from just stuck eyecaps.

That being said, don't try to remove it if you're not sure what it is. Just make sure that next time the snake goes into shed to keep the humidity high to ensure a full shed. The old eyecap should shed right off with the one the snake currently sheds.

[frankykeno]

I'd agree, just keep that humidity up from the moment her belly goes pink all the way through the shed process and see how it goes. Remember that snakes don't really use their sight as much as their other senses for hunting purposes so even if her vision is impaired she should done fine and adjust to it.

[rabernet]

I've got a new rescue with retained eyecaps and I'm not doing anything other than providing her with proper humidity, so that they can come off with her next shed. If it didn't, I'd likely take her to a qualified herp vet and let them remove it. I don't mess with the eyes.

[frankykeno]

We've had rescues come in with retained shed and caps. The worst one had about 5 layers of caps on one eye...what a mess. I phoned Adam and he assured us with some soaking and proper care thereafter she'd get them off herself. About 2 days came off in the intial soak and the other layers came off over the next two shed cycles. We couldn't believe it but there were two bright, lovely eyes under all that mess.

[JLC]

Along with the excellent advice on dealing with her eyes, I'd like to add.... You should seek out a different reason for her not eating. They'll eat fine even with "poor eyesight" since that is not their primary means of sensing prey to begin with.

So, double-check all the husbandry to make sure your temps and humidity are optimum and consistent. Make sure the enclosure is not too large and cavernous and/or in a busy, bright, noisy place in the house. Have two very snuggly sort of hides, at least. And no handling or "socializing" with her until she's eating regularly.

Good luck with her.

[Nagini88]

Well right now she's on paper towels because she also has mites so I'm cleaning the cage twice a day. She came to me with a good deal of problems >< She strikes at the mouse with hunger but misses or lets go each time so I removed it an i'll try again in a few days

[frankykeno]

If you can get hold or order some Provent-A-Mite you won't have to bother her like that. One good shot of that in her enclosure (not on the snake) and you'll be done with the mite issue - and the eggs too so they can't hatch in 30 days and start the cycle all over again.

Personally I'd treat this snake like a wild adult in some ways. Put her enclosure in a quiet place in your home, cover it if need be or keep the curtains drawn for low light...a walk in closet is perfect btw. Just leave her be for a month, just basic cage maintenance, water refills but no attempts to feed or to touch. After that 4 week time, pick an evening after dark and put a live mouse into a ventilated container and set it right on top of her enclosure lid on the warm side. Go away for an hour and let her get the smell of that mouse and listen to it scurrying about above her. After the hour, quietly go in (don't turn on the lights brightly) and put the mouse into her enclosure as far from her as possible. Sit down and just watch, don't move about too much, don't talk...just watch. Hopefully she'll be all over that mouse in no time and ready for another.

Adults can get so stressed that attempts to feed them make them even more stressed and unlikely to want to eat, starting a vicious cycle. As long as she's not so critically thin that death may occur, she should be fine for the month and likely to eat for you after that long quiet time.

You do need to deal with that mite issue though so the snake feels better. The eyecaps will likely resolve themselves with a proper shed. Do make sure she doesn't have fully encircling shed elsewhere on her body however, especially the tail tip.

[Nagini88]

Well I got great news. I went to a reptile shop today to stock up on food, and when I came back her head had sheaded and all the eyecaps came off! She's since got all the shedded skin off and ate very quickly. what a relief!

Thanks for all the advice guys!

[Rapture]

Sounds like your snake is striking out of stress, not hunger.