layers of eye caps

can you spray zilla humidifying spray onto a q-tip and rub it over the layers of eyes caps that are built up? nothing else works it says helps prevent dry skin and shedding problems and is fortified with rich emollients and aloe vera? im not sure if i can use it on his eyes? there arent any warnings except wash hands after handling reptiles and keep away from children someone please help

I've always just used a warm water soak and a then gently messaged the eye with a q-tip. Not sure on the Zilla spray.

Whenever you're dealing with any creature's eyes you have to be careful. How many old eye cap layers does he have? Has he shed with you yet? I would say it's probably fine, but it would be best to wait until he sheds again, and if the humidity is high enough this time, the old caps should come off on their own.

I would use visine. Just put a few drops on them 2-3 times a day. If they don't come off in a few days, soak a q-tip with visine and GENTLY rub across the cap. Don't force it at all to come off. Usually when you use the drops for a few days, the q-tip will slide them right off. You might also want to check your humidity. Misting might be necessary.

As for the Zilla product, I wouldn't trust anything that wasn't made for eyes specifically. If I even thought about using that, I would put some in my eye first and make sure it didn't burn or anything lol, but I wouldn't use anything but visine.

yeah he has shed once but im not sure he has had stuck caps since ive got him which was a while ago hes an 08 so he doesnt do much growing anymore but ive tried everything to get them to come off and found this stuff in our box of reptile stuff its like shed ease but ill try the visine stuff well i have stuff very similar to visine just not the same name brand its a little more expensive than visine he should be going into shed soon his belly just started turning a pink color today so i wanna make them loose or something to come off in his shed i think there may be 2 layers of eye caps? his humidity right now is 56%

I recommend not messing with the retained eye caps at all (if he even has them). You run the risk of damaging his eyes and doing anything to a BP's head is very stressful to them.

Since he is already pink and will be in blue soon DO NOT soak him. Soaking will strip away oils in his skin that he needs for the shed. Just bump up the humidity some and let him shed in peace.

When he sheds any retained eye caps will come off with it. After he is done look for eye caps on the shed. If you see them you will know any retained eye caps he had are gone.

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Originally Posted by Adam Chandler

I recommend not messing with the retained eye caps at all (if he even has them). You run the risk of damaging his eyes and doing anything to a BP's head is very stressful to them.

Since he is already pink and will be in blue soon DO NOT soak him. Soaking will strip away oils in his skin that he needs for the shed. Just bump up the humidity some and let him shed in peace.

When he sheds any retained eye caps will come off with it. After he is done look for eye caps on the shed. If you see them you will know any retained eye caps he had are gone.

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he has already shed for me and i already had his humidity at 75 while he shed and only the newest layer came off i have soaked him and gently rubbed a wet warm q tip over them and it didnt work someone said mineral oils and that didnt work and someone else said grab it with tweezers and i already know thats a bad idea but obviously the eye caps wont come off by themselves if there are a few layers on there......

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Originally Posted by python_addict

he has already shed for me and i already had his humidity at 75 while he shed and only the newest layer came off i have soaked him and gently rubbed a wet warm q tip over them and it didnt work someone said mineral oils and that didnt work and someone else said grab it with tweezers and i already know thats a bad idea but obviously the eye caps wont come off by themselves if there are a few layers on there......

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It sounds like they already came off. Do you have any currents pictures of his eyes?

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Originally Posted by Annarose15

It sounds like they already came off. Do you have any currents pictures of his eyes?

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:( I cant get pictures but you can tell they are still there plus after he shed they were still blue and clouded over even when seeing the outer layer of eye caps on his shed piece i would get picture but the phone is broke ill try to borrow my boyfriends phone

If he had a clean shed any retained caps are off.

Retained eye caps are NOT a big deal and unless there are years worth built up they will not hurt your BP. You have nothing to gain trying to get suspect eye caps off and alot to lose.

Again my recommendation is to just leave your BP alone and monitor his humity until he is finished shedding.

neighbors phone pics.....horrible.....but the best i could get at the moment
http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/...s_picture9.jpg
http://i1000.photobucket.com/albums/...picture_22.jpg
his colors havent dulled yet so his eyes shouldnt be that blue they are always that blue one looks like it has a crease in it I have not once seen the color of his eyes the breeder never even mentioned all his shed problems.......and lately hes been rubbing the side of his face on the log hide or his rock so yes there are eye caps you cannot tell me they are already gone or not even there

Again, I would do nothing but monitor the humidity and leave him alone until after his next shed.

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Originally Posted by Adam Chandler

Again, I would do nothing but monitor the humidity and leave him alone until after his next shed.

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Should I raise his humidity?

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Originally Posted by python_addict

Should I raise his humidity?

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Give him a humid hide.

A Mr. Chandler is right - stop screwing around with that snake's eyes.

It's highly unlikely that they are still on after a clean shed in which you can actually see spectacles attached to the shed.

If a successful shed can't loosen what you think are retained spectacles, you won't be able to either. Take the animal to a qualified herp vet and get a second opinion.

The only thing I would add to the above is, you could apply an eye lubricant gel, but do not pick at it's eyes.

I MUST concur with Adam and skiploder. If you've seen the spectacles on the most recent shed, then the snake does NOT have retained eyecaps. They don't build new eyecaps on top of the old ones...they grow from underneath. So when the current caps shed off, they take any top layers off with them.

It's all too common for someone to see OTHER issues with the eyes, and assume "retained eyecap" when it is really nothing of the sort. And then they start picking and rubbing and soaking and putting drops and other ointments on the eyes....and before you know it, you have a blind snake.

I very strongly recommend allowing the current shed cycle to complete without any soaking or messing with the eyes in any way. Increase the ambient humidity if you like...that certainly won't hurt. Just don't soak the snake.

Once the shed cycle is complete, look once again for the spectacles on the head piece. If you see them there, you can be 100% sure there are NO retained eyecaps and the snake may need to see a vet to find out what is really going on.

My biggest peeve.. I'm glad others saw this and answered. Definitely never mess with the eyes. That's becoming my motto around here. They fix their selves with humidity, humid hides, and if absolutely necessary (meaning if you do not find the round caps on the head piece after it sheds) a tiny bit of ointment on the eyes every day or every other day.. But only at the beginning of the next shed cycle until it sheds.

The caps (even when not retained) can dent, dry out, wrinkle, and appear cracked if the humidity is low. This does not mean stuck caps. It will always fix itself with the proper conditions.


I wonder how these poor creatures ever survived so long in the wild without the help of humans considering all the droughts that Africa has....

I think the risks of messing with his eyes far outweigh the potential benefits of getting an eye cap off. Eye caps aren't really all that dangerous unless they build up for a very long time, and it's possible to permanently maim the animal by poking around at its eyes. If it makes you feel better, I see no harm in putting drops of mineral oil or visene on his eyes. DON'T tweeze them or rub them, though.

What I'm wondering is this - you said only the outermost eye cap came off with his last shed. When you looked at the face part of that shed, was the skin of his eyes there or not? Were there two empty holes where the spectacles should have been? If there WAS something there, he does not have retained eyecaps. He might have some other issue that makes them look weird, but it isn't retained eyecaps. Look at the shed to figure out if that's really the problem, not at his eyes.

I absolutely agree 100% with all the advice you have been given. I don't think anyone else will say anything different. Check the shed. Leave the eyes alone.


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Actually mineral oil isn't very good for that. It's too destructive to the scales. It breaks down the chitin and when put on a snakes body, causes the scales to just flake right off in layers.

I can tell in that second pic that he is going into shed, so once he has shed, and you are certain that there are spectacles in his head piece of shed, the next step is a vet visit. I can almost guarantee, that with you're telling us, there is something else going on other than eye caps. Please keep us informed!!

Alright thanks everyone hopefully he will get this coming shed down and over with