Indented eye (pic)??

Wasn't sure if this belonged in BP care or here, but I just got Dannie out to take some pictures and notice this:

http://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/...1/GEDC0986.jpg

Her other eye seems fine; she seems alert and fine, doesn't appear to be in pain. Could this have happened from her last shed? It doesn't seem to be caused by a feeder (she eats live but I always watch during the feedings, at least until she begins consuming it and it's for sure dead) because I figured it would be worse if a small rat scratch her eye or bit it (wouldn't it be um... oozing something?:weirdface)

It wasn't really noticeable until she got in the bright light coming from my window so who knows how long it's been like that... but if it's been a while, then she has functioned fine with it. Does it seem permanent or do you guys think it could be fixed with her next shed?

She only just shed about 2 weeks ago, and her belly does not look pink:
http://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/...1/GEDC0990.jpg

With flash in case it helps:
http://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/...1/GEDC0989.jpg

I don't think it's too serious but I'm no expert... I actually think it should be fine after another shed. But any input is greatly appreciated!

More humidity will take care of that.

That is a pretty detailed photo, and I can't detect any signs of a retained eye cap.

That dent is pretty darn deep though. My first thought would be that she's dehydrated and could probably benefit from a quick soak.

I have to wonder if that cap is dented in far enough to be putting pressure on the living spectacle?

Thanks! I'm actually working on the humidity right now with her tub, because with her water bowl it's been between 65 and 70% for the last week or so... been switching the sizes but I think I'm just going to get the soldering iron out again >.<

Is it possible the slightly higher humidity could have caused it? Or should I still raise the humidity?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

That is a pretty detailed photo, and I can't detect any signs of a retained eye cap.

That dent is pretty darn deep though. My first thought would be that she's dehydrated and could probably benefit from a quick soak.

I have to wonder if that cap is dented in far enough to be putting pressure on the living spectacle?

---

We posted at the same time so I didn't see your post :P

I think the light might make it look deeper than it is, but it still worries me. I will definitely get her into a nice warm bath immediately.

If you're tub is holding 65-70% humidity, then I would look for another cause besides dehydration.

I'm starting to wonder if she knocked the heck out of it on something?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Klogue1

I think the light might make it look deeper than it is

---

That's good to hear. That pic makes it look pretty deep.

high humidity would fix that. it happens when they are dehydrated. 65%-70% is fine. My cages stay at 60% all of the time. So if you can get it to the 60%-65% range that would be ideal.

I would give your BP a 20 minute soak in warm water

water temp in the mid 80's. remember what feels hot to you will be boiling to a cold blooded snake.

If a 20 minute soak doesn't fix it, then I would look for things in the cage that might have caused it. (by running into things)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Slim

If you're tub is holding 65-70% humidity, then I would look for another cause besides dehydration.

I'm starting to wonder if she knocked the heck out of it on something?

---

Given the depth of it, that's what my first impression was. Reminds me of when you dent the hard plastic packaging on an item at the store. Like a toy.

Thanks; I have her in a small tub of water (barely warm when I touched my wrist to it) now and I'll leave her in there for 20 minutes like you guys said... All I have in her tub are two hides (I use these plastic bowls from the dollar store because the hides at the pet store were too small), her water bowl (plastic) and a fake plastic plant, but maybe she hit her eye against the water bowl really hard, for some reason?

The bath is working I think!! She's only been in there for about two minutes but I was watching her, and it looked like her eye re-inflated or something, like when you take a crunched up water bottle and blow into it! I'll leave her in there longer but it is kind of weird that maybe she was dehydrated a little, with that humidity? Maybe she's not drinking from her bowl? I can start giving her weekly or biweekly soaks if it helps, but it seems to be working!

Edit: The dent is almost completely gone!!! :D I guess I shouldn't be too excited lol, but I guess I'm just happy it was an easy fix and not something serious!

I have seen eye dents on my bps and they have all been taken care of by a light soak.

Oh ok, thanks!

And maybe it was a trick of the light actually, it's not completely gone yet but getting there, I guess I just got overexcited :rolleyes:

I have had this happen to a few of mine, and as I said my cages stay at 60% humidity all of the time. so either they are knocking their eyes in... or they can still get dehydrated in high humidity environments. Not sure which but it is easily fixed so I haven't put much more thought into it.

She will drink when she needs to. Keep in mind that regular soaking can interfere with their sheds. If you can maintain humidity in the tub, that should be enough.

Thanks :) It would be ok though to just soak her if this happens again?

Now it really is almost completely gone haha. Glad it wasn't serious :)

Soaking isn't great, but when necessary it isn't the worst thing. The issue comes when people think of it as a preventative measure.

There are only a few time that I would recommend soaking a BP and all of them are after something happens.

This happens to be one of them.

Oh, ok, that makes sense. I never actually thought of that before.

Edit: I guess I just always thought of it as a "common practice" in the snake world. I never really thought of it having adverse effects. I learn something new every day :D

Keep in mind that what feels warm to us is actually way way hotter than it should be for a ball. We are 96.-98.F. Anything that feels warm to us is probably over 100..F Not good for a snake. The correct temp is 86-88.F and would feel amost cold to us..... something to keep in mind so that theres no accidental shock when giving soaks.

I would have guessed humidity too, and it does look like a stuck eye cap. I'm not sure what did that. Was there anything in the tank/tub that could have fallen on the snake?

No, right now all that's in there are two large plastic bowls (pet store hides were too small), a plastic water dish and a medium sized plastic plant which I layed on this floor instead of suctioning to the side. If its a stuck eye cap, is there anything else I can do since I tried to soak? Or will it have to wait until next shed?

There's no stuck eye cap that I can see, keep the humidity up and it shouldn't happen again :snake:

Checked on Dannie today and her one eye seems fine now, but her other eye is denting now :( It's not as bad as the other eye, but getting there.

(ignore my nail, I'm a chronic nail-biter...:oops:)
http://i1076.photobucket.com/albums/...1/GEDC0984.jpg

So my guess is she's either VERY clumsy, she's having a weird shedding cycle (I'm not depending on this one too much), she's still dehydrated for some reason... or there's something else going on we can't visibly see? Those are just some possibilities I thought of.

It seemed the soak worked for her two days ago, would it hurt to give her one more and see if it clears up this eye as well? Or do you guys think it's something a vet should look at?