Retained eyecap advice

Hi,
I got a new ball this weekend, and she arrived with a patch of stuck shed on her head, as well as a retained eyecap.

I notified the breeder as soon as I noticed, and he informs me that this must be from here recent shed... 3 WEEKS AGO! and that it will come out in the next shedding cycle.

Now, I know how I should keep humidity up to help with this, and have also read many techniques to deal with retained eyecaps, even though I've never had to deal with one.
My question is, considering that this has been stuck for 3 weeks, should I try to help her remove it? Or should I wait until her next shed and see if it comes out naturally?
The breeder acted like it's no big deal, but then again he failed to mention it in the first place, so I don't know how much I should trust his word.

Here's a picture in case it helps:

http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3824/1...8ae1fd71_c.jpg

Thanks!

Easiest way to remove a stuck eyecap is to go to Office Depot or Office Max and buy those little rubber finger tips. You know, the ones that people who work with a lot of paper use:

http://www.officemax.com/catalog/sea...rd+or+Item+%23

Mist her down half an hour beforehand, or make her soak in a (ROOM TEMPERATURE) bathtub for 5 minutes. Then GENTLY rub the eyecap backwards with the rubber finger tip. The eyecap should peel right off.

Hi,

I'd probably leave it till her next shed as long as she is eating and behaving normally. :)

Best thing to do is LEAVE IT ALONE. :gj:
Wait till the next shed, make sure humidity is up and then IF it doesn't come off you start to worry.

Another vote for leave it alone. We had a male come in earlier this year with two stuck caps because of being kept in minimal humidity for several months. We kept his humidity up around 60% until his next shed and then bumped it to over 75% and he was ok.

I would also leave feedback about the breeder.

After a soak, you can try gently rubbing off the stuck shed on the head. If it doesn't easily come off, then as others have suggested, I'd just leave it alone until the next shed. If it doesn't come off at that point, then I'd try a bit harder to get it off. Chances are good with you watching it and checking on humidity for your new snake, it'll shed off just fine. :)

-Jen

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Best thing to do is LEAVE IT ALONE. :gj:
Wait till the next shed, make sure humidity is up and then IF it doesn't come off you start to worry.

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X2, unless it is affecting her feeding or vision let it be.

I usually put some moist paper towel in a Tupperware container with the snake and generally it all peels of in about 15 minutes of putting them in.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

Best thing to do is LEAVE IT ALONE. :gj:
Wait till the next shed, make sure humidity is up and then IF it doesn't come off you start to worry.

---

I'll definitely keep humidity up to make sure she gets a better shed next time. The only thing that bugs me right now is that I have no way of knowing if this is just ONE stuck shed, or if it has already accumulated for more than one shedding cycle. Which would change whether I have to start worrying NOW :)

It doesn't look thick enough to be accumulated, I think, so I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed and wait until her next shed.

Thanks again

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ivanb

Thanks everyone for the advice.



I'll definitely keep humidity up to make sure she gets a better shed next time. The only thing that bugs me right now is that I have no way of knowing if this is just ONE stuck shed, or if it has already accumulated for more than one shedding cycle. Which would change whether I have to start worrying NOW :)

It doesn't look thick enough to be accumulated, I think, so I guess I'll keep my fingers crossed and wait until her next shed.

Thanks again

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It really just looks like one eye cap. If it was multiple, it'd be raised more. :) And if it's not raised more and IS two retained eyecaps, that's still not worth worrying about yet - as they are so flat and close together that with proper humidity and a good shed, it'll come off the same anyway.

Hope that gives you a little peace of mind :)

-Jen

Thanks Jen!

That does give me some peace of mind indeed. :-)


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