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Retained eye caps?
My adult ball python has never had a bad shed in her life since I've had her. Every time she sheds I always check her head shed to make sure her eye caps came off as well and every time they have. But recently I've noticed her eyes are a metalic color and have this crease like texture to it(?). She's shed once since I've noticed it and I made sure to check her head shed and her eye caps came off with it. So I'm not even sure if she has retained eye caps??? Is it retained but she only sheds the top layer and keeps the retained caps? If that makes any sense? I'm just worried, I don't want her getting an infection or losing her eyesight.
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She will not die from one stuck eye cap.
Not being there and not seeing it I cant tell you what it may be.
Uploadinng a pic may help bt it would need to be nice and clear.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
I know she won't die but retained eye caps that aren't removed can cause infections and may result to loss of eye sight.
I took a few pictures but the light I used kind of goes through the metalic coloring. Her eyes were much clearer before I noticed the metalic coloring.
The imaged are very large on here so I uploaded them to a site. Here's the link: http://sta.sh/2ghwyqqdbsi
To me it looks like her left eye is more cloudy than her right?
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Definitely doesn't look normal. It actually almost looks like the caps themselves have thickened, and one definitely has an irregular surface. Is there any possibility of previous eye injuries?
I've never seen anything like that. My first assumption would be stuck eyecap as well but you said he's shed since this appeared and shed off his eye caps cleanly so I really have no clue. Hopefully some of the more experienced members on our forum have something more informed to say.
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Ive only had a stuck eye cap twice. One on my BP and one on my Hoggy. Both times I was ale to place my finger on top of their head and slide to the rim of the eye. With hardly any pressure I was able to get the cap to pop off. If you feel comfortable doing this you could try it. If not, I would just wait for the next shed. Make sure the humidity is good and maybe even give it a bit of a boost.
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Definitely doesn't look normal. It actually almost looks like the caps themselves have thickened, and one definitely has an irregular surface. Is there any possibility of previous eye injuries?
I've never seen anything like that. My first assumption would be stuck eyecap as well but you said he's shed since this appeared and shed off his eye caps cleanly so I really have no clue. Hopefully some of the more experienced members on our forum have something more informed to say.
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Definitely doesn't look normal. It actually almost looks like the caps themselves have thickened, and one definitely has an irregular surface. Is there any possibility of previous eye injuries?
I've never seen anything like that. My first assumption would be stuck eyecap as well but you said he's shed since this appeared and shed off his eye caps cleanly so I really have no clue. Hopefully some of the more experienced members on our forum have something more informed to say.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
So I've soaked her and have used three methods, tape around the finger and rocking back and forth over the eyes, rubbing over the eyes using a wet wash cloth, and rubbing with my bare fingers. If she does have retained eye caps, they haven't come off.
She also didn't really like me touching her eyes. She would pull away pretty quickly when I applied slight pressure to her eyes.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
If it were me, after having used all of those methods on snakes in the past with success I would take her to the vet. I had a definite spectacle retention in my juvenile female just last week and I called the vet after trying the above methods. They said to crank up the repti fogger for a couple of hours and put her in a damp pillow case in her encloure and she got them off while staying warm and in a familiar place.
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Please, please, PLEASE, don't ever use tape on your snake!!!
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Pressing on eyes and using tape!?! Why, where....nevermind.
Stop worrying about the caps and let it fix itself by getting the husbandry on point.
I honestly couldn't see much in the pics. None of them were clear enough for me to say I see stuck caps. I'd wait til next shed and check that they come off. Their eyes can also look strange with low humidity. You may be experiencing that.
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Just to make sure, you can soak your snake in a plastic tub with holes with warm water for about 45 minutes, it helps the lymphatic liquid (the liquid is rich in enzymes that help with the shed) which is in between the old shed and the new shed, if you see that the color of the eye gets a little bit more opaque, then it means that liquid is inside and thus there is a retained eye cap.
If you see no difference, check in the water just in case in the meantime the eyecap hasn't fall off, you'll see it floating.
If there isn't any change, the it's probable that it's just the eye and no stuck skin.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
For those concerned about the tape method, I have heard from multiple sources that it helps to wrap your finger in tape and gently rock it back and forth over the snakes eyes to remove the retained caps. Anyway, I was super gentle and really hardly did anything because I was afraid of hurting her so I didn't really do much with that method.
But anyway, her eyes seemed to lack the metalic look after a nice soak so I guess the caps came off in the tub like stated in the comment above.
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I just dont see a stuck eye cap being important enough to use such a method.
Im glad it all worked out.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
Quote:
Originally Posted by KMG
I just dont see a stuck eye cap being important enough to use such a method.
Im glad it all worked out.
If a retained eye cap is not removed, after a while the eye can become infected and the snake may loose it's vision.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pterolykus
If a retained eye cap is not removed, after a while the eye can become infected and the snake may loose it's vision.
How long does that take?
How many have you seen?
Where are your examples?
I realize a stuck cap can eventually cause some issues but I have yet to see one stuck cap do such a thing. You also are not even sure it was a cap.
You can do as you wish with your animal but one stuck cap is not worth the stress to the animal or myself to bring me to use tape as a solution IMO.
In the end the cause was the humidity and that is what I would address.
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A few things I found with a quick Google.
"Ball Pythons, as well as all other snakes, have clear scales that cover their eyes. These clear scales provide the same basic function that human eyelids provide. When snakes shed, the clear eye caps are shed as well. Occasionally an eye cap or shed skin is retained. A single shed retained eye cap does not pose a health risk to the snake.
You can try a few things a keeper can do to fix the situation. You can leave the snake alone and let the eye cap come off during the next shed. Increase the humidity in the enclosure."
"If this doesn't work, wait until the next shed."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Chandler
No harm is done with a set of stuck eye caps. Just make sure your humidity levels are good and let them come off with the next shed.
No need to try to remove them, it's not worth the stress to the animal or worth the risk of hurting his eyes. Just let the problem fix itself with the next shed.
If your humidity levels are good the next shed should be one big peice and you'll be able to verifiy that the caps came off.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pterolykus
For those concerned about the tape method, I have heard from multiple sources that it helps to wrap your finger in tape and gently rock it back and forth over the snakes eyes to remove the retained caps. Anyway, I was super gentle and really hardly did anything because I was afraid of hurting her so I didn't really do much with that method.
But anyway, her eyes seemed to lack the metalic look after a nice soak so I guess the caps came off in the tub like stated in the comment above.
So pleased you've managed to sort things out BUT must admit I cringed on hearing the ' tape 'method .
I'd refrain from doing that to be honest . The eyes are so delicate and sensitive after all ..
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Has anyone seen the video where they remove stuck caps with a squirt bottle? Just curious, yes I agree with the others, correct the humidity and the problem will resolve itself.
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Re: Retained eye caps?
A vet visit is in order for her, as you are obviously very concerned. Also ask you vet, and he/she will be able to tell you how many snakes have been blinded by using tape to remove eye caps.
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Didn't someone post a tape method horror story a couple weeks back?
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thank you for all your help. The tape method will no longer be used at all.
And her humidity is fine. She sheds perfectly fine, never had a bad shed in her life, each time her eye caps come off. She's a perfectly healthy snake. No need for a humidity change. Thanks though.
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