Something weird in the eye??

I noticed this when I was cleaning one of my snakes' tubs out

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../8/eyeShot.jpg


What is this? it looks like two round things stuck in the back of the eye. They are barely translucent.

could it possibly be part of an unshed eyecap? its really hard to see from the pic. do you have a better picture?

Looks like ticks to me. My old BP had a tick in her eye.. it got bigger over the first few days I had her, but I was able to pull it off. Unfortunate part of buying from a pet store..

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Originally Posted by mr~python

could it possibly be part of an unshed eyecap? its really hard to see from the pic. do you have a better picture?

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That was my best pic out of 10 ;) my camera doesnt do up close that great.

They are almost perfectly round except where they go back into the eye. What is the best way to safely remove them?

I don't know the best way.. when I find ticks I just take them with my fingers (or tweezers) and slowly pull straight out. I always have gotten the head out completely, but perhaps I am just lucky.

You'll want to check the rest of your snakes for ticks. They like to nestle underneath the belly scales especially.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Shelby

I don't know the best way.. when I find ticks I just take them with my fingers (or tweezers) and slowly pull straight out. I always have gotten the head out completely, but perhaps I am just lucky.

You'll want to check the rest of your snakes for ticks. They like to nestle underneath the belly scales especially.

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Yeah Ive been checking them over everytime i go through them. All of the imports I had gotten looked pretty clean until this. How much of the tick is typically visible when it is under a scale?

Sometimes none of it is visible. Especially when it doesn't have a lot of blood in it. You will usually notice the scale sticking up a bit because of the tick underneath it. Just hold the snake and examine the belly by running your finger down the scales.. you often will feel a bump where the tick is.

Poor thing...I hope you're able to clear up whatever it is soon!

my sister had a tick on her head (gross I know) but the doc (country doc - used to dealing with ticks) said to get tweezers and put them right up against the skin and grab hold and gently pull. you HAVE to make sure you get the head out from under the skin or it can get major infected and not good for kids OR snake I would imagine.

you can also dowse the area with alcohol and they will retract their heads. dunno how safe rubbing alcohol is for a snake, specially near the eye, but thats what I was told.

All the information about removing ticks is good....BUT....if that's what those are, they are right in the eye socket! :O I'm not at all sure the usual means of tick-removal would apply without risking serious injury to the eye. I would take the poor little thing to a vet.

I second what Judy said. I know I've removed ticks from my kids and dogs (part of living in northern rural Canada unfortunately) but none of my methods are what I would consider for a tick in the area or directly in an eye socket. If it is a tick I'd take it to the vet Bryan. Even if it's not a tick, it's probably better to let an expert mess with anything to do with the snake's eye (other than the very basic stuck eyecap that will come off with soaking/next shed thing). Let us know how it goes.