My python shed his eyecaps but his eyes look really bad now...

Hi...I need to find out if my ball python is okay. We got him about a month ago and he shed last week (in pieces, not whole) and his eye caps did come off but his eyes started becoming darker and now they are really dark/blue/cloudy looking and he just doesn't seem well. He used to respond well to being handled and now he's all super jumpy and reluctant to explore anything. I think he can't see at all and I'm worried. What could the eye color change be indicative of other than shedding since he just finished shedding?? :(

you might want to manually take them off. I do it sometimes.

I suggest putting warm water into a Tupperware container, that is big enough to fit you bp in, and place your bp into the closed container. Put the container over your hot spot in the cage. Leave the bp there for about 20 to 30 min. The shed should either come off in the water, or you will be able to pull it off yourself. Make sure the water only goes up about half way up the snake, so that it will not drowned.

Another suggestion is to use clear scotch tape to pull the eye caps off. You must be very careful with this method though.

You will also want to check your temps and humidity in your cage. A good idea is to investing in a digital hygrometer, if you do not already have one, and keep the humidity in the 55 to 60% relative humidity. If you are keeping your bp in an aquarium, then close off most of the top, so that the humidity will stay in. You may also have to mist to up the humidity.

Good luck, and hope this helps. :cool:

Eddie Strong, Jr.

Thanks for the suggestions but his eye caps did come off during the shed so I don't think that's the issue. I happened to be watching during the part of the shed when he was rubbing his head so I saw the eye caps come off. To facilitate the shedding since it wasn't going well, I put a towel that was soaked in warm water into a tank and let him roll around on that for about an hour. He rubbed and rubbed and got most of his skin off. His eyes were clear for a couple days but then turned really dark to the point he's at now where I think he can't see...poor guy...:(

Make sure you are SUPER careful when taking off eye caps, if they are not ready you might pull off the new scale and then you have yourself a half blind snake. I wait until the next shed if there is not any access shed around it to help get it off.

Hi,

Is it possible to get some good close up pictures of his eyes?

And your right if you saw the eyecaps come off then caution is definately the order of the day. Trying to remove non-existant stuck eyecaps doesn't bear thinking about. :(

Is it possible he is going straight into anohter shed cycle or do they eyes look completely different to that?

Has anything else unusual happened to him lately (rat bites, mites, vet treatment)?


dr del

It may also be that he shed an old stuck shed and is now ready to shed properly.

If his eyes are blue, that is indicative of a shed soon to come.

We really need some pictures.

I will definitely try to get some pics posted here tomorrow - thanks...

Latest update: I decided to just bring him to the vet and have him checked out rather than risk anything; we're going in the morning. Thanks for all the suggestions, I appreciate it...:)

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Originally Posted by suzabella

Latest update: I decided to just bring him to the vet and have him checked out rather than risk anything; we're going in the morning. Thanks for all the suggestions, I appreciate it...:)

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Oh thats good to hear. A good vet check-up is a goodplan when in doubt.

I realize this is old news at this point but it has such a happy ending I couldn't resist sharing. The vet gave me some eyedrops and gave Lila (the snake formerly known as Monty - vet said we have a girl!) a subcutaneous shot to ward off dehydration. I misted the tank like a maniac and lo and behold, a few days later, Lila had a beautiful COMPLETE shed. She is gorgeous now and happy to slither around on us again. I have no idea how or why she could shed twice in one month but there you have it...and we all lived happily ever after! :D

rapid shed cycles are common with animals that are stressed, have infections, or that may have some sort of skin problems. one example is blister disease... a snake may shed two or three times in a row to slough off the blisters/absess.
glad she's doing better though!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by suzabella

I realize this is old news at this point but it has such a happy ending I couldn't resist sharing. The vet gave me some eyedrops and gave Lila (the snake formerly known as Monty - vet said we have a girl!) a subcutaneous shot to ward off dehydration. I misted the tank like a maniac and lo and behold, a few days later, Lila had a beautiful COMPLETE shed. She is gorgeous now and happy to slither around on us again. I have no idea how or why she could shed twice in one month but there you have it...and we all lived happily ever after! :D

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YEA!:salute:

Sounds to me like hes just going into another shed cycle. Cloudly blue eyes? Yep, I'd say hes getting ready to shed again. And yes, pictures are paramount on this site!