Rescue with Bad Eye Caps

Hey all, I got an emergency surrender today. Gives to me as a female but I’m thinking a male. Very sweet, came to me cold and stiff as a rock with stuck shed and what I can only assume are eye caps. It made me sad because a lot of the stuck shed came off just as I was looking him over which tells me he hasn’t been handled much. That was a given by how terrified the previous owners were to pick him up. Hey I understand fear of snakes but if you’re too scared to touch one you likely should not own one. He didn’t even have a hide in his old enclosure. Just aspen and a small water bowl. I let him warm up to room temp of my reptile room and then placed him in his temp tub to warm up. My biggest concern is the eye caps. I don’t have experience dealing with them so I wanted to ask advice. I’ve heard of using tape, making sure to tap it against your finger first so it’s not too sticky. I am comfortable doing this but it sounds like it leaves a lot of room for human error so I was wondering my other options. I’ll try to get a pic. I also haven’t sexed him yet but I’m guessing by size and the spurs. I’ll see if I can get a pic of those too. Thanks for ant tips!

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Did he shed any of his head while he was with you? Because I don't think those are stuck eyecaps at all...he may be just showing creases in his eyes where they
were buckled at some point from insufficient humidity.

Using "scotch tape" won't hurt anything either way, if you really think there is something that needs to come off, but don't get aggressive (as some have, mistakenly
damaging the actual eyes in an effort to remove eyecaps). Scotch tape has worked for me before, just a light touch if & when the old eyecaps are ready to come
off, but it's not strong enough to damage the actual eyes if no eyecaps are retained.

Another thread right now has been discussing creases like you're seeing in his eyes, btw.

Here it is: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-going-on-here

I agree, looks like a male...and why ppl get snakes they are afraid of is beyond me. :confusd: Poor baby, glad he's got you to help him now.

Never use any tape on a snake and certainly not their eyes .. or even in their vivs !!!


I’d suggest a good soak but stay close at hand don’t ever leave it them .
Have a wet , rough textured towel ready then wrap the snake up in the towel and let it wriggle around .. all the time it’s moving around you can apply very , very gentle pressure to the head / eyes regions and when it’s head comes out just wrap it up again and continue . The eye caps will normally just come gently off ON the towel ..


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

Did he shed any of his head while he was with you? Because I don't think those are stuck eyecaps at all...he may be just showing creases in his eyes where they
were buckled at some point from insufficient humidity.

Using "scotch tape" won't hurt anything either way, if you really think there is something that needs to come off, but don't get aggressive (as some have, mistakenly
damaging the actual eyes in an effort to remove eyecaps). Scotch tape has worked for me before, just a light touch if & when the old eyecaps are ready to come
off, but it's not strong enough to damage the actual eyes if no eyecaps are retained.

Another thread right now has been discussing creases like you're seeing in his eyes, btw.

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A little bit of stuck shed came off just the center top of his head, just like four little dots, no where near the whole head. I have no experience with layers of eye caps. The only time I ever dealt with it was with my Dekays who just needed help getting an otherwise healthy shed going past his eyes. So my eye cap guess could easily be way wrong. I did see that eye crease thread. It didn’t even occur to me it could be the same. I’ll go back and check it out again. I may try the scotch tape just in case and I promise I will in no way be aggressive. Do you think it’s okay to let him rest for a few days first though? I don’t want to stress him out to much right now. If it’s important to figure out the eye thing ASAP I will though. Thank you!


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I wouldn’t do anything, I got a pastel just like that in worse shape than that. Put him/her in a good tank with plenty of water and I kept the humidity at 70%ish when he went into blue and everything went well on his first shed and he was perfect the second shed. Sometimes it’s best to let nature take care of itself and not stress the snake.

Then if he doesn’t shed right u can intervene. But with the right care he should bounce right back and less stress this way

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Never use any tape on a snake and certainly not their eyes .. or even in their vivs !!!


I’d suggest a good soak but stay close at hand don’t ever leave it them .
Have a wet , rough textured towel ready then wrap the snake up in the towel and let it wriggle around .. all the time it’s moving around you can apply very , very gentle pressure to the head / eyes regions and when it’s head comes out just wrap it up again and continue . The eye caps will normally just come gently off ON the towel ..


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Ok, so no tape. I know there will be different views on tape but frankly I’m just not sold enough on its effectiveness in this situation to try it unless it’s absolutely necessary. I’ll definitely try the bath. And I would not leave him. I’ve seen people leave snakes in baths before and it makes me so sad. I always remember one video in particular of a poor baby sand boa left alone in six inches of water to swim for 45 minutes! Thanks for the advice!

I’m your opinion do they look like eye caps? And do you have an opinion on the sex? I know you can’t always tell based on spur size but I’m just curious other people’s thoughts.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Danger noodles

I wouldn’t do anything, I got a pastel just like that in worse shape than that. Put him/her in a good tank with plenty of water and I kept the humidity at 70%ish when he went into blue and everything went well on his first shed and he was perfect the second shed. Sometimes it’s best to let nature take care of itself and not stress the snake.

Then if he doesn’t shed right u can intervene. But with the right care he should bounce right back and less stress this way

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Thanks! He’s definitely far from the worst I’ve seen, thankfully! I don’t plan in doing anything for a few days regardless, I want to let him settle in and rest. Do you mean you have a snake with eyes that look like this one, it was eye caps?


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I personally would not try using tape. I’ve heard about it, but have never tried it. I was just not willing to risk permanently damaging their eyes. For any rescues I’ve had with stuck shed, I have let them soak in shallow luke warm water and used my hands or a wet washrag or towel to gently rub any stuck shed. Most of the time the next shed takes care of everything I can’t dislodge. As for the eyecaps, it does not look like retained eyecaps to me, just dimples or creases from incorrect humidity. Correcting the husbandry now that he’s in your care should go a long way toward correcting the issue, along with a shed or two depending on the severity of prior damage.

I don't see stuck eye caps. The eyes would be a lot more milky if they had caps still. The best way to get them off is a damp paper towel or one of those rubber thumb/finger covers they use when sorting a lot of papers. Your post office should have a bunch.

Those spurs do not indicate male or female. I've had females with larger spurs than any of my males. The only way to tell is to try and pop it or have someone experienced probe it. Popping is quick and painless, albiet a little difficult for a snake that size. If you get sperm plugs then it's a male; get nothing, female.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Eramyl

I don't see stuck eye caps. The eyes would be a lot more milky if they had caps still. The best way to get them off is a damp paper towel or one of those rubber thumb/finger covers they use when sorting a lot of papers. Your post office should have a bunch.

Those spurs do not indicate male or female. I've had females with larger spurs than any of my males. The only way to tell is to try and pop it or have someone experienced probe it. Popping is quick and painless, albiet a little difficult for a snake that size. If you get sperm plugs then it's a male; get nothing, female.

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In my (very limited) experience the spurs tend to be longer and more curved in males, but certainly not always. I don’t think I mentioned but I haven’t popped him yet because he was so cold and stiff when he came to me. I have experience popping hemipenes and I‘ll check him but there’s no rush. I’m mostly speculating by the spurs for fun in the meantime. :)

Thanks for the advice on the eyes! I didn’t realize they would stay milky if they were eye caps.


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