Eye Concerns

[famisjamis]

My Ball (2yrs old, don't recall exact weight but he was well within healthy range, little on the heavy side) has refused to eat the last two weeks, he ate once immediately after his last shed (complete, no issues) and hasn't eaten since. It did get cold outside but we maintained the temperature of his cage without issue. This morning he was active during the day, which is unusual for him unless he just shed, and I noticed that in the day light both his eyes look liked they were scratched by something. I've never seen them like this before so I wasn't sure what it was. His shed before this one was pretty rough so I'm wondering if what is photographed is his old eye caps or if it is something more serious? The closest herpetologist is an hour a away so I want to have a better idea before I force him to travel that long in the day.

[Pythonfriend]

when the snake sheds, always check the shed, to see if the shed contains the eye caps.

when one eye cap stays on, its no problem, it will most likely come off during the next shed. its only problematic when multiple eye caps accumulate. in that case, there are strategies to remove them.

unfortunately i dont see anything in the pictures, i mean, i can see the pictures, but i cannot make out the issue in the pictures. but if there would be multiple eye caps accumulating, then it would be visible in the pictures.

[satomi325]

I can't really tell from the photos. You might have to try taking pictures in natural sunlight.

But if you say the eyes have cracks, it could just mean the environment is too try. You need to boost your humidity up.
Eye caps will look wrinkly when its dry.

[Slim]

When I enlarge the first photo, it looks like he has part of a retained eye cap. Like, Pythonfriend said, it's really nothing to worry about unless several of them start to build up. As long as you keep your humidity correct, there is a very good chance it will come off with the next shed.

You can try the pillow case trick, just to see if he can knock it off on his own. If that doesn't work, I wouldn't mess with it at all. Nature will take its course, and it should come off with the next shed.

[BallPythonGuy007]

Could be stuck eye caps from a shed. I would take him and wet a q tip and wipe it past his eye lightly a couple of times

[kc261]

I wouldn't directly mess with it. Like, no putting a q-tip on the eye. As long as it is only a single layer of eye cap, it really isn't an issue. Just make sure there is good humidity, maybe put in a humid hide, when he goes blue next time.

It might just be a wrinkled eye cap due to low humidity, and not even a stuck one at all.

What is your humidity at?

[DooLittle]

Could be stuck eye caps from a shed. I would take him and wet a q tip and wipe it past his eye lightly a couple of times

This ^^ is not a great idea, imo. Do not mess with eye caps. You can do more harm than good.

Op, hard for me to see in my phone. But if It is a stuck cap, leave it be. It should come off with the next shed.

Or, as Satomi said, if the humidity is too low, it may look dented.