Exposed Eye Membrane?!

[thedarkwolf25]

Please do not take this the wrong way but there are a few things about your post that trouble me.
1. You apparently purchased your ball from a pet smart (meaning you most likely got an underfed CH or bush baby). When there was apparently a perfectly good reptile shop in your area where you could have purchased one.

I can't speak for PetsMart's treatment of the animals but my wife works there and gets a nice discount, at the same time the Balls they had were on sale for $55 down from the normal $80. We could have gone to Scales 'N Tails but they are much more expensive, we looked at her before buying her and she seemed fine to us. And we can take her back inside if 14 days although I don't think that we will need to.

2.You noticed there was something wrong with her eye. And instead of taking her to a vet you took her back to the reptile store that is "very knowledgeable", to ask for medical advise about an animal you didn't purchase from them.

We only went to Scales 'N Tails to have her sexed, since for some reason PetsMart did not know what sex she was (they said she was "too young to tell"). When I noticed the recessed cap the next morning that was initially what I thought it was. But since I didn't see it when we got her I thought that it might be something else. I called them and asked what it could be, they recommended that I let her soak in around 2 inches of lukewarm water for around an hour. If it didn't go away or I was really worried they would take a look and see if they knew what it was.

We eventually took her in and they looked at her and thought that it might be the "membrane" but they weren't too sure. They said that it should go away with her next feed (which it didn't) or her next shed. They are in fact knowledgeable and have done very well. I called them instead of a vet to get some general info and see if it was common or not, plus if I did need a vet they would know who I could take her to.

Okay I understand that money is tight and you may not want to take your snake to a vet but you only have a few options at this point.

*If* her "eye membrane" is exposed (meaning her spectacle is no longer covering her eye) she will most likely lose her eye if you do nothing. So she needs to see a vet.

*If* the problem is a retained eyecap she should lose it in her next good shed leaving her eye looking normal. No need to see a vet.

*If* there is some other problem with her eye (can't really tell anything from your pics) she needs to see a vet.

Here is where we get down to your options:

1. Take the animal back to pet smart and return it. Go to the "knowledgable reptile store" and purchase a healthy captive bred baby ball.

2. Taker her to a knowledgeable reptile vet and have her looked at and take a fecal sample with you so she can be wormed if needed.

3. Do nothing and possibly have the problem get worse, or go away with the next shed.

Personally If it was me I would choose option 2. But if money is that tight go with option 1. Option 3 is really kinda crappy and I only put it in there because it is an option you have.

Good Luck with your animal. I hope she gets better.

Most likely we will keep her and see what happens with her next shed (that seems to be the opinion of most that replied). We could take her back but if PetsMart is as bad as you think with their reptile care then she might get even worse than with us looking after her. As for buying from Scales 'N Tails they are significantly more expensive than PetsMart and I would rather rescue an animal that might be in a bad living environment than one that is being well cared for.

Thanks for the advice, and I think she will be fine once she sheds.

[Boanerges]

I still can't see the pic well personally but I was sent a snake that looked like this:


I freaked a little due to the fact I had never seen this before (hence the plastic gloves) and I was assured she would shed out of it and indeed she did.

[thedarkwolf25]

I still can't see the pic well personally but I was sent a snake that looked like this:


I freaked a little due to the fact I had never seen this before (hence the plastic gloves) and I was assured she would shed out of it and indeed she did.

Good to know! Glad she was ok, and she's very pretty And that is exactly what it looks like!