I've found countless wild snakes, herping since I was barely more than a toddler flipping rocks, and zero have had missing eyes. Before you say, "they obviously die from those wounds", I've found my fair share of snakes scarred to kingdom come - from injuries the half of which would surely kill a person. Snakes are incredibly tough and can take a beating. They'd probably just rub a bit of dirt in a gouged eye and slither on their merry way. A good many of these heavily scarred individuals are probably survivors of run ins with predators(hawks, raccoons, foxes, hoe wielding human, etc) that managed to escape. Being in an enclosed space actually gives a greater advantage to the limbless snake as they now have 4 walls for extra leverage - it's no coincidence that many snakes will go to ground to chase/corner their prey. You would think if being in tight quarters was a disadvantage they'd adapt to something better - like the always popular ambush near a game trail or watering hole.
Just watch a constrictor bite and coil sometime - they have had a few years to figure out how to protect themselves. Here's a little break down:
1) latches onto prey, this is their most vulnerable state but only lasts a split second
2) throw first coil, usually a "u" shaped one that covers/protects their head
3) add another coil or two and it's pretty much game over
I should mention that a serpent often starts pulling back with their head as soon as they latch on which helps set their teeth while bringing the ensuing coils into play all the sooner. The resulting "stretching" of the prey gives them better control of the situation and allows them to easily throw extra coils if the need arises. Overly enthusiastic constrictors or those that feed more heavily on other snakes - such as king snakes - tend to do this on just about every feed and will often fully wrap their prey regardless of how much control they already have of the situation. This is also why when you mention a person who had a baby rodent scream like a dying child I can't help but shake my head at the needless suffering due to an inexperienced keeper. All it would have taken is a little shaking of the rodent, maybe a slight pinch on the snakes body or poke around it's head, to induce a kill before feeding.
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