Retained shed, wrinkled blue eyes

[Linda]

Camille's tank is a 30 gallon one and Sudan's is a 50 gallon.
Camille's is a taller type and Sudan's is the wide breeder type that isn't as tall.
Should I use 2 in each one?

Linda

[SatanicIntention]

There are alot of breeders on this site that keep their snakes at 94-95 on the hot side and their snakes eat on a consistent basis and are just as healthy. 90 degrees is just too low for the warm side, and will make the snake not eat consistently, therefore stressing out the owner My girl is kept at these temps and she is very healthy, very fat and happy as a clam. I don't know where other people have gotten their information, but they are most likely not breeders and are going off of misleading information someone else has passed off as fact. I know it gets confusing. Maybe if the entire enclosure was kept at 95, I can see how the snake could have some problems. But if the cool side is a good 10 degrees cooler than the warm side, and the snake has a place to get away from the warm side(if there is a proper gradient as there should be), then there won't be any issues. I think the main reason why alot of caresheets say 90 degrees is because many new keepers start out using the analog thermometers and place them on the glass up near the top of the cage. First, the analog temp and humidity gauges are doodie, and second, placing them near the top of the cage will not get an accurate reading of what the snake is experiencing anyway. I think anything over 95 on the hot side should be avoided and anything over 85 on the cool side as well. Nothing lower than 80 throughout the enclosure.

I'm writing a book and didn't even know it. About the digital unit, no, you don't need a second one. I have two just because I'm picky and retentive about Amani's care. Here's a pic of what I have:

top view:


With one unit, you can place the unit flat on the floor of the cool side, and run the probe outside of the enclosure, and then back inside(since it is 6' long and you don't really want 6' of cord inside the cage) and place the probe under the warm side hide. The way I have mine is, they are both velcroed to the side of the tub(1 unit for warm/1 for cool), and then the probe is placed under the hide on each side. This accurately measures the temps that the snake is experiencing.

With the sick girl, keep the humidity as low as possible. If her enclosure is big enough, you can give her a humid hide(Take a look at our DIY section), so she won't be exposed to the humidity constantly. With the lil' boy, humidity can be around 65% or so. Have you tried putting him in an escape-proof plastic shoebox with some water yet? Hopefully that will help get his eyes fixed and get all of that extra mess off of him. Poor guy.

Anywho, keep asking those questions. We love 'em! Let us know how it all goes.

[Linda]

Becky,

You are great!! Thanks for the pics. My guys are in the typical glass tanks with screen tops so I have to cover them almost completely to get the temp and humidty up.
I use an under the tank mat on the hot side and a red heat/basking lamp on the hot side to get the temp on the hot side to 90. I can't get it any higher.
hmmm...unless I use a 100w red bulb instead of the 75w. But that might make it too hot. sigh....this is frustrating.

I put Camille's red heating lamp on the side of her tank as it is so tall. It is right against the glass and has caused no breakage, etc.
Sudan's is on top of the screen but I can move it down if need be.

I am very anal when it comes to my pets. Once you know me, you will figure that out. LOL
I'm doing 2 probes in each of their cages.

Sudan is NOT a lil boy. He is a BIG boy. He is 3 ft 7 inches long and will be three years old on July 25.
I put him in a shoebox for 1/2 an hour and then checked on him. Don't want him suffocating and he was very laid back and mellow. I took the lid off the shoebox and he stayed in there. I have to go back and check again soon.
One eye seems to be turning normal partially but the other is still very blue.
I think he has retained eyecaps from before and the lady just didn't tell me the truth.
If and when he sheds and the eyecaps don't come off, I am going to have to drive quite aways to a snake vet but it will be worth it. I may have to have them removed.
I also put a pair of my underwear (no laughing now) in his cage so he gets used to my scent. Yes, they are used. LOL

How do I get approved to attach photos?

Linda

[Isshinharu]

hmmm...unless I use a 100w red bulb instead of the 75w. But that might make it too hot. sigh....this is frustrating.

This is the lamp dimmer that I use with my 75 watt (I also one on the UTH as well). It's made by Lutron and can be found in Home Depot for about $10 back by the light switches (Lutron has it's own little section for their dimmers). If you have to, get the 100 watt bulb and plug it into one of these dimmers. You'll be good to go.

[SatanicIntention]

Ok, I'm off to Home Depot! I like that one, no wiring involved. Good find!

Linda, you sound just like me. I'm anal about everything; my snake, my rats, my frog...

I would try that 100w, but put it on top of the screen instead of the glass. I'd be wary of how hot that glass can get, and wouldn't want her touching it and getting burned. What are you covering the screen with to keep in the heat/humidity? Con-Tac paper(shelf liner) works great, as does Glad Press N' Seal. Cover the whole screen lid with it, except cut a circle 1" bigger in diameter than the lamp. And then cut out small triangles at each corner for ventilation. OR You can always turn Camille's tank on it's side, and she will have more room. I know there's a picture on here somewhere.
Here it is, thank you OreoGaborio for the pic :
[img]http://www.ball-pythons.net/gallery/.../5/Snake42.JPG[/img]

That is awesome that Sudan is getting better. Glad he stayed in the container. If you are worried about him not getting enough air, poke some holes near the top(not the lid) with a soldering iron or a small drill bit. The shoeboxes aren't air tight though, so there shouldn't be any worries. I'm sorry for calling him a "little" boy It's just an affectionate term I use with everything, LoL.

That may help a bit. If you need clarification on anything, let us know.

[Linda]

I went in to check on Sudan and saw that he had shed an entire one piece shed. It was in a clump but I pulled it apart and it was one piece but the eye pieces were missing..although there was one piece hanging off the eye area of the shed. So it looked like one was retained BUT
I took him out and saw that one eye is still blue. I think it has multiple eyecaps on it and the other was dark, had one eyecap hanging off and looked like there is still one on that eye.

He is very head shy. I held him for about 15 minutes so I could get a closer look.
I know he had retained eyecaps before because the lady I got him from told me when I picked him up. But it looks like they haven't been coming off in his last sheds even though I was told they did.

So, what do I do? I have read different comments...use mineral oil, baby oil, vegatable oil, etc.
What do I do and how do I do it so he doesn't get hurt or lose his eyesight?

[SatanicIntention]

I would use mineral oil as it has no added fragrances like baby oil does. You may have to work on that eye pretty meticulously, but his vision may already be messed up. Is the blue eye rough or is it smooth like a normal eyecap? Glad he had a great shed.

If you want to really lube his eye up so that it stays on there for an extended period, try some neosporin. That should help penetrate those dry eyecaps and help get them off without harming the actual eye. Any breeders out there, have ya'll used Vaseline too? Just rub in some neosporin a few times a day so the remaining eyecaps can get soft and hopefully fall off.

Hope this helps a bit

[Linda]

I went to WalMart tonight and I think every herper must have read the post about this unit as they only had two left. I grabbed them both and ran with them.
Couple of questions. It says the probe is for outdoor temps but I am assuming that it is the one that you use for the hot side...just running the wire along the bottom of the tank under the substrate.
How does it keep track of the cool side? Something built right into the unit so it measures what is right there?
And humidty...is it only going to measure the humidity on the cool side?
Is that why you have two units? To measure the humidity on both sides?

I would want to know the humidity in the entire tank, not just on the cool side.
My tanks are both much larger than the one you show in the pics.
So I think I need to go to another WalMart and get two more of these units.

Am I anal, yes I am, after what I have gone through with Camille and causing her RI. And now having Sudan, I don't want him to get one either.

Oh and I also bought clear contact paper to cover the screen on top as recommended by my anal new friend, SatanicIntentions.

[dystopia]

I would want to know the humidity in the entire tank, not just on the cool side.
My tanks are both much larger than the one you show in the pics.
So I think I need to go to another WalMart and get two more of these units.

We all have to setup our enclosures to be comfortable not only for the BP, but also for the keeper's mental state of mind, .

I have a 40g breeder with just one accurite unit and the humidity level stays consistent thru out the whole tank because of the glad wrap on top.

HTH

[Linda]

More ball news. Sudan did shed as I posted before. I am going to try to soak him in a shoebox one more time for the retained eyecaps and if that doesn't work I am going to try to put Neosporin on the bad eye.
But, tonight was feeding night for everyone and I hadn't fed him yet since I got him. I got out a big mouse, heated it up extra hot, ran hot water over it, used the tongs and before I could even dance it in front of him....WHAMMO he struck at that mouse and actually pulled it out of the tongs before I could let go.
What an eater!!! After all the issues I have had with Camille not eating, to have a ball that eats like this is soooooo GREAT!

I finally got all of Camille's shed off of her. She lets me run water over her...sort of like a waterfall and seems to like that.
No swimming pools for this bathing beauty. I discovered that she had one hanging eye cap which I hadn't even noticed before and it came right off.

I didn't give her her Baytril tonight. It has been 11 days since she was at the vet and started the Baytril. The vet wanted her on it for 21 days. I will admit I missed two days in that time. I have not heard her wheezing or clicking at all. I am wondering if the med plus the increased heat and lowered humidity got rid of the RI.

What do you all think? Should I stop the Baytril, which I think the Dr. overdosaged her since she wasn't that bad, as I would like to feed her as soon as I can.
Last time she ate was April 12. She only weighed 226 at the vet and that was 11 days ago.
I would like to get some food into her.
When do you all think I can start feeding her again...meaning when will the flora in her gut be good for digesting after being on Baytril. Last dose was last night (Sunday night).