Retained eye caps - what to do?

[Mouse]

the BP I recently rescued, Mouse, has retained eye caps? I have shedding aid that says to spray it directly on their eyes. Is there anything else I can do. He is really touchy about his head, and he is just settling in, so I don't want to disturb him much. Please let me know what to do. Thanks

[JLC]

If I were in your shoes, I would just make sure the humidity is around 60% and let him alone. The retained eyecaps aren't going to hurt him unless they build up shed after shed over a long period of time. Usually, a snake will simply rub them off on their own.

EDIT: If you try this, make sure he has something rough to rub against in the cage. If it's one of those all plastic environments, you might try leaving a towel or something in there for him to rub on.


If they don't come off in a few days, you might try holding him with a damp towel and letting him slither through the towel. Some people recommend scotch tape or a drop of oil on the eyes....but I'm always very hesitant to mess with the eyes directly when the animal can probably take care of it himself anyhow.

[Krynos]

If they don't come off in a few days, you might try holding him with a damp towel and letting him slither through the towel.

That is what I would do too.

[ErikH]

I have never heard of a shedding aid, so I would be wary of using it, if I were you. You can try soaking him to try to loosen the eyecaps. Put him in a container filled with tepid water high enough to reach halfway up his body, and leave him in for 30 minutes. This may loosen them up.


The consensus of most people on this site seems to be that you would be better off leaving the eyecaps and waiting for them to come off with the next shed, rather than trying to remove them and causing permanent eye damage. If your temps and humidity are correct, I should think they will come off with the next shed.

[elevatethis]

That shedding aid stuff is a waste of money...just simply keeping the snake in the proper conditions (50-60% humidity) will fix the problem by itself in a shed or two.

[Chad Schwinn]

I'm with Erik H...


Go for the soak. Just double check the water temp before you put the snake in and "check in every few minutes" on him. It definately won't hurt (very non invasive and not very stressful to the animal or person) and may be just the trick.

Good luck!

[frankykeno]

I'm with the rest here Brianna...in this case patience, possibly a good soak and getting that humidity bang on will likely take care of this issue without you messing with the snake's eyes directly. One of our snakes, Saoirse, came to us with at least 5 layers of retained eyecaps on one eye (the other was slightly better). We got the first three layers off with soaking...the next layer on her next shed...the final layer on the next shed after that. Granted Saoirse has a bit of a dimple in that eye but we have determined she has vision and the eye is bright and clear. Had we messed with that I believe we might have blinded this lovely snake needlessly.


You'll be amazed how much consistent good husbandry will do for your sweet Mouse over the next few weeks and months.

~~Jo~~

[Regal Boids]

Just a quick Q and sorry to steal the thread but how do you know when a snake is blind?

[Gecko Den]

Just a quick Q and sorry to steal the thread but how do you know when a snake is blind?

The dog and the white cane with the red tip are always good indicators.........