Question?

[Leighanne]

I've read some care sheets but my minds boggled! The one I found this off of sucked anyways so I am asking. Whats up with a BP having a silver eye. Lickity has one black and one silver. I don't get it? Good or bad??

Lickitys doing pretty good by the way. In two weeks shes had 5 fuzzies, its not all that bad. Shes eating. I went to Pet Supplies Plus last Tuesday and UGH!!! They didn't have what I needed anyway but what I did look at was Eeewwww! I saw "Vet trip" written all over their feeders and I said screw it she'll eat my good lookin fuzzies! I'd rather not ya know! When I went to PetCo the day she went to the Vet they were out of feeders. I'm about to try their again this Tuesday though. PetCo has the best lookin feeders. Props!

I have her on newspaper though with her uth, Thermostat, 3 hides. Humiditys varies but never under 70% or over 90%, shes lookin pretty good!! Whoever told me about sticking the Thermometer unit IN the tank to get the right reading(I forget) THANK YOU! Hot spot at about 90 or a little higher. I'm pretty proud of myself and I think her next shed will be a good one! Lickity is SO freakin cute though!! I have non-Reptile friends that think shes just adorable! Shes defiantly Mommy's prized possession though! Well, they all are! Call me crazy but I'd sock somebody for messin with my Anole or my Tarantula, any of them. Aaaawwwwwwwww. SO cute!

I have another question though. I was thinking about it and can't figure it out! Lickity's shed last time was weird. Her head and tail didn't come off but her body came off in one piece. Weird huh? If they start at the head and it rolls off like a sock then how the heck did she get her body off and not her head??? I'm stumped! Well Thanks for reading guys! Later :)

[darkbloodwyvern]

Is the snake's eye cloudy, or can you see her pupil and iris coloration clearly in the silver eye? If she has retained eye cap, and from the sound of her headless shed, she may well have it. Pictures would help immensey..
Did you ask the vet about it? if you didn't I would call Her/Him and ask about that. If it is an eyecap, you will have to get her a higher humidity so she can shed it off.
Does she only eat live feeders? if you can't find the right sizes you can buy them online, i could recommend a few frozen shippers.
i think the humitdity shouldn't get to 90% unless she is shedding, that can cause scale rot, where the snake gets something like athlete's foot, but different kind of fungus, and no feet :D so keep the humid around 60-70% unless she starts a shed.
sometimes snakes shed funny, if the skin left on her head was too dry, but the rest on her body was damp, she may have just rubbed off enough of the skin on her neck to not shed her head. usually you can correct these problems by soaking them. For tough parts like her head and tail, i would recommend a little pure, unscented mineral oil. it is messy because all the scales fall off individually, and sometimes all in your hands, but it usually gets off eyecaps and larger head scales if you dab it on gently for as long as the shed is stuck on. she will probably not mind her tail getting oiled, but you may have a harder time getting her head and eyes. i will use a tissue and wipe the stuff onto their heads while gently restraining their neck. Don't hold her like that for long, and it may not be good to feed her live prey while she has impaired vision from the eyecaps, just in case.

good luck!

[Wolfy-hound]

1. The "silver" eye could be a retained eye cap. If so then you should try removing it by NON-invasive means. In other words, put her in a container with a warm damp towel to crawl around and rub on. Do a SEARCH here for other SAFE ways to remove it, don't poke at it with anything sharp.
2. Snakes start to shed by rubbing their nose and head about on objects. That is why the shed skin normally comes off starting at the nose and rolling off in one piece. They rub their head and neck along things, and that's probaly how yours started the shed on the neck. When snakes have retained sheds it normally will be on the head, and on the tail end. I think it has to do with the humidity perhaps not being proper(not neccesasrily NOW, but before you got her maybe) but I'm sure there are other reasons. Again, the warm damp towel to crawl in should remove the last bits, a good soaking could help as well. Some people don't believe in soaking snakes or lizards, but I do mine quite frequently, and I RARELY have anything but whole sheds(rolled up in the 'sock-ball' style). Not whole sheds on lizards, of course, I meant the snakes do..
ANYWAY. I hope that helps, and I am sure that more informed people will also chime in with other help.
Wolfy

[6y0ballpython]

I agree that a picture would help enormously! Without a picture, it's impossible to tell if the silver eye is on the pupil or the eye cap itself. If it's on the eyecap, then it's 90% sure that it's a retained eye cap. Especially if it wasn't there before she shed. If it's on the pupil, then it could be something else that needs a vet visit. I can't think of anything else that it could be besides a ret. cap, but a picture would sure clear that assumption up.

Cher

[Leighanne]

I have NO clue! Does anybody have any pictures of Retained eye caps on BP's or what their normally supposed to look like?? I had her head in the sun through my window and shined my flashlight on her eyes. She wasn't a very happy girl with me but shes none the less cooperative. Shes a good girl.

I am sorry I have no pictures I have no camera. When we went to see Jeff Corwin tonite I asked my friend to bring her camera and she did but never got the pictures I wanted. She brushed me off. Oh freakin well. I am a sucky Fauna person with no camera. :(

When I looked at her eyes I finally saw the pupil. It is darker in my room lately though because the suns just not out like it used to be seeing as how its Fall. I saw the pupil though and watched it contract in light.

I am also calling the Vet tommorrow and I will be nice but...Lickity had shed before her Vet visit and in my opinion he should of seen it and thats what I'm calling him about. He knew this was my first BP and even if it wasn't you should automatically just check these things!!! Lickity shed like two or three weeks ago though so if this is a retained eye cap I'm not quit sure what to do. Shes not eating live and her humidity readings flux a little. When I open the lid the humidity drops and it was only at 90% once so no I'm not flipping out. It stays at 70 to 73% all the time. If I had to drop the humidity the only way I can think to do that is to drill more holes in her container but I want to keep the heat in and I don't want it dropping really low.

Also, I would NEVER poke at my Snake and especially with anything sharp and thats kind of a Duh.

If she does have retained eye caps though from two or three weeks ago how should I get them off?? I think I've read posts where some people say they shed them off next shed, some say it blinds them. I'm confused. Theres soaking and trying to rub it off with a cottonball which is what I did. Then theres tape. I heard it costs 1200.00 for the Vet to do it. I'm just mad if she does have them he didn't notice it in the first place!! Should I assume she has retained eye caps?? Then what should I do?? Both of them look kinda different and they just have silverish tints. I could of SWORE I got them off though. :((

Thank You for any info you can provide!!

[Cat_72]

If it is retained eyecaps, they will more than likely come off with the next shed. Whoever told you that a vet charges $1200 to do it is out of their mind. And do NOT stick tape to your snake's eyes, especially not being certain that there is even a retained eyecap there.

The "sharp object" was mentioned because some will tell you to try to grab ahold of the edge of the eyecap with a tweezers. I'm sure the "poking" part was not meant literally.

[Schlyne]

If you are not sure what a retained eyecap looks like, it is much easier to take a wet washcloth and gently swirl it around the eye to remove it. If the eyecap is not retained, you will not do any damage to the eyecap with the washcloth as if you were trying to take tweezers to remove an eyecap that was NOT retained.


If you can find the shed and look for the head piece, you should be able to tell if the eycaps were shed or not.

Otherwise it is likely that a retained eyecap will come off with the next shed.

If both of the snakes eyes look like "shiny little marbles" when compared to each other, it is likely both of the eyecaps came off.

[Leighanne]

Thank You so much Cat and Schylne. I kinda figured she would be ok with another shed. I mean I know eyes can be problems but I just thought they have two skin layers and if the eyes were left on then it would be the top layer and it would all just come off, at least thats what I thought.

I don't have her head piece Schylne. It sucks but I don't. Last time she shed I took damp cottonballs and gently rubbed it off and then it was a wet mess. In the middle off it when I was done we set it on the counter and then my Fiancee threw it away. I tried looking in trash cans for it but couldn't find it. Its in my memory block though that the eye caps rolled off when I was doing it. I could swear I got them.

Cat I didn't mean offense to that person. I didn't know what he meant though. I forgot all about people using tweezers. I had remembered the tape though but no I'm not dumb. I would never do that unless I straight KNEW the eyes didn't come off and even then I don't believe I'd take tweezers to my baby girls head. I would try less invasive means.

I donno. I feel pretty confident that her next shed will be ok and in one piece. The rubbermaids GREAT and I know all the ways to get humidity up and everythings set up good now that I completely believe I'll get a one piece next time. Thanks again!

[darkbloodwyvern]

sounds like it will be ok next time. If the humidity goes much over 75% i would watch out and make sure her belly is dry and her substrate isn't too moist so she doesn't get scale rot. I would also advise taking her out and soaking her in some lukewarm water when you notice she is turning blue to shed. An hour of soaking is usually fine, and it may prevent you having to deal with another partial shed. Rubbing her down with a warm washcloth can also help if she still has retained stuff. Just try to check her next shed for her eyecaps and it should be fine, and you can ask the vet about it if the eyecaps don't come off her next shed. It sound like she will do fine!
good luck
~jessi :)

[Leighanne]

I'm feeling better now. I called the Vet after my last post because she had shed before her Vet visit and I thought he would of noticed something. He said he didn't remember seeing anything weird with her eyes and didn't make notes of anything. The Vet said sometimes BPs look like they may have retained eye caps because they have wrinkles in their cornea's, or something like that! Vet Mike also said that IF she did have any they should come off easily with the next shed providing her husbandry, and humidity are correct. I told him since the last time I saw him I had everything fixed the way it should be and was feeling confident I wouldn't have problems with this next shed.

Then we went to PetCo for more fuzzies because I was all out. Yicks! PetCos the best place to get feeders from here and they didn't even have the right size Rats let only Hopper Mice. :rolleyes: Their small Rats were to big I thought. I checked shipped frozen feeders awhile ago and its cheap until you hit the $30.00 shipping or more. I normally don't have that in a week. I do have those Holiday pays coming up. Well see, but I like her on frozen. So I got fuzzies and just decided to try 2 or 3 at once, once a week for now. Darn Pet Stores.

I was also looking at and held quit a few Reptiles. I looked at their Balls again and they had three of them and YUCK! One was big and bulky and healthy as crap looking, one had some shed on her and looked like she needed a meal but not as bad as the last one under the log I looked at. It had wrinkles down its neck and shedding in pieces. :( I told her, I said "You know you can mist their tanks a couple of times a day?" I didn't say anything else because I didn't want to sound bad I think the Lady already thought that. She said she knew.

When I lifted the log to see the one I told her it looked skinny and that it had a retained eye cap. My friend that was their said I got a dirty look and that Pet Store people hate it when you know what your talking about. It was OBVIOUS though! Half of the poor baby's head had already shed and the eye looked good and then the other half of the face and that eye their was still covered in skin and was REALLY silver. I looked and went WOW, so THATS what a retained eye cap looks like. I mean I feel really bad for the little guy but there was nothing I could do. If you don't have the money, you don't have it and in my opinion its worse to buy something you actually KNOW you can't afford and purposely having it live without what it needs. I still felt crappy leaving it there though. I hope they at least mist them. I felt really bad for the poor baby but at the same time I don't mean to sound selfish saying it but it was educating. I now know what a retained eye cap looks like. I really don't mean that in an evil way though.

The Pet Store Lady was nice and remembered me and asked about Lickity and I told her I took her to the Vet and she was healthy and I was able to very politely tell her about MY dumb mistake of thinking Lickity could take an adult mouse and so at least now she knows all those babies are on fuzzies. Well at least fuzzies are better then nothing, or trying to feed them something way to big.

The Lady even stopped me from holding the Skunk Gecko because their to fast she said. I had no clue, but I thought it was comendable.

Anywayz, Thank You for all your info everybody! I am glad I don't have to worry! :D

[6y0ballpython]

So what you are saying is that Lickity didn't shed her head or tail at all???? Are you sure about this? If she only shed her body skin, and her head and tail didn't shed, then you've got a retained eye cap. If you have the shed from her head, you should be able to tell if her eye caps shed by looking at the shed skin. It looks like you might have to wait until her next shed, which is ok because she won't go blind with one or two retained sheds. When she goes into her next shed, make sure that you provide her with lots and lots of moisture. I mean lots!!!! Increase the humidity in the cage to about 80% for the whole time she is in shed mode. Also, at the end of her shed cycle, the last few days, like about 4 or 5, start soaking her twice a day in an ice cream pail with the lid on and a small hole for her to breath out of. My trick when I soak my male ball python is to cut a good sized hole in the top of the pail lid and then put a metal hand strainer over the hole and tape it there. That way he can't get out, but still has an open air pail to sit in. And you can watch the snake better to make sure they are safe. I also normally put a small jar filled with water (to weigh it down), in the middle of the pail so my snake has something to coil around. He stays down in the water better that way. Snakes like something to grasp onto, and in a pail, they have to just sit there, so what do they do????......they spend all of their time trying to get out the top. If they have something to coil around, they'll stick closer to that, thus getting a better soak. About a half and hour is plenty because the water will cool down too much if you soak her any longer. Two good soaks a day for last few days of her shed should ensure that she sheds her head and tail along with the rest of her. It may not be in one peice, but she should be able to shed better. It sounds like maybe you didn't have enough humidity for her prior to her shed. Some snakes require more than others. My male requires a lot, while my female tends to require less and sheds fully with less effort on my part. Also, if you put warm moistened moss in her hide while she is in shed mode, it will ensure a nice shed. It needs to be moistened about every two days if you have it in her hide, and every day if you have it just in the open air of the cage. I do both during a shed. Make sure not to cover the bottom of the hide though, just put it in the hide along the edge. This is so she doesn't have to lay on it and start to get belly irritation. The moisture will hang in the air and collect on the ceiling of her hide. Make sure you check it daily for condensation build up that may drip on her. Wipe off the ceiling of her hide daily with paper towel or something to ensure that she doesn't sit in the wet. These are all just ideas as to how to get a real nice shed out of her. Hopefully she sheds those eye caps next time. She's a young snake right? She should shed about every 8 weeks or so then because she's growing. I would wait until he next shed to see what is up with that eye. At least then you'll know, for sure if it's a retained eye cap or not. If the caps come off, then it's something else. If they come off, then your problem is solved. As long as she's comfortable right now, I wouldn't stress her out trying to get the eye cap off right now. If she was an older snake that only shed three times a year, then maybe, but she'll shed soon again for you and you'll have a better idea then what you are dealing with. Sorry for the long story....I tend to go on and on when I am thinking. I just write what I would do if I were in your situation. I wouldn't spend tons of money on a vet at the very earliest until the next shed. I have a snake with a wrinkly eye that has shed her eye caps nicely with the last shed. She just has a wrinkly eye and that's that! It looks like a retained eye cap, but it's not, it's just her the way she is. It's age in her case. She is a very old snake and has a lot of war wounds. I am still getting to know her every day. I hope this can help you out, and in case I'm totally off topic and haven't helped at all, then at least you've learned something...lol.

Cher

[Leighanne]

She is a baby and I like your soaking technique! Neither Lickity or my Corn Jakers like bath time obviously. With Corns though you don't really have to worry about it but now with Lickity I was wondering how to perfect my soaking techniques and make it a more enjoyable experience. Heck just actually getting them to do it! lol

Like I said though I called the Vet and I even got to see what a retained eye cap looks like so I think I'm ok now. I'm not worrying about it. This whole thread got started because I posted she had a silver glint to her eyes but it doesn't look anything like the retained eye cap I saw. She had her last shed three weeks ago and her tail didn't come off and I got it off though and her head piece didn't come off but I got that to. Unfortunately the head got thrown away and even digging through the trash can I couldn't find it. I have recollection of seeing me getting the eyes off though. I sucked the first two weeks I had her for many reasons my fault and not my fault. In the end though I don't regret getting her because she has taught me a heck of a lot I needed to know!! I have her set up the way shes supposed to be now though and am feeling confident the next shed will be good!

It was bad she didn't shed her head but I've seen way worse. At least she wasn't shedding in pieces. I saw that at the Pet Store the other day and all I could think was "OOWWW!" for the poor aminals! Thank you for those tips though, and when she sheds again I'll make sure to post and tell you guys whats going on! :)

[Schlyne]

Keep in mind if you are going to soak a snake, you don't wanter water level to be higher than half the height of the snake's body. You don't want the snake to panic and drown.

[Leighanne]

Thanx

[6y0ballpython]

Also,you can put a face cloth in the bottom of the pail so that the jar of water you are using for her to coil around doesn't slip and slide around. Also, it gives your snake something to sit on and feel more comfortable. If you are trying to get her to shed during the soak, it's also something for her to rub on. I just use a regular facecloth from my cupbaord.You have to watch her though and make sure that she doesn't get tangled up in it and end up drowning. My snake is full grown and is a lot more settled than the youngin's sometimes are. Older snakes will usually just sit there. The young ones have all that energy and spend all their time trying to get out.

Good Luck, Cher