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Urgent Help Needed: Boa Eye Problem!

Kilzac

Kilzac

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I had recently obtained a beautiful male paradigm boa. Today as I was holding him I noticed these blood spots on his eye. I have no idea how they got there, as they were not there yesterday. The spots are not covering the pupil but are located in the corner of the eye. I am very worried and no herp vet is open today. He is still active and acting normal, I imagine he must have scratched his eye on accident, since I have no other way to explain the cause of this. I have never seen this before in any of my snakes. If he did scratch it, is it something that will just go away in time, or will medicine be needed? I value anyone's opinion on this. I couldn't get great pictures because he doesn't like to just sit still for long, but I managed to get 2 that shows the blood spots I am talking about.
 

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Thanks Lucille! After reading through that link you posted it did seem to be very familiar. I know years ago my own mother had this happen to her and didn't at all think possible in snakes. I just checked up on him and odly enough the blood was residing. Also at the end of that post it said no treatment is generally necessary. So maybe it will just heal itself, after all the enclosure is new to him and he has been actively rubbing his face all around trying to find an escape so maybe he just bumped it wrong. Also the eye is one of the fastest healing parts of the body. I will get ahold of my vet on Monday. My fingers are crossed and hoping it clears up by tomorrow. I will definitely update his progress. Thanks again Lucille.

Zac
 
I haven't seen this in snakes, but I think Lucille was on point to send you the link to the human equivalent.

As a diver I see people with small broken blood vessels in the eye every now and again (a consequence of pressure differences), and a small bleed in the conjunctiva can look very dramatic and alarming, but is actually no threat to vision and not a permanent problem. It DOES take quite a long time to go away completely though - can be up to a week in a person, possibly longer in a reptile I'd think.

I'd keep a close eye on him (no pun really intended...:eek: ), and as long as it continues to subside, and not get bigger, I wouldn't worry too much. If it does get bigger, or recurs I would get him to a vet though.

One thought - since snakes have a scale cover over the eye it seems unlikely to me that it would have happened as the result of a scratch or sharp bump. I'd be suspecting pressure on the eye - maybe he had been trying to push his head through a small opening? I'd look around the tank and make sure there are no holes (maybe for air or wires etc) about the size of his head at the eyes...
 
Hey Helen,
Thanks for your reply. Good news is that it completely subsided. I honestly thought it would take a while, it came on so fast and went away as fast as it came. It was something crazy that I have never seen before. I am just glad that it won't affect him. He seems to be able to see just find out of the eye. There are holes in his tub but they aren't big enough even for his nose to fit through. I guess it was just a freak accident or something. I wish I could explain it. I will post a pic or 2 of him right now to show it all cleared up

Thanks
Zac
 
His eye now. All better looking
 

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Very interesting. I also have never see that in snakes. I am glad it has cleared up.

I have some thoughts on how/why it happened. You said you recently got him, how recent? Was he a local purchase? Or come from some where else? If he came from somewhere else, it might be an altitude change. (Not sure if that would affect the eye, just tossing out a guess)
 
I picked this guy up a little over a week ago, while it was a local purchase at a local reptile show, the breeder I got him from was out of state, but the elevation change between Ohio to Pennsylvania is pretty slim to none. The only thing I have to go on right now is just his constant rubbing around the tub and might have rubbed a little too hard because he was quite actively exploring his new home, but every snake I have owned has done that and nothing like this has ever happened. But like I said, that is just a thought, I wish I had a definite answer. But your opinions are greatly appreciated and taken into thought. He is all calmed down now and hopefully I will never have to see something like that again.

Zac
 
Thank you very much! :) He is definitely a gorgeous snake. If he would sit still I could get some way better pictures haha. I just wish pictures really showed the true colors this guy has!
 
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