Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a female whose left eyecap gets stuck EVERY time she sheds. I always keep her sprayed when it's time for her to shed, but it never helps. She just had a her post-ovulation shed, and this time is no different. This is her first time being gravid. Should I risk the inevitable stress it will cause her to remove it, or just let it be? She was bred to this Mojave. Hoping for a couple females to add to the mix. Thanks a lot for any advice. Ryan.

although a carefully removed cap doesn't usually wig a ball out (just did one for my friend's ball last week ),i would still just let that one go given her condition.
ain't gonna kill her to leave it on, why take a chance.

good luck with your season, ck

It is one of those things you have to judge for your self , I would say if you can secure her head quickly and moisten it and remove it Quickly it would be better than leaving it ,as you stated it all ways sticks so next shed there will be two instead of just one . So if it can be done safely and quickly I say do it ,but you know her better then we do . David

Spraying the snake down just before shed is usually a little to late. In my experience if it is a dry time of the year (which here in south florida it always is in an air conditioned house) once the snake starts to go into "blue", I soak the bedding (aspen) with a good misting. I do this every other day until the snake sheds. When I've done this I've never had a snake retain an eye cap. Also this works great for correcting snakes that have stuck eye caps when or if you miss them going into shed. I can honestly say I've never had a snake retain an eyecap on top of another and I've never had to manually remove one using this technique. This can be a problem if you are using newsprint or any other paper substrate and you must also change the substrate out completely once the snake has shed to prevent any mold from growing.

As far as your current issue, leave it be. There is no reason to stress out a gravid snake.
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Josh & Krysty Hutto
J&K Reptiles

Various Ball Pythons, boas, dogs, cats, fish, an amel tiger retic female, a couple sulcatas and a few other odds and ends.

a BAD dog is MADE not bred, support the American Pit Bull Terrier as the greatest breed of dogs on Earth!!!!!

Thanks for the input. She's definitely a squirmer, and very nervous in general, so I guess I'll just leave her alone.