Will this come off on its own or will have to intervene and help her with its removal?





You need to try and remove this. While the snake may sometimes shed the "extra" cap the next time, there are records of these building up and eventually causing eye damage, so it is better to get it off.



The first thing you need to do is make sure the snake really retained the spectacle. You should be able to see some of the loose skin right around the spectacle. If you can't, I suggest getting the snake to a competent reptile vet to remove it.



There are a couple of techniques. I generally hold the snake very securely (an extra pair of hands is useful here!) and with a blunt pair of tweezers, try to get hold of any free edge of the spectacle. Often just a very gentle pull will free it. Don't pull hard. If it doesn't come right away, don't try and force it.



I have heard of people using tape wrapped around a finger to stick to the spectacle and pull it off, but I have never had any success with that.



However you do it, be careful. You can really damage a snake's eye by trying to remove a spectacle that has already been shed.


-----
Chris Harrison

[ Hide Replies ]

• Sinaloan's eyecap not shed - ryang, Mon May 19 08:05:00 2003
• RE: Sinaloan's eyecap not shed - chrish, Mon May 19 09:22:11 2003
• RE: Sinaloan's eyecap not shed - wayne13114, Mon May 19 09:26:42 2003
• RE: Sinaloan's eyecap not shed - ryang, Mon May 19 16:59:47 2003
• I've had good luck with packing tape, the clear stuff. n/p - Joel R, Mon May 19 20:14:08 2003
• RE: Tape - markg, Tue May 20 10:58:34 2003