Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

A female Dumeril's boa that I recently acquired may have a problem with her eye. One of her eyes has a sort of dimple in it. When I look at her eye it's not perfectly smooth on the surface. It has an indentation as if lt were dry or something. Could this be serious? She always has fresh water to drink and/or bath in. The tank substrate is moist on the bottom and is composed of bed a beast ground coconut shells, aspen bedding and reptibark which I believe is fir bark. The tank she is in has about 50% - 70% humidity and I mist if I think it's to dry. Other than the eye she is realy pretty and healthy. Eats everything I give her. She shed the day after I got her, and needed a little help, soaking and shuch. Also, she has almost no iris in either eye. Even with the lights on her eyes appear nearly all black. My male's irises change according to light conditions. Why would her eyes seem to be dialated all the time? Please help. Could it just be a "bad shed" on one of her eyes?

Gabe

Hello,

Sounds like it could be a retained eye cap or caps from her last shed. Did you happen to check the shed skin to see if the eyecaps had been shed? (if you still have the skin you might check). If not and you think it is a stuck eye cap maybe try soaking her then run a moist cue tip (cotton swab) over the eye area to remove the stuck eyecap. You can also run a damp towel, your finger or a wet leather glove over the eye. Remember, to use very gentle pressure while doing this. You do not want to further damage the eye. You might also mist her head while she is soaking to make sure the eyecap gets some water. I do want to warn you to be very careful while doing this. First, if the snake does have a stuck eye cap they can be pretty testy. In addition, snakes generally dont like their heads messed with in any condition. You can get bitten pretty easy while trying to remove a stuck eyecap. If you dont feel comfortable doing this you might get help from a friend or fellow herper who has done this kind of thing before. If you dont have that resource you might also try calling your local reptile store, one of the workers there may be willing to help you. If not those options you can also contact a vet, but that option will cost you the most money. Sorry for the long post hope this or other advice helps you with your little problem.