Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So we have a rescue Ball, he's good sized, seems to be in good health over all except that he's a little skittish around the head. However, he seems to be retaining multiple eyecaps. When we first brought him home they said that he had just shed, had originally retained both, but one had come off and there was only one remaining. We decided to hold off on forcing the eyecap off and let him settle in. Well, the humid season rolled around and he shed again. Two eye caps came off in his shed (one on each eye), and the shed was pretty good overall (he lost all of the rough skin he had when he got him), but he had only lost one layer of what seems to be multiple retained eyecaps on his left eye, and one retained on his right eye. We've tried gently rubbing the more serious one with water and baby oil, and have been able to get an edge up but could get the whole thing to pull off (using tweezers). Last night we left him in a damp bag over his heating pad (inside of his cage, the heating pad is outside on the bottom), and this morning I couldn't really tell whether he had lost anything at all, but if he has, it's not much.
I'm willing to take him into the vet, but I was just wondering if anyone had any tips or tricks for removing multiple eyecaps. I'm just worried about the poor guy getting infected, and I suppose that many retained eyecaps would explain why he's so shy about the head (I'd be shy if I couldn't see what was coming at me)...
Thanks in advance!

--Jaime

P.S. This is the picture of the big guy - he's a little under 4 feet and pretty much as sweet as can be:

-----
2.1 Normal Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
0.1 Bearded Dragon

I wouldn't leave him in the bag directly on top of the heating pad bc if he gets to warm he has no way to move off of the heat which could be fatal. I think some people suggest to use a cotton ball with some baby oil to help rub it off.

He had his substrate, the glass, a towel, and the bag between him and the heat pad, so I'm pretty sure that overheating would not be a problem. I promise, we were smart about it. The other side of the problem is, if he's not by his heat pad, then he's on the side of the cage that just in his substrate is going to get really cool over night and that's really not a good idea if he's in a damp bag (that's just asking for a RI).
I also think that we've tried everything possible with the baby oil, but it's possible that we just need to be really persistant...

thanks!
-----
2.1 Normal Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
0.1 Bearded Dragon

to remove the eye caps ...it's easy to put him in warm to hot water for 45 minutes in a closer container.... get scotch tape and wrap it backwards around your finger(sticky side up) and just roll it over the eye cap and it'll just come off and there is no harm done.....*(thnks becca for that tip) haha.... hope it works for ya!
brent
-----
17 BP
2 GTP
3 Chameleons
6 Beardies
1 Crested
2 Huskies
1 blue and gold macaw
1 african grey
1 patternless albino Burmese
2 Reticulated pythons (*purple and lav. albino tiger)
1 savannah monitor ("Spike"
6 treefrogs
2 Brazilian Rainbow boas *(GF named them prince and princess)
1 live in gf lol
= Busy House

When I get rescues with bad eyecaps I have a tendency to work from the inside out.

1. Make sure that the snake is settled into his new home, well hydrated and feeding.

2. Stave off any infection with a round of antibiotics (especially for the really bad cases)

3. Start a series of soakings - luke warm water for about half an hour - changing the water half way thru so it doesn't get cold.

4. Take snake out of warm bath, wrap up in warm damp towel and let him sit inside sauna like (most won't mind this at all). Take corner of towel and gently rub front to back on eye. If corner doesn't come up you can apply a lubricant (baby oil, ky, mineral oil, etc).

Some things to remember:

- be sure that it is in fact a retained cap before working on it
- they don't all have to come off at once - it may take several days of work
- anything around they eye needs to be done gently!!! several stubborn layers can be frustrating and time consuming - but you don't want to cause additional problems.
- if you are really gentle you can use tape to help pull the eyecap up but I stress GENTLE - tearing at it will cause problems.
-if the snake is visibly stressed by the treatment - give him a break and try again in a few days.

Good luck!
-----
Tosha
JET Pythons

Insert Silly Quote Here

I agree with Tosha, and I think if there are several layers, patience is a necessity. Just keep at it a bit at a time. It'll all come loose eventually.

Quig
-----
Don't interupt me when I'm talkin' to myself

Thanks for the advice-
I think that a lot of patience and continued working on it is what will probably do the trick. He seems to be able to handle us working on him for 10-15mins or so before he gets a little stressed, and we've just been letting him go back into his cage when he gets that way. I've had a few confirmations that it is, indeed, a series of stuck on eye caps.
I have a question about soaking, however... At the place we rescued him from they had been soaking him every day to try to loosen the cap, and that seemed to stress him out... any idea why that might happen? I should probably try to soak him on my own just to see if possibly they were doing something wrong (too cold, too hot, etc.), but I was curious if there could have been something else going on before I pop him in the tub. Also, what temp should I have the bath at for him? I've heard that what feels warm to us is scalding to the snakes, so I want to make sure he's comfortable.

Anyway, thanks again, and I'll let you guys know what works! Any more tips/tricks would, of course, always be appreciated... I've never had to deal with an eyecap problem before, so I'm just going off what I've read and some advice from friends.
-----
2.1 Normal Ball Pythons
0.0.1 Okeetee Corn Snake
0.1 Bearded Dragon

I recently had a similar problem with a 3-month old snake (Ella).

Ella had a stuck shed on her head and neck region. This included one stuck eye cap. I did the soak method several times over the span of a week to help with the stuck shed (I also invested in a hygrometer to ensure that her humidity is good).

Here's what I did:
* Grabbed a low plastic container with a lid.

* Filled it with warm water until it was at a depth that would reach halfway up her side.

* Waited until the water temperature was 85 degrees F.

* Placed her inside with lid secure on 3-sides so that I didn't have to poke air holes in it.

* Placed the container with her inside it into her enclosure.

* Set a timer for 45 mins.

* Observed her trying to escape. Her head went underwater several times. I think she may have taken a drink, too.

* Took her out after 45 mins.

* Using a soaked Q-tip, I rubbed the stuck cap and "head piece" of her shed.

* The "head piece" started rubbing off and the eye cap came with it easily.

During the process, I was careful to gently restrain her head while working around the eye. She isn't as head shy as your guy, but I did give her a break or two in between head rubs.

The soak may stress your snake, but over the long run he'll probably appreciate having clear eyes. Otherwise, a trip to the herp vet may be in order.
Pictures of Ella at my blog