Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What would happen if you removed an eye cap to far down?
How would you treat it?
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Got Balls?
Josh Molone

What do you mean by too far down?
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www.HeathersHerps.com

-Ohh, what a Lady-

Balls for Life, Baby!

Like ugh... Could you like pull the unready to come off eye cap off or something?
Or is the really no way of pulling something off thats not supposed to come off?
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Got Balls?
Josh Molone

Well, if you pull hard enough, you can pull anything off...
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www.HeathersHerps.com

-Ohh, what a Lady-

Balls for Life, Baby!

If there is an eyecap AFTER a shed then it shouldn't be a problem removing it. I wouldn't just pull it off anytime. If you miss it for several weeks just wait until the next shed to take care of it.
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www.fbballpythons.com

I removed 2 eycaps 2 days ago and the eye is dry and crusty.
Will it clear up? Or did I do something to it?
They both came off nicely after soaking for about 2 hours.
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Got Balls?
Josh Molone

It sounds like you removed the actual scale spectacle. Your snake is going to be blind in that eye. You can't repair it.

This is why you get an experienced hand to aid in these things.

Best way to remove an eye cap from a bad shed is to use a wet cotton swab, and gently roll at the base. No chance of damage.

Of course proper husbandry and avoiding the stuck eye cap is the optimal situation.
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http://www.GilbertBoas.com/
http://www.BoaList.com/

Dry and crusty ....mmm don't sound right. Can you post pics? How did you remove the eyecaps?
If you look at the shed skin you will be able to see the old eyecaps. If your humidity is low you will have stuck/bad sheds.

Dave

Would he still breed?

We've got a guy here that only has one eye, and the eye that "isn't there" looks dry and crusty. It happened because his previous owners allowed him to build up upwards of 10 layers of eyecaps, and they eventually punctured the eye and it died. Obviously this isn't your case, I just wanted to let you know how he came to be short one eye.
In this case, it doesn't seem to bother him one bit, and we plan to breed him in a few years if he still seems to be 100% healthy otherwise.

...but "dry and crusty" sounds like "not there any more" to me.
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-Jaime Palma
Mad-City Constrictors

stop getting diagnosis from the internet, without any more information than your poor description.

see a vet. that is the only responsible thing you can do until you have the actual experience and knowledge to deal with a situation.

best of luck. see a vet.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles

Not everyone has access to a real reptile vet. In my case I have vets around that WILL NOT treat reptiles. I can travel up to 3 hours to find a vet that will even see my snakes but have talked to these vets on the phone in a couple of medical situations I have had and they were clueless. They would have loved to have taken my money but probally didn't know anymore about the situation than I already did. I will take advise from an experienced Herper anyday (RDR, 8Ball, NERD, EBN, or probally even yourself). Now...you are right that you can't take all your advise from this forum to the bank but it may be the best advise some people can get. For everyone that gives bad information on here there are 2 that know different and will post it. My advise in this situation is for the poster to call a replical herper and get advise from them.
Link

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www.fbballpythons.com

i know everyone means well, but that doesn't mean the advice is always good, or responsible.

experienced keepers can chat amongst themselves freely and exchange thoughts and ideas. they have experience, and context, to work with and apply to the situation.

Josh is a new keeper, with next to zero experience, and that is clearly reflected not in just his ongoing questions, but in the way he ASKS the questions.

nothing wrong with being new, but asking vague questions on an online forum is not the way to learn about potentially life threatening issues. you need someone with experience to help you learn the ropes.

is the eye bad? is it dead? is it infected? does it just have dried poop or blood on it? does it have the common crinkle that ball eyes often get?

we have no idea. Josh has provided next to no information about it. and yet some are already suggesting the eye is dead, and you can move on. that isn't responsible.

an infected eye can be treated with meds. a badly infected eye can cause further problems. simple mouthrot can spread to the eye and cause the haziness or infection. or again, it could just have dried poop on it.

a vet of any caliber would be better than a vague post online. a skilled keeper would also PROBABLY know instantly whether or not the eye was a problem. in the case of the skilled keeper, who is Josh going to pick for that?

i have no idea. so i recommend a vet. even a horse specialist can look at the eye and see infection, or not, or a larger issue.

vets may not all know how to breed pythons, or what makes a good cage setup, but a first hand look at the animal goes a very long way, and is a step in the right direction.

if this post would have had a quality picture to go along with it, along with some history and detail, then LOTS of folks would have been able to give a good response. as it is, there is no picture, no detail, heck, i am not even sure that he knows what an eyecap looks like. he needs help. see a vet.

i see questions on the forum all the time. every day. "is my snake pretty?" is a harmless question. "is my snake sick?" is not. and yet lots of folks get so eager to reply, to anything, and they hammer out whatever comes to mind, with little thought to the consequences of that advice.

"the eye is already dead"- what? really? so what happens when Josh gets bored and decides to pick at the scab of the "dead" eye and actually pulls out a perfectly good eye? all of a sudden, the internet diagnosis was not so innocent and harmless.

i am happy to help keepers as much as i can. i answer emails every day from folks with animals that DID NOT come from PE. and i send out plenty of "you need to provide more details" responses.

part of becoming a better keeper is learning how to effectively discuss husbandry and issues. i hope that Josh, among hundreds of others, gains this skill quickly, and at the same time, i hope he takes this animal to a vet (not the local pet shop "expert" and gets the diagnosis it needs.

again, best of luck to Josh and his snake.
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robyn@proexotics.com

Pro Exotics Reptiles