Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'll start out by saying I keep a number of large boids, and then I keep a few of othre species that tickle my fancy.
I've been keeping snale for a number of years, and after all this time I have a problem with my female BRB.
She is about 6 years old, and never had a bad shed. All of a sudden she is not shedding eye caps, and the skin around her nose.
Any ideas why this is happening? Temps are around 86, and humidity has always been around 70%, and I bump it up to around 80% when I see her go blue before a shed.
This has never happened to me before.
How do I go about removing these stuck eye caps? Or should I have a vet do it?
Any help is greatly appreciated.

Standard answer is humidity, sounds like you've already got plans to work on that.

86 is a tad high for a BRB, unless that is a basking area heat only. If your 86 is ambient, I'd drop the temps a few degrees.

Does she have a damp moss hide? That will help with hydration!!

I got an adult in several years back all dried out and crusty with several retained caps. Good humidity and proper temps fixed her up with no intervention in a few sheds.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

i might be out of line suggesting this, because i forgot where i heard this. but at the time it sounded like a good idea to me, however i still havent tried it myself... so maybe someone else can chime in and say weather its actually a good idea or not

what i heard worked well for stuck eyecaps is tape.... like masking tape just touch it on and the snake will pull back, as it does the cap stick on the tape...

its sounds good in therory but i dont know if it actually works or not
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-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

I posted something I heard about scotch tape not masking tape back in the day after spraying the head a few times, other method I would try would be a wet q-tip but I would prolly try the soaking and humidity hide first and intervene only if it was a must.
Bob

Give her the chance to fix it on her own, under optimal conditions!!

Once you have exhausted natural solutions, then and only then resort to manual removal methods. AND might be time for a vet intervention at that point??
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I've heard of that one as well but have never tried it. In theory it sounds like it would work but I have some concerns...

What if the eyecap is truly stuck, will you then damage the ocular scale?

If you're not super careful, you could get tape stuck to other scales.

I have pulled individual eye caps before, always by hand and always when there was an edge to get ahold of. AND always nervous about the whole thing!!!

IMO - Not out of line at all for mentioning it as a possible solution.

Also IMO - would be out of line to tell someone to do it without having first hand knowledge and specific instructions.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Also IMO - would be out of line to tell someone to do it without having first hand knowledge and specific instructions.

that exactly why i only offered as a suggestion, and went looking for more opinions at the same time
-----
-Stephen-

0.1 soon to be wifey (hopefully)
1.0 rotwiler/chow (Boomer-wifey's pooch)
1.0 norm corn (Jake aka grumpy old terdhead)
0.1 col redtail boa (Dixie-my baby girl)
0.1 ball python (Bella- wifey's baby girl)

hopeful for not to distant future:
--brazillian rainbow boas 1 female for sure
2 or 3? maybe a breeding pair?
-- bearded dragon for the wifey my list got to big...

more distant future hopefuls
1 or 2 of each maybe a breeding pair?
--anery boa (ooooh)
--jungle carpet python (love to have 1 or 2)
--dumeril boa (ahhhh)

slightly more wishful thinking
--hypo br rainbow boa (love em)
--anery br rainbow boa (oooh even better!!)
--motely boa (gorgeous!!)

I know and agree!!!!!

I thought you did a good job of bringing it up without saying that's what should be done!!!
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I have used the tape method before on a friend's Ball Python. They tried everything else to let the snake get it off by itself, but nothing was working. The snake had several layers built up and I was able to get a few off, but it was by no means as easy as they make it sound. I definetely had to work it off, but it worked.
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

I've never seen a snake remove stuck eyecaps by themselves. I might have seen stuck eyecaps come off with the following shed. But I think this is rare. If there doesn't seem to be any damage acruing around/within the eye, you are safe to leave it and see if it comes off with the next shed.

I've tried/seen two methods that I like for removing stuck eye caps. Both are kind of delicate. One involves using fine point tweezers to try and grap hold of an edge. You can usually find an edge just underneath the scales around the eye. The other involves wetting they eyecap and using a rubbing motion with your thumb to try and break it lose. Both take quite a delicate touch and I really don't recommend them unless you've seen them done before.

Sooooo...

1) Do nothing.
2) Go to vet.
3) Try yourself (last resort)

Sorry for the wishy-washy info
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com