Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Blew up some pics and noticed this whitish area on the periphery of both eyes but mostly on the left...not sure what to make of it. Is it natural or maybe scaring from stuck eye caps er what, there really doesn't appear to be any diseased tissue and there is no other indication of poor shed...any ideas?

To me that really looks like "eye caps" left over from past sheds. If it was me I would see if I could easily remove them with tweezers. Before I attempted this I might keep the snake in very moist hide of sorts for a day or two to really loosen the old eye caps. If they don't come off easily I would not force it. In the past I have also really put the food to snakes with this issue (like every few days) and kept them on the humid side just to induce a shed cycle. A good shed will usually clear out old eye caps as well. However this is only good if what I see in the picture is actually stuck eye caps

Thanks Allen, if it is eye caps you don't sound to concerned for the ultimate prognosis?

Don't want to do the tweezer thing as I've been cautioned about that and my close vision isn't that could and it seems dangerous. I have been told that gentle rubbing with wet terry cloth after a long soak works good. Also scotch tape that has been applied to a fuzzy surface to reduce its adhesion.

One thing is that the whole eye appears really clear and not at all occlouded.

I just got here Wednesday so I'm letting her calm down for a least a couple days before I mess with her at all.

Cheers,
Brad

That does look like remnants of old eyecaps.
-----
Todd Hughes

Sometimes mites in the eyes of snakes can cause that kind of irritation. They may be so small or the problem isn't that bad that you haven't noticed them. Just another possibility to think about.
-----
Matt Kauffman

It's ironic that you just mentioned this, and I didn't really want to burst any bubbles with bringing this up, but when mites typically gather around a snakes occular scale and feed, it causes irritation to the tender tissue around the eye and tends to look just like that after they have been eradicated. After the mites are gone, it leaves new light colored tissue around the eye, and usually a small gap around it as well. This will totally heal up and fill back in with healthy tissue after a couple more sheds.

If it is remnants of old sheds left behind(which it could be), just prior to the snake shedding, about a day or so AFTER the eyes become totally clear again from being opaque, put a dab of mineral oil(baby oil) on them with your finger, and it will make it slough off easily with the shed. This is a sure-fire way to get the lubrication deep within the narrow gap where it is needed most.

good luck with it!

~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

Thanks Doug and Matt,

Sounds like the prognosis is good for healing then eh? I see no evidence of mites now...is there some way to tell if she currently has an infestation?

Learning something everyday
Brad

Like Doug wrote, use mineral oil. You can dip a Q-tip into the oil and rub it around the eyes. If there are any mites in there, a few tipically get stuck to the Qtip. This also suffucates most, if not all of them too. If she has a bad infestation you would almost certainly be able to see small black dot looking insects cralling on her and lodged under her scales(especially the ventrals). It doesn't sound like she is infested to me.
-----
Matt Kauffman

She looks really clean so probably over the infestation (I sure hope anyway). Will abide by advice.

Thanks much.

Yes, if there aren't any more, or weren't any in the first place, the snake will heal up just fine. But if this was the case, I would IMMEDIATELY quarantine the snake from the rest of your collection and examine it THOUGHLY!, just in case, this is the last thing you need invading the rest of your collection.

Look for very tiny dark dots that resemble specks of pepper that are crawling on it, and look very closely between the dorsal scales and under the chin scales, even with a magnifying glass. In addition to the area around the occular scale(eye-cap) these are favorite places for mites to hide and feed. Also, look at your hands after you have handled it a bit to see if there is evidents of any dark specks moving about. Only when you are absolutely certain it has zero mites on it at ALL would I put it back with the others. In fact though, it is a very good idea to quarantine a newly acquired snake anyway, just in case something bad should arise with it, this prevents anything going wrong with the others in your collection. Many a snake keeper(and snake) have been overwhelmed by these pesky little critters.

Anyway, just take these simple precautions and everything should be just fine.

Keep in mind, if it is an old lens shed issue instead, don't forget the mineral oil trick just prior to shedding, this works fantastic!.

take care!, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"