Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Please don't respond with she's in shed advise.....

This is a picture of the eye(s) of one of my females. She is a ‘01 or ’02 about 1800grams.

Her eyes had this opaque appearance after a shed in late September. My vet wasn’t sure what it was and gave me Tobramycin eye drops.

There drops had no effect, but a friend of mine, an old timer breeder, suggested it appeared to be glaucoma.

Anyway last week another snake in the colony displayed the same symptom after a shed (just in one eye).

Now I’m afraid it might be something contagious, and have no clues whet else to do???

Thanks for reading and any input
TomChambers

sorry the photo is a bit large

This seems like the most likely explanation to me, particularly since the condition showed up after both snakes shed out.

Christy

Well if I were in your shoes viewing this photo I would say the same thing. It definitely looks like eye caps.

Unfortunately it's not just eye caps; the discoloration is from inside the eye.

I always check the sheds for caps and haven’t had a retained cap in a few years.

Also, if after careful examination by a vet, he couldn’t identify a retained cap, its time for a new vet.

I agree it really looks like a cap but the snake pictured has shed four times since I first saw the discoloration. And it hasn’t changed.

Thanks for replying,
TomChambers

.

i personally dont know what to tell you it is but i would be interested in in knowing myself. i dont have any animals that it has happened to but a friend of mine has a amazon basin emerald that has something that looks very similar. it is not a retained eyecap. he checks his sheds and never has had a problem. any help would be appreciated.

I found this in one of my Ball python books. A condition known as pop-eye occasionally arises, in which fluid builds up in the eye below the spectacle, causing the latter to swell up out of proportion. (John Coborn) I didn't notice noticeable swelling in your pic but it did look like fluid build up. In the book it gives no cause or treatment other than contacting you vet. Hopefully this will at least give you a staring point. Good Luck Clay

I'll run that by my vet since he didn't have any definitive answers for me.
Maybe that will give him some idea of how to treat it.

Thanks again,
TomChambers

While waiting for Scott (serpentcity) or another vet to post, can I just suggest that maybe your friend was thinking about cataracts (a cloudiness that forms in the lens of the eye) and not glaucoma (which causes damage to the optic nerve)? I usually associate cataracts with rather advanced age, and your snake definitely is young. But it is possible for humans to develop this early in life, so why not snakes?

Anyway, I have two snakes with cataracts - an 11 year old southern hognose with bilateral cataracts, and a 20 year old ball python with just one eye affected. Goodness knows, it wasn’t exposure to ultraviolet light from too much time in the sun that caused either of these cases!

-Joan

I was spacing earlier.
Does the eye of your ball with cataract appear somewhat as my snake pictured???

Would it be possible for two snakes, both young, to be afflicted with the same non contagious eye disorder???
What are the odds???

When my friend said it was cataracts, I believed this to be a reasonable truth, so dismissed the ailment as such.
I'm just not sure now??

Thanks Joan,
TomChambers

It's possible it could be a bacterial infection. If so it can be treated with Amikacin.

Keep us informed
www.serpentsden.com

The second snake pictured here had a RI and just finished her Amikacin the week before.

The eye on this snake was treated almost immediately, and the drops seem to be helping slightly. The cloudiness is restricted to the bottom of the eye, and it was about ¾ of the eye prior to the drops

here is the eye of the second snake

and another view

Obviously something bacterial is happening with your BP's.
I would suggest housing them separately and keep the housing immaculately clean. Something I use myself after cleaning is Quatricide which in my opinion is much better than using bleach.

How many treatments of Amikacin were given to the second BP and what was the dosage?
Another thing you can try is Gentocin Ophthalmic Solution.
www.serpentsden.com

The second female had six shots of Amikacin one every three days, the dosage was calculated by the vet according to her body weight. (Approximately 1500 g at that point)

I don't clean with bleach I like to use Virosan its sooo much easier for me.

I use racks for housing, so all are separate. (Except when breeding)

The two snakes that are affected have never been housed together.

They have both been breeding since the end of October, and the males show no symptoms?????

I'm checking back with my vet on Monday to talk about the medication and other possible treatments.

Thanks for the advice it gives me some different avenues to discuss with my vet
TomChambers

Six shots is a lot of shots. I never used Virosan but I'm sure it's good enough and better than bleach. I would clean and disinfect the rack you are using along with any utensils and I'm sure I don't have to say not to pass any un-eaten food to another snake. Have these two BP's been together with the same male?

Good luck and keep us posted.

Steve
www.serpentsden.com

My mistake, I just looked at my records again, and there were only five shots given, but the first shot was of a higher dosage, appeared to be about double according to my notes.

The first female has been with one male, and he has been with only her.

The second female has been with only one male, but he has been with several other females who show no symptoms.

Thanks again, I'm going to disinfect every tub and the rack itself tonight after I give their night eyedrops.

TomChambers

and good luck with them.
www.serpentsden.com