Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My large male BP is not feeding right now. At first, I suspected that he was not eating because his eyecaps are partially retained from an otherwise-perfect shed about 2 months ago. Well, looking back on my records, he did eat for me after that shed, even with his eyes a bit scaly. (I tried putting him in a moist snake-bag overnight, tried a big humidity hide, tried lightly rubbing the eyes with a moist qtip, and even tried soaking but nothing has worked.) His eyes are not cloudy, but rather have some remainder of the old eyecaps.
My question is, do bp's really need eye-vision to locate prey, or is this function accomplished solely by the heat-sensing organs and sense of taste? If this were true, maybe he is just going off his feed because he is used to be breeding at this time. I got him last September at a reptile show and was told he was used as a breeder in years past. See, what he does now is, when I put the thawed rat in the cage: He flicks his tongue on it, appears to smell it and want to eat, then he passes right over and past it, back into his hide. I tried putting the rat in the hide overnight, even over the heatpad, but he used it as a pillow.
The only consolation I have is, he is slightly on the overweight side. And he is drinking water regularly also. So I am not afraid of him starving. I just want him to eat!
-----
*~Ginevive~*

I don't know if they need their eye sight or not. But it is NOT healthy for them to keep their eyecaps, and I am sure it could be quite annoying. Take him to a reputable vet and have them take the eye caps off.

When I got my bp he ate great, but becasue of lack of knowledge (I know better now) he is blind because of retained eye caps and he eats sporadicly now.

If your bp is "slightly overweight" then it wouldn't hurt to take him off feed until he looses a little weight.
He may be ready to breed since you said he was a breeder. Just leave him alone for a few months except for cleaning the cage and he will be fine.
-----
1.1 Ball Python, 0.1 motley amel corn

Now that I look closer, it looks like there might be a scratch on his eye instead of a retained eyecap. It's not like the flaky white skin that is shed off, that you can easily remove with a wet qtip. There are no flaps of skin showing around the perimeter of the eye, and it's not dull or anything. Definately not wrinkled or dehydrated, either.
I am making a vet appointment for this coming week, regardless. But if it is in fact a scratch, I do not see how he got it. There's nothing rough in his cage, save for maybe the water gish, but that is rounded ceramic. If it is a scratch, is there anything a vet could do, or do I have to wait for a few sheds until it is gone?
I will try to get a pic, but my camera is not the greatest, and it keeps coming out blurry.
-----
*~Ginevive~*

Snakes can sense prey through eye sight, vibrations, heat sensing pits, and sense of smell. In total darkness, a ball python can locate its prey using its heat sensing pits. To answer your first question: no they don't absolutely need their vision to locate prey. But, if it's in shed or has retained eye caps, the snake may be reluctant to engage a prey.
If your snake is on the overweight side as you stated, I wouldn't worry too much about it refusing to eat. During this time of year many ball pythons slow down or stop eating, so this is normal behavior. I would recommend weighing your snake to establish a baseline weight and continue offering food once a week. We all want our snakes to eat. Have patience, snakes do not always eat when we want them to, they have their own priorities.

I agree it is nothing to worry about. He is probably off feed because he knows it is winter. Ane the snake eating without vision side I have a brazilian rainbow boa that has no eyes. She is an absolute monster eater, but also very calm. She eats every week and very rarely rufuses a meal. When she was younger she was a little difficult to get to eat. One time I fed her a live mouse (the only live she has ever gotten) and I was amazed at her percision. She picked off the mouse first try as it ran by her hide box opening. So yes snakes can and do get by without the use of their vision.
-----
Derek Affonce
DeKeAff Exotics
dekeaffexotics.com

I will just have to be more patient. I am so used to him eating his rat the first time I offer it. I guess I had just been lucky thus far. Now I guess I am initiated into the real world, of finicky-eating ball pythons!
-----
*~Ginevive~*