Reptile & Amphibian Forums

what would i do about retained eye caps on my bp? im not sure how many times it has heppened before this, they arent silver but u can tell there is atleast one set, and hes pretty defensive, doesnt strike too much but if u move a bit too fast he gets scared and bites, i havent been handling him much cuz i thought it might stress him out being out and not being able to see...

he is also not eating, i havent tried for about a week, i tried a live rat once and he showed no interest(before shedding) then after i tried a fresh killed adult mouse and no interest...i took him out of the cage for the one so i think that might be the problem, i was thinking...if i was to take his hides out and put a live mouse in his cage with him (supervised obviously) do u think he might go for it? and if not should i leave it under a hide or something for him? thanks for any responses i get
Chuck

Here's what worked for me, when I adopted a male BP who had retained eyecaps. I put him in a Rubbermaid container with a bunch of moist sphagnum (unmilled) moss, and made sure the sides and inner lid of the container were sprayed with warm water also. I elft him in this humid cage for a few hours, then removed him and GENTLY rubbed the eyelid with my thumb (not with the fingernail, not with a qtip, just my thumb.) The lids both came off after being subject to this high level of humidity (humid gauge in the cage read 100%.) Make sure to place your regular heat pad under the rubbermaid, though, since the heat will create more humidity.
I would personally hold off feeding til you get the eyecaps removed. He is probably more stressed out about the caps being on, and has no thoughts at all about eating at this point. If the method I described does not work, you should take him to the vet. And definately increase his humidity before his next shed, so this does not happen again.

-----
2.1 Python regis, 1.0 Boa Constrictor Imperator, and the frogs.

...in BPs and if they don't remove easily I recommend you have this specimen examined by someone very experienced with retained eyecaps in BPs. It's often best to wait for the next shed and insure high humidity during the process. If this is an import a worming is highly beneficial.
Scott J. Michaels DVM