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Does my ball have an eye problem?

irobin006 May 05, 2004 02:02 PM

My 4 year old ball python looks as if his eyes are dried out. It looks like there is some cracking or lines through his eyeball. His cage is kept at a pretty good humidity level. Is this normal? Any suggestions??

Replies (10)

slytherin May 05, 2004 02:16 PM

did he shed not too long ago? he may have retained an eye cap (scale over the eye)

irobin006 May 05, 2004 03:23 PM

It has been there through at least three sheds. So it isn't just from this one shed in particular.

irobin006 May 05, 2004 04:33 PM

Do I need to get rid of the eyecap that remained from his shed or will it go away? Do I need to do anything???

Tigergenesis May 05, 2004 02:28 PM

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irobin006 May 05, 2004 03:20 PM

Sorry I didn't specify. around 70% consistantly.

eunectes4 May 05, 2004 04:44 PM

Many times you will might think the eye caps are retained but in fact it is just the eyes. If you try to take it off you could take off the actually cap and that would be super bad. During shed bump or your humidity to over 80% and you could even go higher...make sure the caps are off and you should get a one piece shed if you do this for the short time...do not bath the snake during the shed either unless you dry it with a towel..air drying can actually make it more dry. don't use a heat source like a ceramic heater, this dries out the air. I had one for a while and eventhough my snake would have good sheds with the eye caps always coming off and my humidity was high, her eyes would crinkle up in a day or so even with high humidity, I got rid of the ceramic heater and just use an undertank and a normal light bulb for a little extra heat in the day and light and her eyes cleared up within the next shed after months of this problem. My snake was also agressive sometimes because she thought every warm thing was food and my hand got a hit and a coil i could not get off...I had to put some warm water on her to let go with her jaws and coils. Now that her eyes are perfect, never any strikes.

slytherin May 05, 2004 05:01 PM

I agree don't mess with the eye caps. you may want to try putting the snake in a snake bag with a couple of wet rags or wet dish towels. Run the rags under hot water (not boiling) wring them out until they are just damp to your touch & toss 2 in the bag, then add the snake & toss the rest of the rags over the snake. Tie a knot in the snake bag & I put it back in it's cage in the bag & leave em that way for like an hour. I do this if I have a snake with an incomplete shed & it works great. It might work for the eye cap as well or it may not. Hey it's worth a shot!

eunectes4 May 05, 2004 05:55 PM

what is warm to you is hot to them...so not hot or even close to boil...just a little warm. i still recomend cage humidity over anything else and if theire is a cap it will come off in the next shed. and if you have the right setup the snakes eyes should be fine after that even if it wasnt a cap.

slytherin May 06, 2004 12:29 PM

i never have a prob with it....when I use hot water by the time I wring out all the rags etc. & actually get the snake in the bag the water if far more cool than it was.

irobin006 May 06, 2004 07:51 AM

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