Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey,

One of my Ball Pythons seems to have an eyecap that has been there for quite a while, however for the past 3 sheds I've checked the shed and there was an eye cap in the shed. So it seems like there's an old eye cap which remains even as newer eye caps are being shed.

First, I'm curious how this happens ... I'd think that new skins come from "underneath" and thus when the skin is shed, it should shed both the old and new.

Anyhoo, what can I do to fix this? Just ensuring a good shed doesn't seem sufficient since the last 3 were good, complete sheds. Should I take him to the vet?

Thanks,
Dave

That's a tough one to call with out seeing the animal. However, any time I have someone ask me if they need to take thier animal to the vet my answer is always "Yes". Animals like fish, birds,and reptiles, have this uncanny way of looking just fine on the outside and being sick on the inside. Meaning that they will look very normal until the very end. Making it hard to diagnose anything visually until there is not much you can really do about it. The safest thing to do when you don't know is take it to someone who dose i.e. a vet.

when in doubt bring your snake to a vet. Three shed skins that have eyecaps on them while still retaining a cap doesn't seem right to me either.
In this case I woundn't recommend trying to remove the "retained" cap because it might not be an old eyecap. Is it possible that you are seeing a dented or wrinkled eyecap? Here is a picture of a wrinkled cap:

Here is a picture of a retained cap:

I know they look simimlar but when you have kept or seen a bunch of snakes, it is easy to tell the difference. This is why I recommend not trying to remove the cap in this case - take the snake to someone that can give you a second opinion.

For some more information on the topic, here is a article I wrote about retained caps:
Joe Compel Reptiles - Ball Bits - Retained Eyecap

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Tosha

1.1.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy)
0.1.0 Siberian Husky (Kita)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
5.4.2 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer

From too low humidity. Spray the snake & cage, it will pop back out, and do something about the ambient humidity in the whole room.

I'm not Joe, and you probably wont believe me anyway, but thats what the problem is.
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Chad Bachman

>>I'm not Joe, and you probably wont believe me anyway, but thats what the problem is.

LOL, I beleive you, I haven't ever seen a dented eye so I was just wondering what would cause it. Thanks for the info.
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Tosha

1.1.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy)
0.1.0 Siberian Husky (Kita)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Dessert Tortoise (Pope)
5.4.2 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
0.0.1 Frog rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.2 Lizards rescued from pool skimmer