Hi,
I took my Ball Python to the vet because his eye looked like it might have an old eyecap. I found this strange because for the last 3 sheds I've checked and his eyecap was in the shed. But I've been noticing this problem throughout all of the shed cycles. Hence the visit to the vet.
The vet looked at it and said that in fact it was not an old eyecap. He said that there was actually pigment in his eye. He said he's seen that in other animals, but has never seen or heard of it in a snake, so he wasn't sure what might be causing it. He said other than the strangeness with his eye, he looked like a very healthy snake in all respects.
Has anybody heard of this and/or have any ideas what might be going on?
For reference:
- Temp on warm side = 95F Temp on cold side varies from 75F to 80F depending on temp outside the cage. I have 3 digital thermometers that I use to monitor, and I also do periodic spot-checks with an infrared gun.
- he sometimes stays in the warm side, sometimes in the cold
sometimes in the middle. So I think he's finding the
right ranges of temps.
- humidity stays roughly in the 70% range
- there's also a large water dish - I see him drinking,
and I occasionally see him soaking in the water, and
sometimes basking in the drier area. So I think he's
finding the right humidity ranges.
- His sheds are usually quite good - comes off in a single
piece, which is another indicator of good humidity
- he's eating pretty well. occasionally he skips meals, but
not that often. He seems to have trouble seeing the
prey - probably/possibly because of the strangeness with
his eye
- there are 4 good hide spots scattered throughout the cage
in different temp/humidity areas
- the cage is in my bedroom, and I'm rarely in there except when I'm sleeping, so it's a very low-traffic area.
- cage is a VisionCage
The *only* thing I can come up with - the vet asked me if he might be hurting his eye by rubbing on something. I mentioned that he often runs his head up and down the area where the two pieces of glass overlap - which is his indication he wants to get out of the cage. He said he thought it was a little unusual that he wants out that much. But we couldn't think of anything that might be causing to want to come out since the conditions in the cage seem to be good. To me, and I *know* I'm anthropomorphizing, it seems to me like he's just a "social" snake (I know - Balls are anything *but* social ....). He really seems to like to hang out with me. When I let him out, he wanders around the room (it's "snake proof"
, comes up and "hangs out" with me, then goes wandering, etc.
Anyway - can anyone think of what might be causing this and/or how to address it? The vet gave me some medication to put on his eyes every day until the next shed, which I'm going to do - but given that I see this even after sheds, I'm not 100% optimistic this will address the problem.
Thanks,
Dave
