Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Long story short. I have a ball that has what at first appeared to be a retained eye cap. Upon further inspection I noticed that there was a little scab on the eye it's self. I then made an appointment with the vet for that afternoon. He prescribed Terramycin Ophth Oint to be applyed twice a day for ten days. He told me that he was going to do some more research, and give me a call back today.

My questions are: What are the chances of this healing properly? I'm afraid that if this hasen't healed by the next shed I could have more problems.

Should I cut back on feeding to give it time to heal? Or should I keep her on her regular schedual?

Thanks in advance, Quinton

I would keep feeding her/it. I would also think that it would take 2-4 sheds before it is totally cleared up. It really depends on how bad the scab/scratch is. I have had the same kind of thing happen to some of my ball pythons and from 1-4 sheds they usually clear up. I guess it also depends on how many layers of skin/tissue was messed up. I an NOT a vet but have worked with snakes all of life and NEVER taken one to a VET. I usually medicate them myself plus I have a few vet friends that I can call. Hope this helps. I got Dermagen ointment(Triamcinolone Acetonide Ointment) from a vet one time and he just gave it to me free when I was doing a vet check to go up north for shows. See ya later David
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25 Normal adult females
60 04 females
15 normal mixed 03's
20 Assorted weird ball pythons 04's

I have a female that lost an eye due to an injury sustained from a rat encounter. Just keep an eye on her and use the medication prescribed by your vet to avoid any infection.

I "freaked out" yesterday when I went into the snake room late at night after the lights were out. I turned on a small light and noticed that her eye was CLEAR and I never saw this before so naturally I became extremely concerened. When I looked at her again today in normal lighting conditions, the eye looked like it has always looked. I supposed I never noticed the trueness of her eye until seeing it in different lighting.

She's still eating and copulating with my male mojave now so everything should be OK. The incident with the rat happened close to two months ago and she's still growing and eating. No infections thus far but keep treating your animal as infections can occur.

Best of luck!

Ron Crawford

I had the same thing happen to one of my balls. One of his rats managed to kick him in the eye while it was being constricted, and scratched his eye. It took quite a few sheds before it was gone. Just keep an eye on it make sure it doesn't get infected. Depending on how deep it is it may take a while to go away and if you are feeding live prey keep an extra close eye out during feeding time cause the scratch can inhibit his stricking accuracy.
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Tosha

1.1.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy)
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5.4.2 Fish (1,2,3,4...)
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