Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi

I have a small sinaloen milk snake which has gone through a shed.

The only problem, is I *think* it still has one eye cap present, as this was not on the skin.

However, I am not 100% sure and im worried I may harm the eye if I attempt to get it off.

What is the best course of action? Should I leave it and hope it comes off in the next shed? What are the dangers of this?

I have read lots of other things, vegatable oil, sticky tape on fingers, however, I am worried if the cap has come off elsewhere I may harm the snake.

I need to try a soaking first, but someone threw away the little plastic container I normally use *sigh*

Many thanks

Rob

With small snake, and especially snakes like Milk Snakes which have small eyes to begin with, this can be a little problematic. You best bet is to first try to determine for sure if you really have a problem or not. Closely inspect and compare the suspect side with the side you know the eyecap came off with the shed. You may even need to use a hand-held magnifying glass.

The eye cap probably came off with the shed. I have had very little problem with Milk Snakes retaining eye caps. Larger King Snakes, such as Lamprpeltis getula ssp., occasionally..but not normally with Milk Snakes.

If it looks like the eye cap was, in fact, retained, then you will need to find a container to put the snake in along with some damp towels or paper towels. Normally, just the act of crawling around and burrowing through the damp towels is sufficient to get the eye cap off. It may take 3 or 4 hours, but that usually works. If it doesn't, then after leaving the snake in the damp towels for a while, you can use a moist Q-tip and try to "tease" it off very gently, always starting at the front edge of the eye cap and working it to the back.

Whats a Q Tip?

Is it generally a bad idea to wait until the next shed?

Thanks

Rob

A Q-tip is a cotton swab on a plastic, paper or wooden stick.

If you know the eye cap is still on, I think it's a bad idea to leave it there. For one thing, it may not come off with the next shed either, then you have TWO old ey caps to deal with. Also, bacteria can invade around the cuticle of the unshed eye cap and then they have a perfect breeding ground, and can cause some serious eye infections.

Ahh, cotton bud, I got you.

I will buy a mag glass today, but i have a feeling the thing has come off anyway.

I had a similar problem with a black rat snake several years ago. One eye was clearly infected, and the suspicion was that the eye cap didn't come off. So it clearly is important to help get it off if it's still on there.

In my case, it turned out to be too late. I'm lucky enough to have a herp vet that will treat native herps at no charge. He gave me a tube of ointment, a combination disinfectant and lubricant. I had to treat the snake's eye every day for two weeks. (At nearly six feet long, that was fun!) But it didn't work, and I ended up having to release the poor thing back into the wild with only one good eye.

I have had several snakes (pines and kings) that for one reason or another did not shed an eye cap. If I was certain it was retained, and if it was only a day or two after the shed, I took the eye cap off. But sometimes I was not sure or didn't know it was retained til several days later. In those cases I have let the snake alone, and all shed the cap the next time. No problems. I have also read of a case in which a cobra did not shed it's eye caps around 8 times in a row. This was in the days before antivenin, so the zoo keepers were obviously reluctant to deal with it. When they did, the caps came off, and there were no problems there either.

IMHO, better to leave the eye cap than resort to heroic measures. I tried heroic measures once, and caused an eye infection. 8-(

Paul Hollander

Good points, Paul. I never recommend using forceps or tweezers unless you absolutely know what you are doing. I don't like the tape method much either...I guess scotch tape is OK, but things like duct tape have a strong enough adhesive that they can actually pull the eyeball right out of the socket. For venomous snakes, I use restraining tubes with slots cut in the sides for access to the eyes.

Hmm, well, I'm sure its still on, with a mag glass I can see the smallest piece of skin, but after soaking etc, it still wont move. Its been 2 days now as well.

I'm not going to risk the forceps, not the tape method just in case it isn't really on there, so I think possibly the next best thing is to perhaps leave it until the next shed in 3-4 weeks. If it does not come off with this shed I will have to consult a vet.

Trouble is, after a soak, hes pretty p*ssed off and is very difficult to keep still.

Unless anyone has any other good suggestions? Give tank a clean to avoid infection?

Did you try putting him in a shoebox or some other container with damp towel or paper towels and just leaving him for several hours? I'm telling you, it works. If that doesn't work, then the eyecap just may not be there. If it really is there, then wait until he goes opaque, and clears up (just before he actually sheds), and put him in with the damp towels for an hour of so every day until he sheds. It will come off.

By all means, you need to keep the cage scrupulously clean.

Yes, tried that. Trouble is, rather than burrowing, he just sat around really. Then when i take him out hes very very hard to handle

I'll try again tonight as a last measure.