Shed did not come off eyes

[Bighead]

I just noticed it looks like my female ball python didn't get the shed skin off of her eyes last time. What can I do about this? She is in a huge tank with a 15 gallon water area. She didn't have a humid hide in there until tonight when I discovered this, but I know lots of people don't use them and don't have problems. I have given her a bath, but I don't want to hold her head under the water or anything. What can I do and how serious is this? Thanks for your help.

[NewLineReptile]

Take a product called NEW TEAR get it at your local drug store. Put some on the eye and some on the q-tip rub around the eye gentley and it should lift the skin. and come off

Brandon

[elevation24]

I personally would just wait until the next shed and make COMPLETELY sure that it will be a good one. The old eye caps should come off with the next shed and as long as she has a perfect shed it should be fine.

Otherwise I would get a small rubbermaid, poke holes in the sides, and wrap her up in a damp towel and stick her in there with the lid shut over night.

[daver676]

I would think leaving the eye caps on until the next shed would make life extremely uncomfortable for that snake due to it's impaired sight for that length of time.ANd if they don't come off with the next shed...what then?

I would suggest wrapping the snake in a damp towel, then putting the damp towel into a damp pillow case, tie it shut, then set it in the enclosure for 4 hours or so. The moisture should loosen the eye cap, and the snake rubbing it's head on the towel/pillowcase should get the caps off. Don't try to pull the caps off with tweezers or anything like that. Forcefully pulling at shed skin if it's not ready to come off may cause damage to the snake. Let us know how things work out for you. :)

[elevation24]

Originally posted by daver676
ANd if they don't come off with the next shed...what then?

If they have a bad shed twice in a row, then I would suggest finding a new home for the ball. 2 bad sheds in a row is just stupid and unacceptable in my opinion. With proper humidity they will come off the next shed <b>guaranteed</b>.

[BoidKeeper]

The method I use is,
Wrape the snake in a warm damp towel and place it inside a rubbermaid. Place the rubbermaid with the snake in it back inside the cage and leave it over night. The next morning you'll have a clean snake and a dirty towel. The snake gets clean and you don't have to stress it out by pulling on it's skin.
Cheers,
Trevor

[Bighead]

How do you keep the rubbermaid or pillowcase warm enough over night? Just leave it in the enclosure? Thanks for your help.

[jfmoore]

Regarding sealing the python inside a wet bag:

I’ve never confined a snake in a wet cloth bag, for fear of the fibers swelling and effectively sealing it against gas exchange – no oxygen from the outside, build up of carbon dioxide on the inside. I must have read a caution against the practice somewhere, but never heard a first-person account – until today. Click here (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=297236#post297236) for Roy Stockwell’s account of a ball python apparently asphyxiated in a wet pillow case under circumstances similar to what we are discussing on this thread.

The rest of the advice (except for the “stupid and unacceptable” remark) sounded helpful.

-Joan

[BoidKeeper]

Don't use a pillow case use a big thick bath towel. Wet it with warm water line the inside of the rubbermaid place the snake in the middle and cover it with the towel. Place the lid on, make sure the container has air holes in it and place it inside the cage. If the cage is heated then it will be warm enough for one night.
Cheers,
Trevor

[daver676]

Originally posted by jfmoore
Regarding sealing the python inside a wet bag:

I’ve never confined a snake in a wet cloth bag, for fear of the fibers swelling and effectively sealing it against gas exchange – no oxygen from the outside, build up of carbon dioxide on the inside. I must have read a caution against the practice somewhere, but never heard a first-person account – until today. Click here (http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=297236#post297236) for Roy Stockwell’s account of a ball python apparently asphyxiated in a wet pillow case under circumstances similar to what we are discussing on this thread.

The rest of the advice (except for the “stupid and unacceptable” remark) sounded helpful.

-Joan

Thanks for the info. I've use the method once without a problem, and a friend has a few times as well. It could have dependd on something as simple as the thread count of the pillow case.

I'm not sure who your "stupid and unacceptable" remark is directed at, but if it's me, you can direct it elsewhere. Thanks.

[jfmoore]

Originally posted by daver676
I'm not sure who your "stupid and unacceptable" remark is directed at, but if it's me, you can direct it elsewhere. Thanks.
Did you make the original remark?
No?
Then I guess it wasn't directed at you. Sorry, I assumed everyone actually read the posts in a thread before making a specific response.

[daver676]

I did read all the posts. Sheesh. Nowhere do I see a stupid and/or unacceptable remark......:rolleyes:

[mykee]

I, for one, agree 100% with Elevation's jist. if you can't fix your husbandry problems, and continue to cause grief for your snake, for your snakes' sake, it should be found a new home. Other people just need to get off their high horse.

[Bighead]

I'm not sure if anybody was suggesting that my snake wasn't being cared for properly, but I will describe the terrarium in case you were wondering.
It's a 100 Gallon reptarium on it's flat side, with a floorspace of 4' x 30" (if i remember correctly). I have a 2' x 1' UTH on one side, with a hide directly above it. There is also a 150 watt ceramic heat emitter suspended about 2 feet above the cage to bring the ambient temp in the middle half of the cage to about 85 degrees. Right now it is 80F on the cool side, 85F in the middle, and 90F in the basking spot. The CHE and the UTH are both connected to a rheostat that i turn down 5F at night. In between the cool side the middle, there is a 15 gallon water area with a Fluval 2 Plus filter. The humidity in the room is about 50% and the humidity in the enclosure is usually 65% +- 5%. There is also a hide on the cool side and, now, a humid hide in the middle. I always give my snakes a bath before they shed and there was no exception before this inccident. Since then, I put the humid hide in, put her in it before I went to work, and the eye caps were off when i came home. Thanks for yor help, everybody. Let me know if there's anything you think i should change.

[jfmoore]

Whoa, there, Mykee! Let's back that high horse up a step or two. See if you agree with my abbreviated summary:

B. starts a thread with a request for help with an adhered eyecap problem.
A few people reply with helpful suggestions, among which is to do nothing and wait for the next shed.
B. wonders what will happen if the eyecap doesn’t come off then?
<b>E. says that if a ball python has difficulty shedding two times in a row it is “stupid and unacceptable” and the owner doesn’t deserve to keep it.</b>
J. adds some information about one method and says everybody else’s advice sounds helpful to her - except for the “stupid and unacceptable” remark.

With me so far? Sound like a <u>reasonably</u> fair summary?

So, Mykee, your contribution to the mix is that you agree “100% with Elevation's jist [sic]”? Just so we’re clear, will you please swear before all of us that if any of your snakes have (or had in the past) two husbandry-related problems you will immediately get rid of the animal(s)? Two strikes and you’re out, eh? Sound a little silly? A little childish? Dare I say it, a little STUPID? :confused: Uh huh.

Now that we’ve sorted that out, care to add to the discussion on the <u>topic</u> of the thread?

[Bighead]

Did I make a husbandry mistake?

B.

[jfmoore]

Hi Bighead - I'm not sure I'm understanding you. Are you saying you're keeping your ball python in one of those big all-screen mesh cages? If so, dang! You're lucky if all that's staying stuck on the snake is just its eyecaps! I'm amazed that you are able to maintain any humidity at all. How long have you had the snake?

Thanks,
Joan

[Bighead]

I've had her for about 9 months, though she is 3 years old. Like I said earlier, the humidity stays at 60% without misting or anything. It's not that I'm not willing too, I just didn't think I needed to. Am I mistaken?

P.S. I already had the reptarium, which is why I used it. If I was starting from scratch I would have purchased a more traditional python enclosure.

[daver676]

My apologies to jfmoore. Found that "stupid and unacceptable remark" :o

[BoidKeeper]

Just because you had doesn't mean it's suitable for what you want to put into it. If the humidity is 60% great but I can't see how it would be in one of those. At 60% the ball should never have a problem shedding unless it's dehytrated from with in. That style of cage does hold ambiant heat at all so you ball might be too cold. Sure you can heat one small isolated area to 90-95 but how cold is the rest of the cage?
Cheers,
Trevor

[mykee]

Jf; what's the point.... you'll just respond with more rhetoric.

[kevyn]

Are you sure the eye cap didn't come off? The reason I ask is because if it did and the snake is just dehydrated, then trying to remove the cap can cause alot of damage.

[Bighead]

Boidkeeper- as I'm sure you know, the humidity inside the enclosure is relative to the humidity of the room it's in. Since the room itself stays at 50%+, and there is such a larger water area withing the enclosure, it's not difficult to see how the humidity in the cage can be 60%. You don't have to believe me, but I have to believe my hydrometers. As far as temperatures go, I already posted what they were at. I have a 150w CHE on a rheostat to get the ambient heat to it's ideal range and I have the biggest UTH I could find for the basking spot which, according to all the caresheets I've read, is great.

Kevyn- I posted above that the eyecap DID come off when I added the humid hide (80%+) and put her in it for the day. I didn't try to pull it off myself or anything because I knew it could be harmful.

[kevyn]

Cool, sorry must remember to read the whole thread. My appologies.

[Stockwell]

Snakes get stuck eyecaps quite frequently.
Keep enough animals long enough, its a fact of life if you're a herper with a high charge count.
Along with it happening to even the best of keepers, I've found snakes in the wild with stuck eyecaps too.
It's not usually a big deal, unless it persists through several sheds.
Trevors method, is a good one and a safe one using a wet towel and a rubbermaid with holes in it.

But When I have this happen, I generally pull the animal out, put some spit on its eye, and rub it gently until it comes off..occasionally using my finger nail or tweezers to secure the edge of the spectacle
end of problem, no fanfare
Is spit, sterile?? Of course not, nor are rotten logs , forest floors or rodent burrows

Hello Joan! :)

[CONCEPT03]

i have had this problem once before and vegtable oil on a cue tip seemed to work just fine, i would never put my snake in a pillow case or anything that would place it under unnessisary stress. To prevent this problem in the future try keeping your tank more humid

[Bighead]

Grrr.... Is 60% too dry for ball pythons???? I'm honestly not asking this sarcastically. The care sheets I've read, including the ssnakess one say that this is ideal. If I'm wrong I really need to know. Just so you don't need to read through the whole thread again, I will say again what my temps and humidity are:

90F basking spot
85F in the middle
80F on the cool side
60% humidity with an 80% hide (also hides on the basking spot and cool side)

This is a large, very well ventilated enclosure, but I have checked all these figures with several thermometers and hydrometers. Please respond. I really need to know if I am doing something wrong or have been misinformed.

[BoidKeeper]

If thoes are your numbers then you should be fine. Make sure the snake is well hydrated on the inside too by making sure he always has lots of clean fresh water available.
Cheers,
Trevor