About a week ago to help my snake shed, I put him in a tub of lukewarm water. It wasn't hot and I had something for him to climb on in the tub. When I put him in his cage and checked up on him in the morning. His new eye caps looked rough and he can barely see. His eyes themselves don't look like they are punctured but the caps look like they were dried and cracked(possibly from rubbing?). Will this be gone the next time he sheds or did he permanently damage his eyes?
2006-12-19 12:29:54 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Snakes often retain eyecaps from a shed if they don't have enough humidity. Mine did this a couple of times. Your snakes eyes aren't permanantly damaged, and if you give him plenty of moisture they should come off soon. What worked well for me was to put a plastic container with a lid big enough for the snake to soak in inside his cage, put water in it, and put a hole in it big enough to let the snake crawl in and out. If he soaks in there long enough the caps will start to loosen at the edges and you can often gently rub them loose with a washcloth. Gently rub, not sand. Some folks get carried away.
An even easier way is to let the snake soak a while then dry it's face and eyes with a towel. Take a bandaid, press it against the eyecap, and gently pull it off--not straight off from the top but from one edge back. This is really good for lifting a stuck eyecap.
2006-12-19 17:10:09 · answer #1 · answered by Redneck Crow 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like a retained eyecap -- in otherwords, the eye caps didn't come off with the shed. It usually means that there is not enough humidity in the cage. Not a big deal, but you do want to try and get them off. Using a damp pillowcase is usually effective, as it will soften the caps and make them easier to remove. Just keep it in a warm place otherwise the snake will get cold. A few hours at the most usually does the trick, then you can take a strip of tape, wrap it sticky-side out around your finger, and gently roll it across the eye to pull the old eyecap off. If all else fails, the cap should come off with the next shed if the humidity problem gets fixed, but it would be better for the snake if you could rid him of this sooner.
2006-12-20 10:42:10 · answer #2 · answered by stickboy_127 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Try not to wait until the next shed. This could take weeks to months for another shed. You need to try to remove the eye caps. Snakes don't see well, but sight is a part of what they use to hunt in conjunction with heat sensing and smell. Another bath is in order. Once the eye caps have become soft you can take some tweezers and very carefully pull up and edge and pull the cap off. Hold the head very steady so you don't injure the eye. Your snake will be very appreciative...:-)
2006-12-19 22:42:46 · answer #3 · answered by prism_wolf 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
use a damp pillow case to put the snake in over night to help get the eyecaps off or use tape like scotch tape to gently remove eye cap heard this from a breeder but never tried the pillow case always works well fro us.
2006-12-20 10:21:32 · answer #4 · answered by cameron b 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
He should be fine, my boa had eyes like and they just came off the next shed. As long as the water wasn't fire hot i'm sure he'll be ok
2006-12-19 20:35:04 · answer #5 · answered by Kaila 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
From what I know about snakes, that sounds about normal and everything should be fine soon enough...speaking of snakes, did you hear an anaconda in a Swiss Zoo had 40 babies? WOW! I know--I am weird...I admit it...I like spiders and snakes...drives my grandkids crazy! :))
2006-12-19 20:40:02 · answer #6 · answered by beetlejuice49423 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
He may not have shed his eyecaps.
2006-12-19 22:16:14 · answer #7 · answered by hoodoowoman 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
no
2006-12-23 12:14:34 · answer #8 · answered by Me 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋