Eye Cap Problem ?

[teez]

A Buddy of mine owns a Ball Python and he has incomplete sheds. We have been soaking him for a hour at a time .The skin caps still remain on his eyes ,what should we do ? thanks Teez

[BallPyFan]

Warm wet washcloth and VERY GENTLY rub over the eye. Remember, this is your snake's EYE.

[phat_robb]

i had a problem shed with my ball pythons once, i put him in a small container with wet moss in then left the container half on a heat mat for an hour at a time, to get the eye caps off i GENTLY used a damp cotton bud or (Q-tip) this worked.
now i always keep a moist hide in the viv and have since had no problems,
hope this helps.
Rob

[B]

and if just the washcloth dose not work soak the snake in warm water than use the washcloth

B

[TommyD.]

I would go with the washcloth after a good soaking as well.

[SMsnakes]

Hate to say this happens... :banghead: Here is what I do first I soak the snake or in my case let it play in the warm water. Then I remove the snake inspect the eye cap. restraining the snake in a towel. Remember you do NOT want to hurt the snake or stress it out. A stuck eye cap is very stressful on a snake. I use a wet piece of gauze to gently rub the eye cap to loosen it. this should remove it. ( I have had snakes come in with 3-5 layers of shed on them. 3 eye caps stuck.) If the eye cap dose not come off then I use a clear piece of boxing tape wrapped around my finger and gently applying the tape to the eye cap. 99% of the time this will remove the eye cap. If the eye cap(s) should remain on leave the snake in a humidly box in its enclosure and check 48 hrs later if the cap remains repeat till the eye caps are remove.

[vigilans]

What to do while the snake is in shed is raise the humidity to app. 70% for the last 3 days of the shed cycle, this should help prevent incomplete shed's. Well it works for me anyway.

[jawbone]

Do eyecaps remain look gray or transparent?

[TommyD.]

Do eyecaps remain look gray or transparent?

What are you asking if the retained eye caps are gray? If you are then yes they are if they don't come off with the shed. If you are having retained eye caps you need to raise the humidity up in your enclosure. Sometimes soaking the snake and taking a damp warm rag wiping it across the eyecap will usually take them off. I have also heard of people using tape and getting them off but I wouldn't advise it if you don't know what you are doing. This could be dangerous to the eye. But it's best to get them off if you don't then each time they shed it will grow thick and evenually lead to the loss of sight in that eye. Hope this helps out

[jawbone]

I was asking just so I know what to look for. I always check my snakes shed for eye caps but sometimes it's tough to tell. I figured if the eyes are crisp and clear she's ok.

[TommyD.]

Yeah you will know if there is an eye cap it will look like it's still in shed from my experience although I have never had any retained eye caps I have seen a few. I have seen some snakes loss their sight in the eye that had them. So it is always good to check but if you don't notice it by the time it gets that late then you don't handle or watch your snakes very much cause this takes some time to develop. But it's always good to check your snake(s) out atleast once a day or atleast a week, I make a check on all of mine atleast once in the morning before I go to my real job LOL. That way your on top of it, is better to check alot then not enough alot of things can go wrong in a days time (temps, humidity, etc.). Glad to here that you are a concerned keeper alot of people think if they throw a mouse or rat in once a week they will take care of their self. :smt023

[jawbone]

I check her everyday. Usually a couple times and handle her about 3-4 times per week. I'm a 30 year old first time snake owner still learning my way...

[Orey]

What I did to remove a retained eye cap.... Soaked a pillow case in an inch of warm water. Place her in the pillow case and held the opening closed. Her trying to push her way out slowly removed any skin and eyecaps. Took about 30 minutes. That way I didn't have to worry about brushing her eye too much. Hope this might help.

[jimcal]

I noticed one of my bp had a crease or little dent in each eye. I didn't think much about it because he was going to shed. Well today he did but he still had the same crease ( dent x shape ) in this eyes still. I checked the shed and the eye caps were there with the shed. Do I have a eye cap from another shed still retained that I missed ? the eye is clear but still has the crease

[Gib]

Sounds like a lil bit of dehydration if it has a dented Eyecap...

Kick you humidity up a bit and that should go away pretty quickly

[liquidsnake438]

yah gibs right, its just a slight dehydration problom, to help that out now what i do is get a shoebox container and fill it about half way. "so the snake can still breath and touch the bottom of the box" and leave them in there for about a half hour.