Reptile Forums banner

Eye damage or retained eye cap?

3K views 16 replies 6 participants last post by  xautomaticflowersx 
#1 ·
Heya, I noticed a few days ago that my royal's right eye has a T-shaped mark on the surface. It's very hard to tell whether it's surface damage or a mark from a retained eye cap. I've never seen a retained eye cap before (I've not been keeping snakes for very long), but it doesn't seem to look like there's anything stuck on there. Plus I'm pretty sure I found the pieces of skin from his head with both eye caps when he shed last. I can't see any edges and the affected eye doesn't look any different to the one that is OK... except for the mark.
The mark is not due to dehydration (I know they can get dents or wrinkles on the eye when dehydrated) as I see him drinking and there is always water available. I've also misted the RUB for a couple of days in a row to raise the humidity and it's made no difference.
My camera isn't fantastic, so this is the best shot I could get unfortunately. Any input would be greatly appreciated. And feel free to ask any questions!

 
See less See more
1
#2 ·
Just cropped the full size image to show a larger image of the eye. Not the best quality, but the best I can manage...



From a different angle...

 
#3 ·
i have similar problem with my CRB( terrible previous owner:censor:)

i would give him good moss box, yes raze humidity but not to hight not sure for requirements for royals so maybe raze it when you notice hi will go to next shed.

i know what you mean dont look like dead skin just like eye cap was push in site his eye ,

my CRB was come out clean after shed (first shed with me)

give him bath as well ( i bath my every week so they do toilet in there-less to clean in viv)

hope hi will recover fine
 
#7 ·
Yeah it looks dented to me as well rather than a retained cap. He shed only a couple of weeks ago so I doubt it's because he's about to shed again. Maybe he is dehydrated then? I'll pop Ripley in the bath each day for a few mins and see if it starts to help. Maybe give the RUB a quick spray once a day as well.

Thanks for input. Will let you know if it helps or not.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I did wonder about this, but it seems to be getting slightly bigger over the last few days rather like a dent. It's hard to say though since he's still rather small and it's hard to see the surface of the eye properly to tell if it's a scratch or dent.

EDIT: It's bad enough double-posting and I wasn't about to make a triple-post! But I just thought of something else to ask! I've read WLW's eyecap thread and regarding the gel to use on the eye... would Golden Eye be OK?
 
#10 ·
I don't think so, the urates have been mostly liquid. But his last couple of poos were a bit harder than usual. Hmmm... perhaps he is dehydrated. He drinks regularly and I always defrost his rats in water so they have a bit of extra moisture in their fur. His temps are good (heat mat is at 32/33C). I don't have a hygro in his RUB though, so maybe the humidity is lower than it should be and it's dehydrating him. I'm assuming it's at the same humidity as the rest of my room (50%ish), but perhaps it's not.
 
#12 ·
Just a brief update... Ripley's eye is definitely still dented. I've been soaking him in the bath in lukewarm water for about 10-15mins each day since I started this thread. If Ripley's in the bath any longer he starts to get upset and thrashes around trying to escape.
I think it's helped a little bit. The dent seems to be slightly less pronounced. See the below photo...



However, it hasn't made quite the impact I was hoping for. Do you think I should try a powerade soak? Or is that a little extreme? Tomorrow is feeding day, so another thing I could try is syringing some Avipro solution down the rat's throat so that Ripley gets it. I could perhaps put some Avipro in his bath water instead of powerade.
Any thoughts would be much appreciated. :notworthy: :notworthy: :notworthy:
 
#13 ·
looks more like a double scales been caused on the snake and the first one has shed but not the second peice fully

To check if it is dented just get a low powered torch and shine it on the eye, you will see the shadowing on anything thats indented
 
#14 ·
OK... I'll try and find a torch with batteries in it that work! We'd be pretty fecked if there was a power cut, really must get some batteries. But I digress!
If there isn't a shadow from an indentation should I use the eyecap removal method? I'm actually just about to leave to go to Boots right now so I'll get some viscotears in stock just in case.
Thanks for the reply, tis much appreciated. I'll update when I've had a look at the eye properly.
 
#15 ·
OK... well I've got some Viscotears. I haven't done anything to Ripley's eye yet because I really don't think that there's anything stuck to the eye? I looked at the eye under low torchlight and the mark does look more like a dent or a scratch.
Ripley's belly has gone pink and his scales are a little dull, so I think he'll be shedding in the next couple of weeks. I don't think that being due a shed is why there's a mark though because it's been there for a week or more already... possibly longer because it may have been less noticeable when smaller.
Ripley's often falling off of the inside rim of the RUB (wakes me up sometimes!), so maybe he fell on something? Is it possible that the lens of the eye has been scratched or damaged and because he's due a shed the outer membrane (the part that will slough away) is moving away from the eye slightly, therefore making the mark look more obvious? It might even go with the next shed?
I don't know... that might be utter rubbish. But it crossed my mind. I just don't see that there's anything stuck or unshed on the eye. Both eyes look exactly the same, except the right one has a t-shaped mark on it.
:(
 
#17 ·
Okidoke, well I'll try and keep humidity up during shedding and hopefully that's all it is. If there is something stuck that I can't see then at least now I'm prepared with Viscotears on standby if necessary.
Ta for the help.: victory:
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top