Scratched/Damaged Eye Cap???

Okay, so I am completely stumped. I need some help/opinions from people that are "in the know."

As some of you already know, I recently added another job - working at a large "nature center" type deal where I care for all their snakes/reptiles, ect. Well, recently our Eastern Fox snake has developed what looks like a scratched operculum (eye cap scale, for the newbies reading this). I was puzzled by this, as there is nothing abrasive in his viv, and he is fed f/t mice, so could not have gotten injured either of those ways. I figured it was just a fluke and that his eye cap would be fine after the next shed. Well, earlier this week I had him out to look him over again, and I noticed that now BOTH of his eyecaps were scratched, and the originally injured eye cap was now almost "punctured" looking. There is definitely a small hole in it, which has me pretty worried. Its to the point now that he really can't see anything at all due to the scratches, ect. Not only do I have no idea how he's sustaining these injuries, I have no idea what to do for them. The supervisors have vetoed taking him to the vet, as this snake is very very old (somewhere over 20 years...we've had him for that long, and he was given to us as an adult). I've never come across this problem before , and I'm completely stumped on what to do (or not do) and would appreciate any advice...

I should also add that he has been overly active these last 5 days, constantly cruising and trying to "escape" out the top of the locked viv. He is still eating regularly as well.

Thanks in advance!

He could have retained eye caps from a previous shed. Retained eye caps look kind of like there is a crease in the eye cap. You may try soaking him to see if that is the problem. If you look real close around the outer edges of the eye you may see flaking which would tell you there is a retained eye cap.

Hmmmmmm....I wonder if that could be it. I'll definitely check that out first thing tomorrow morning. His last shed was a week before I started working there, so I don't know for sure if he shed the eye caps or not...all I know was that his last shed was in many many pieces (which was common for all the snakes there, and has since been rectified).

Okay, so the only problem I see with this scenario is removing the old eye caps. This is not a snake that likes being submerged. Although, I could try my wet-towel-in-a-box technique, which would be the equivalent of putting him in a large humidity box, but would that be enough to loosen a retained eye cap?

Also, another question would be about the "puncture." The one eye cap does have a visible puncture mark, which seems really bad (to me at least). I will see if I can get pictures of it tomorrow. What types of problems would this puctured eye cap cause in the long term?

One other side note: He has been cruising his viv like crazy, which is his normal "hungry behavior" but he refused his meal today. This is especially worrisome because he is usually the most aggressive eater of all the snakes.

Sheesh, this snake is more stressful than all my personal snakes put together.

Maybe he's in breeder mode too. I've heard that even if they retain the caps, that most of the time they will come off the next shed.

Ah ha! Meg, you are brilliant! I can't believe that idea totally slipped my mind. Looking back over the last few years' records, it seems he always goes off feed this time of year. *whew* Okay, one problem down, one to go!

I guess I'll "humidify" him this morning and see how that goes. Thanks so much, Dave and Meg! You guys were (as usual) very helpful!

Golly! If being brilliant were only that easy!! Good luck with the eye caps, and it's a good thing people kept records for you.

Just thought I'd update to let you know that you were right Dave. Fox Snake shed two days ago, and his eyes are beautiful now. When taking a look at the shed both sets of eye caps are visible, and the outer ones are indeed damaged, while the underneath ones were in perfect condition. *whew* what a load off my mind. Now if only we could get him to stop thinking about girls long enough to eat....

Thanks so much Dave and Meg for your advice!

Great news Katie! I'm sure he'll be over women and after food (he is a guy after all) in no time!