"eye caps"

i hate to break the news here guys... but using tweezers is completely stupid!!! if there is no caps, u may and probably WILL damage the snakes eye!

tape with any sticky substance is a HUGE no-no!!! i have seen a case where the owner thought there was a cap on and ended up ripping the snakes eye out!

best way to do it is get a piece of toilet roll or some kitchen roll or something, wetting it with warm water, grabbing your snake from just behind its head (being gentle enough not to hurt it) and holding the roll over its head for a minute or so (dont use water that is too hot) and then very gently rub from the neck to its nose.

im sorry if u think that the Cornsnake manual is the bible, but tweezers are completely stupid! thats like saying getting a building crane to remove your contact lenses!

Cypher,

Does that mean an educated, trained, and licensed Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, that deems it necessary to save the sight of an animal, is wrong? Truth be known, I've never personally seen retained eye caps occur on a corn. I have seen it occur with other snake species; it is a sad thing. On the same note, I've seen old caps safely removed using various methods and without injury to the snake. I'd question your friends technique, not the method.

I have a solution for ya...Instead of worrying about whether the snake has shed its eyecaps after the fact...think about misting your snake with water BEFORE IT SHEDS, which is what I do.You would mist it every day until it sheds..AND when I mist him, I pay extra attention to the 2 potential problem areas...in other words...his head area and his tail area really get a soaking. I have never had a problem with shedding. Other issues, YES, but not shedding.

CAV, im simply saying that an expert who sold my corns to me, told me the best way to remove them was with a damp towel. if owners wanna hack at their snakes eyes with tweesers and god knows what else, thats fine. mine aint going to be injured by it...

...and btw... mine had a cap on and i got it off safely with a damp towel in less than 10 minutes... so, use tweesers, do the job quickly and risk damaging the snakes eye, or do it safely... no my problem...

In my opinion each person should use the tool for the job that they feel most competent with, and with which they will be able to do the best job. If that then fails they can try other methods.

I have experienced a stuck spectacle once on an older corn who had medical issues and experienced a very late, very bad shed. I removed the eye cap by letting her push her way through warm wet (not just damp) paper towels repeatedly whilst holding her to apply pressure.

In my view, no owner would:

hack at their snakes eyes with tweesers

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but tweezers are a precision tool that allows one to get a hold of a small surface which fingers would be too clumsy to grip. The suggestion would not be to poke the eye, but rather to lift up the edge of the unshed skin surrounding the eye, to aid in peeling the entire piece off. Equally, tweezers are not synonymous with rushing the job - being able to "rip" the skin off quickly does not mean one would chose to. Tweezers can merely be used by the right people in the right situation as a last resort.

Skye

ive never experianced missing eyecaps but on my cornsnake it has abput 2/3 sheds left on the tip of his tail and i aint a clue what to do? can i just damp his tail by letting him swim around in the bath in shallow warm water for a while then try pulling it off? or do i need to do something else?

I just dampened a paper towel and held it on the skin for a moment, then let her slide thru it. The skin came off easily. Don't let the skin stay on too long. Mine had obviously had a bad shed before I got her, and the end of her tail died off. It came off completely this last shed. Doesn't hurt her, just gives her a bit of a stub on the end.

I moisten paper towels and "wipe off" the old shed.

There are many threads on this subject. CHeck ou the forum's search function for other ideas.

cheers peeps ill give that a try tomorrow well today lol (2am here lol)

I only have experience with my corn.

He's a bad shedder. The first time, I thought maybe he didn't have anything good to shed against (besides the water dish which looks like a rock), but I have added a log hideout.

Anyway, my guy has shedded like 5 times since I've gotten him. He always rubs against the soft stuff, not the hard, so it tears off the loose skin so it makes it harder to get the rest off. He seems to be in good health besides that, eats well, I see him drink every once in a while, I mist him a lot when he's getting ready to shed.


I hang out on a body piercing forum (tribalectic.com) and a zoo herpatologist there told me to get a deli container, quart size works well for mine, I line the bottom with paper towels and put in 1/2"-1" of water. The paper towels provide friction which help peel the skin off, while obviously the water helps loosen the skin. This has been working great work me it usually takes about half an hour.

Though with my snake's bad shedding, the eyecaps have always come off with the first half of the skin without a problem. He usually gets the first half without problems. Once, and only once he shedded sucessfully on his own. I try to teach him to rub against the hard stuff, but you can't really teach a snake how to shed. Since the air is dry in the winter, I recently put a little dish with wet paper towels over the warm side of the tank to help up his humidity.

Leia...

If you would make a moist hide for your snake, you could remedy the shedding problems. Simply take a butter bowl (with lid) or other appropriately sized container and cut a hole in the top or side. Put damp paper towels or sphagnum moss in it and place it in your snake's enclosure. You snake will love hiding in it and it will help your snake to shed better.

Re: Leia...

CornCrazy said:

If you would make a moist hide for your snake, you could remedy the shedding problems. Simply take a butter bowl (with lid) or other appropriately sized container and cut a hole in the top or side. Put damp paper towels or sphagnum moss in it and place it in your snake's enclosure. You snake will love hiding in it and it will help your snake to shed better.

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Thanks for the idea, I was actually going to try that as soon as I use up some margarine


The only problem I can see with that is the fact that my snake seems to hate water. He freaks out a little when I mist him, or put him in his water dish or soak him. But maybe I can trick him into liking it.

I've noticed that mine don't like to be misted, either. They ALL love their moist hides, though!

agreed - mine hate misting too, but with all this snow and dry air I am not willing to risk health with bad sheds

Skye

I'm going to mist mine next time, but I've noticed that she loves laying in her planter. When she gets close to shed, I'm just going to extra water the plant in her viv, and she can lay in there all she wants.

CornCrazy said:

I've noticed that mine don't like to be misted, either. They ALL love their moist hides, though!

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Terri, SneakySnake just shed, for the 4th time since I've had him, (still think he's a girl), Wanted to thank you all for just telling the truth. Sometimes, no matter what we do, they get in trouble. I could never imagine that he wasn't done. I just saw a little piece, thought I had it, put him/her back in the cage, unbelievable, the angle that he was dragging his tail across the bottom, (90°), boy, Am I so lucky for all you guys! AND was he so happy to be rid of it! YES!!! Thanks from the P-household!