• Hello!

    Either you have not registered on this site yet, or you are registered but have not logged in. In either case, you will not be able to use the full functionality of this site until you have registered, and then logged in after your registration has been approved.

    Registration is FREE, so please register so you can participate instead of remaining a lurker....

    Please be certain that the location field is correctly filled out when you register. All registrations that appear to be bogus will be rejected. Which means that if your location field does NOT match the actual location of your registration IP address, then your registration will be rejected.

    Sorry about the strictness of this requirement, but it is necessary to block spammers and scammers at the door as much as possible.

Eye problem in ball python

sfaoldguy

sfaoldguy

New member
The local pet shop has a ball python with a serious eye problem. It retained an eye cap its last shed and the manager removed it. Now, a week later or so, the eye is completely foggy white. The iris cannot even be distinguished. The manager hypothesized that the cornea may have been damaged when the eye cap was removed.

If the cornea was damaged, will it heal back? What do you guys think the issue could be? Fungal infection? Bacterial infection? etc? I have noticed the snake almost continuously soaking every time I visited the store this week.

Other information that may help in diagnosing and/or treating is that there seamed to be a scar on the retina which was slightly darker (cream color) than the rest of the eye. The eye did not look like it was losing fluid in any way. No wrinkling, etc.

Thanks for any advice you have. I am considering purchasing the snake and taking it to the vet, but I would like an idea of the difficulty of treating the issue so as to gauge whether the cost is something I want to incur.

Thanks,
John
 
What can happen is when retained eyecaps are removed, the actual eye cap being used beneath it can be ripped off too. No one here can help you other then urge you to take it to a vet. I would be cautious, it sounds like there may be other problems with it or the practices of the store, as it shouldnt be soaking all the time. Also if you buy it be prepaired for a vet bill much more then the actual cost of the snake.
 
Urge them to take him to a vet. Eye problems aren't anything to mess around with, especially in BP's. Check out my threads on Fluffy (here and here) and see if it looks like anything similar. Either way I'd make sure that snake gets to a vet. It was around $150 the first time around for Fluffy to treat his eyes so it can add up quickly. Good luck and keep us updated.

~Katie
 
I've had dogs and horses with corneal injuries- with proper treatment (drops and ointments prescribed by the vet) even bad corneal injuries can heal. Sounds like that snake needs a complete check up, though, which shouldn't be your responsibility. I wouldn't buy an animal that was less than 100% healthy.

Nanci
 
PtDnsr said:
Urge them to take him to a vet. Eye problems aren't anything to mess around with, especially in BP's. Check out my threads on Fluffy (here and here) and see if it looks like anything similar. Either way I'd make sure that snake gets to a vet. It was around $150 the first time around for Fluffy to treat his eyes so it can add up quickly. Good luck and keep us updated.

~Katie
Click to expand...
That looks exactly like the eye of this snake... Did the eyes heal up nicelly or were they permanently scared from the experience?

Thanks everyone for the information. Gotta finish my lab report so gonna have to cut this post short.

John
 
sfaoldguy said:
That looks exactly like the eye of this snake... Did the eyes heal up nicelly or were they permanently scared from the experience?

Thanks everyone for the information. Gotta finish my lab report so gonna have to cut this post short.

John
Click to expand...
His left eye ruptured so he's completely blind in that eye (since it's gone and all...). His right eye never ruptured but it was definately infected and we're almost positive he can't see out of that eye anymore either. He's very head shy - even around me which he wasn't before. He's still doing well although he won't eat f/t, p/k or stunned so I have to feed live (I feed mice so that there's less of a chance of him getting hurt). He still has movement in his right eye which seems to be getting better (he didn't seem to be able to move it at first) so it might be getting slightly better but I doubt it. It's still very cloudy. The good news is that he's doing well and hasn't had a problem with eyecaps since this happened :rolleyes:

~Katie
 
Ok, I went back to the pet store today and talked to them for a little bit. They finally gave me the adult, female ball python for free and I am going to take her to the vet in the morning. I baught her adult boyfriend for a good deal of $75. I am hoping they will give me some babies this year, but if not, we can always go for next year. :)

Got a 6 foot red tail female also to go with my 7 foot male. Kinda lopsided on sizes there but I am sure she will put on some length and girth in the next year or so.

I will keep it updated on how the girl python is doing. Hopefully I will know something by tomorrow afternoon or at least by monday.
 
Well, I hope her eye can be saved. I predict your free snake is going to cost plenty, and I am glad she went to someone who is willing to invest in her. Can't wait for pics!

Nanci
 
The vet checked her out and gave me some stuff to put in on her eye once a day. It cost me $51 today and a bit more for her follow up in a couple of weeks. She is about to shed so she looks really dull right now, but I will go take a pic of her in a sec and try to get a good shot of the infected eye as well. And no, the eye isn't just foggy cause she is in blue lol. Be right back with those pics... :)
 
Here are some picies...

Her body shot
DSC01617small.jpg

Normal eye in blue
DSC01621Medium.jpg

Bad eye :(
DSC01620medium.jpg


And this is a pic of her boyfriend... :)
DSC01624Medium.jpg
 
Glad to see she went home with someone both willing to take care of her and willing to see that she gets the care needed! Good luck with her eye, I hope it heals up cleanly - even if she's lost sight in it! Her beau is handsome as well!


Jenn
 
bjc7487 said:
beautiful snakes!! good luck with her eye! i love BPs, hopefully one day i will have my very own :)
Click to expand...
Thanks... :) I really hope it turns out good... The vet gave me some hope by telling me about another one he had treated that didn't lose it's site and was good as new after a few sheds... :) No matter how it turns out, she is gonna have as good a life as possible from now on... :eek:
 
Just keep an eye on it because that's what Fluffy's eyes looked like. I came back an hour after applying the drops one morning to find the left had ruptured. The scab looking part doesn't look as big which is good and maybe you got her to the vet in time. Good luck!

~Katie
 
At least she'll have sight in the other eye...I'm glad the vet was hopeful.

I used to have pugs. We left the parents-in-law babysitting them for a week vacation once, and came home to find my female with a dime-sized ulcer in one eye. The vet cut the inside of her upper eyelid free, but with it still attached at the edge or the lid, so it hung down like a curtain, placed that inner eyelid layer over the eyeball, sewed the lids together, and left it for two weeks. I had to apply drops/ointment through little cracks. Blood vessels from the eyelid nourished the cornea, and when the stitches came out, all that was left was a tiny blue speck. It was amazing.

So I have hope for bad eye injuries, if gotten to a vet in time.

Nanci
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top