Rosy cloudy eyes, could it be something other than a shed?

FlagonFly · 10-20-12, 01:58 PM

Am starting to be concerned a bit about our rosy boa. She's maybe 5 or 6mo old. Her eyes have been clouding up since about 10/7 (today is 10/20), but she still has not shed. Starting about a week ago I added a humid hide that she does spend a fair amount of time in, and have usually also kept in a water bowl that she'll tread through often, but not sat and soaked in that I have seen anyway.

She last ate a fuzzy on 10/4. I tried one on 10/9 and 10/12 and she didn't take either (this after steadily taking mice with no sign of hesitation for at least 15 times in a row). I haven't tried feeding again in the hopes she would go ahead and shed any day.

Should I be doing anything else at this point, and how often should I try offering food? I've seen many posts about rosy's in particular sometimes taking a long time to shed, but almost two weeks I wonder if the cloudy eyes are actually a different problem. Her skin doesn't really look much different and is not peeling off in any areas that I have seen. But we've had her over a month and hasn't shed yet so I'm thinking she's due.

At what point should I try other methods like mineral oil or actually putting in a shallow bowl of water, damp towel, etc?

FlagonFly · 10-20-12, 02:02 PM

The hide btw is damp spagnum (sp?) moss with enough room for her to crawl in and burrow some.

FlagonFly · 10-20-12, 02:24 PM

Trying for a close up of her eye. First one side looked this way, and now both are pretty clouded.

alessia55 · 10-20-12, 02:42 PM

What is the humidity in there? Having a humid hide and a water bowl should help. Offer food every 7 days. Offering food any more often can be stressful, and a snake in shed is sometimes unwilling to eat-- this is normal. If you want, you can wait until the snake sheds before offering food again.

FlagonFly · 10-20-12, 09:24 PM

Somewhere between 30-40%, according to the average of the two cheapie gauges I have. Will try a fuzzy tonight and see what happens...

**Aaron_S** · 10-21-12, 05:35 AM

It looks like stuck shed looking at the close up.

Check EVERYTHING to see if there's any pieces or hint of your snake trying to get the shed off.

Did you notice the eyes at all go back to normal before these cloudy eyes?

During the shed process when you first notice the blue eyes you should add more water to the enclosure. Top up the water bowl, dump some out on the hot spot, ensure the humid hide is working well. Even if it's a little more wet in there it's fine because as soon as the snake sheds you'll clean out the enclosure to make it proper again. It's how I do my tubs with my snakes.

If this IS just stuck shed then dampen a pillow case, the entire thing, put the snake in there and tie a knot at the top. Put the pillowcase in the enclosure so it doesn't get too cold too quick. Check back in 15 - 20 minutes. The snake should have done most of the work or got a really good start for you to help finish it.

If you've owned the snake a month, and it looks to be a fair size, a month isn't that long to wait for a shed. As a snake ages they shed less.

**Pareeeee** · 10-24-12, 07:27 AM

Really looks like stuck eyecaps to me. May be going into a new shed as well but definitely looks like stuck eyecaps.

KORBIN5895 · 10-24-12, 08:38 AM

If the playdoh idea doesn't work try bashing it on the head with a rock.

**Pareeeee** · 10-24-12, 04:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KORBIN5895

If the playdoh idea doesn't work try bashing it on the head with a rock.

At first I

then I

jaleely · 10-24-12, 08:27 PM

does look like a stuck shed. I would try the bath, and damp pillowcase.

Sand boas do have a longer shed process than some other species, so if it's not a stuck shed expect it to clear up then take a long time to actually shed off. Good luck!

FlagonFly · 10-28-12, 09:56 AM

So to update: Tried a fuzzy last night, no takers. Both eyes still cloudy. Have done a damp pillowcase 3-4 times now over a week or so for a few hours each time. Can't find any sign of other parts of her skin shedding, or any signs of shed skin in the viv.

At what point should I be concerned? Have read about problems with stuck sheds, but mostly about incomplete sheds and not letting it dry out and kill off the tail tip, etc. Is it common for the entire shed to get stuck and need help getting started? Sucks for her if she's blind for several weeks at a time for each shed!

**Aaron_S** · 10-28-12, 10:01 AM

At this point I doubt it's a stuck shed. I would take it to the vet as it could be an eye problem. If it was a shed entirely stuck then the pillowcase technique would have gotten it started already.

shaunyboy · 10-29-12, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron_S

At this point I doubt it's a stuck shed. I would take it to the vet as it could be an eye problem. If it was a shed entirely stuck then the pillowcase technique would have gotten it started already.

^^^^^
it may be dermatitus.....

this can be caused by,retained shed,excessive moisture in substrate,filthy tanks,abrasions,parasites,bacteria,virus,fungi,wor ms

re Dysecdysis (improper shedding)
when a snake has difficulty in shedding it may be caused by,parasites,infection,metabolic irregularitys,tumours...

that said,the most common cause for improper shedding is,humidity is too low

as Aaron said a trip to the vets is whats needed

please let us know how it goes mate

RE YOUR POLL
your next move should be a vets appiontment

cheers shaun

FlagonFly · 10-29-12, 08:46 PM

Got to the vet this afternoon. My first visit; he seems to fairly well know what he's doing with reptiles, if not a specialist. He was a little concerned about the eyes and gave me some ointment (Gentamicin Sulfate Ophthalmic) to apply twice daily and see if they come off after loosening. He said the rest of the skin didn't look ready to come off, so he focused on the eyes and poked a bit with some tweezers but not very much before he decided waiting is a better option.

Having still not eaten since 10/4 he opted to force-fed him a syringe full of some pasty canned food product. No concern over body weight or condition currently, and seemed to think the appetite would come back after it could see again once we get the eyecaps off. Oh and all this time I've though it was female since I couldn't find any spurs. He showed me some small ones and did a probing and I think popping and sexed him as male actually, so now the kids are trying to think of a new name to replace "Matilda"

**Aaron_S** · 10-29-12, 09:41 PM

Well I wouldn't go to that vet anymore.

Eye parts of the shed don't come off separately from the rest.

You also don't need to feed a snake like that ANYTHING with a syringe. All it did was make the snake more stressed out. If there's no sign of weight loss and since it ate this month, it's fine. It could go an easy, other month or two without issue.

Seek new help.