One eye did not shead

[Slateman]

I received pm from one of the member of aps site asking:
if my snake did not shead one eye and i will not remove the old eyelid scale.
Will second shead fix the problem?
He have a redbelly, and is afraid to handle the snake to remove the skin.

I have no idea if next shed will do. When ewer this happen to my snake, I always remove the bad shed.

[GARTHNFAY]

I always remove it as well....I just keep dipping a cottonbud in tepid water and repeatedly wipe gently over the eye..it eventually just comes off.

[moosenoose]

I don't worry about it. With the next shed I've always made sure I bump up the humidity. To further increase the moisture level for the snake I've been using a base of damp spagnum moss in the hide which the snake seems to love lying on anyhow - it never fails!! One piece sheds every time!

[Jason]

i use to think it would cause an issue but this season i had a blond mac that retained an eye scale after its first shed, i tried to get it off by soeking etc etc but had no success, the snake went into another shed about 5 days later and it come off with that shed, i just made sure the humidity was a bit higher that time. all was good.

to me it makes sense for a snake to go into a second shed to remove it, i would imagen wild herps would face shedding issues more frequently then captives and it seems like an easy fix to a possibly serious issue.

[GARTHNFAY]

I have been told sometimes if the shed does not come off they MAY get an infection under the scale....is this true or just an old wives tale??

[SnakePower]

Originally Posted by GARTHNFAY

I have been told sometimes if the shed does not come off they MAY get an infection under the scale....is this true or just an old wives tale??

I am pretty sure that's just a story/old wives tale. I have had a few snakes not fully shed properly especially when we were living up north where the weather was so incredibly hot and dry. If it was something easy, I would remove it for them, or soak them to make it nice and easy to get off. This has on occasion been the eye specticle. If it doesn't come off easily, it is fine to leave it for the next shed and then as MN said, bump up the humidity for them and then they just shed it off in the next sloth. Also, the next shed comes quicker than normal, as an automatic way of the snake being able to fix the problem it'self (aint mother nature great!). Better that than stress the animal out by trying to force something that has not properly loosened and lifted for a natural shedding.

[Sdaji]

I saw a wild Carpet with about half a dozen retained spectacles on one eye (I removed them all). If a retained one doesn't come off with the next slough it'll have two, if it doesn't come off with the next it'll have three, etc etc. Usually the next slough will sort things out, especially if conditions are good.

[Slateman]

Thanks. I told him also to wait till next shed. Specially because he is not to happy to handle vens unnecessarily. Extra humidity in cage and check next shed skin for eyelid.

[moosenoose]

Seriously, try the moss under the hide. I have a frisbee under my terracotta pots full of the stuff, so when my snakes are coming up for a slough I damp it down and they lie on it- it's very absorbent stuff!. So hook him out, stick him in a bucket or something and stash this gear in the hide next time. Oh and another thing, it's best to microwave the moss before you use it, just to kill off any nasties

[Moreliaman]

I'll second that moosey, whenever ive had anything with shedding problems i put them in a pillow case with damp moss for a day or two, that usually sorts the problem out.

[Slateman]

Now I am few weeks older and have been told that my advice was not the best one.
There is chance to get infection, and if the eyelid don't get shed second time, it is much harder to remove it.
I helped to my friend to take eyelid off and it was easier to do that because 2 of us. It is tricky to work with large snake with out help.

[snakecharma]

i always remove mine

but do watch out i have seen the devastation an eye scale left on can do first hand. Beautiful blackheaded python shed but left 1 eye scale on then proceeded to rub its eye on differant parts of the enclosure to try and get it off what resulted was a nasty infection in the eye which unfortunatly after being treated with antibiotics needed to be removed

so yeah this reason alone is why i always remove mine

[geckodan]

Originally Posted by GARTHNFAY

I have been told sometimes if the shed does not come off they MAY get an infection under the scale....is this true or just an old wives tale??

Not an old wives tale. The risk of infection is low but it does happen. Best to remove the scale rather than wait.