[Eyes/Mouth] Dimple on eyecap

[Jupiter]

I just noticed this weird little dimple on one of Otis's eyes. I'm pretty sure it's not a retained shed. Do you guys think this is one of those "wait till he sheds and see if it goes away" things, or is it more serious? Thanks

[acephantom903]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

Might be dehydration. What is his humidity at? How old is he?

[natieb]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

An indented eyecap means dehydration 98% of the time. Give him a soak, make sure his water dish is full, and spray down the enclosure.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

Totally agree with natieb's post- commonly seen on ball pythons (especially in pet stores, where humidity is usually too low).

[Jupiter]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

I'm not sure what the humidity is, my hygrometer broke a while ago and when I was looking for a new one literally all of the ones I could find had horrible reviews saying they were inaccurate to the point of being useless. I spray his tank (making sure to saturate the substrate) and change his water every day, which, when I had a hygrometer, kept it in the mid 70s. That's why I didn't get a new one, because I'm still doing what I was when I had it, although that one may have been inaccurate. What kind of hygrometers do you guys use? He is 6ish (he was 3ish when I got him). Good to know my vet is full of it though, he was just there today and she was saying he looked really hydrated. I think I should probably just look into getting one of those plastic cages, right now he is in a glass tank that I've partially covered the top of to help keep the humidity in.

[acephantom903]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

It doesn't sound much like humidity issues because it sounds like you are giving him plenty. Does he have a water bowl?
The reason humidity is the first concern is because their eyes are like grapes. Not enough hydration and they turn into raisins.

**Post research** The only things I'm seeing say dehydration--almost all from ball python forums and one book I have on snake ailment identification and treatment. Recommendations to help would be to mist him directly -- not spraying him in the face-- and it should go away in a few hours. If not repeat. They also said give them a bath.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

You probably haven't covered ENOUGH of the screen top to hold the humidity in. Boas & pythons require fairly warm cages...and that heat facilitates the evaporation of moisture. Please take a close look at the
professionally-designed cages...you'll see just how little air circulation they allow for. The Prolines I tried, for example, had a couple holes (< .25") drilled and other than that, there was only the minute spaces around
the doorway.

Humidity is one thing, but you also don't want your snake sitting on moist substrate...he can get skin infections that way. There is such a thing as too much moisture too. You might want to try a totally-supervised
soak for him...make sure the water is about 80-85*...remember that we are 98.6* so it will FEEL cool to us...it's far safer to actually measure the temperature; soak him for about 30 minutes or as tolerated. After that,
adjusting the air flow on the cage should work. A larger water bowl that is place over the UTH (under tank heat) will also help keep humidity up.

[Jupiter]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

It was definitely dehydration, it went away after a good spray. He went to the vet that day and got much more of a work out than normal.

[Noelle7206]

Re: Dimple on eyecap

It's really great that you're paying attention & asking questions when you see something that doesn't look quite right. Snakes are the kind of pet that requires us to be very observant for best results (unless you're
so lucky that nothing EVER goes wrong, lol...). Issues are so much easier to fix when they haven't gone on for too long, keep up the good work!