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Great shed, missing eye caps

Fozzy8810

Fozzy8810

New member
Hello,

I have a 3 year old Opal Corn ( October) who shed last night (humidity was about 60-69%) when he shed. I got the skin off, and it was in one long piece, a couple of rips here, but all in one piece like a rolled or bundled up. When I took his old skin out of the tank I checked for the the tip of the tail and the eye caps. I saw the tip of the tail, however I could not find the whole top part of his old skin. The shed had every component from the tip of his tail to the bottom of his mouth, but no eye caps !?! I tried looking through the Aspen , but I was tired and had to be up for work in 5 hours so I gave up for the moment. I would like to know if there is a way to check and see if his eye caps shed? Should I continue looking around for the piece or is there a way I can tell it's still on him. I tried to have him wiggle his head through a damp washcloth, but it's hard to tell cause his eyes are pink. Is there a way to check to see if its' still on him, and if it is how can I get it off? I wont be home for another 8 hours.

Thank you soooo much in advance!
 
All I know is it's very important they come off. But I don't know how to actually tell if they are on, especially with red eyes. Maybe pictures would help if you can get them? Any experienced people to answer?
 
If he were mine I would wait and see opposed to stressing him out over it. Likely hood is that he did shed them, just the upper part of the head piece is buried somewhere. If he isn't continuing to drag his face like he is trying to get skin off or his eyes look dull then I would wait till the next shed and make sure that you see them on there.
 
I thought it sounded like the OP had the whole head, just missing the eye caps. Is the upper head part missing entirely? Then it would probably be easier to see on the snake if it were there than just the eyecaps, or dig up somewhere.
 
I will take pics when I get home. The top of head is completely missing, I don't see the nose, top of his head or eye caps. The way he shed seems like the whole upper lip/ head wasn't even on. It's really really weird. maybe I can take pics of the shed that i found as well. When I get home I'll check his eyes to see if they are hazy, and take a very throughout look through the furniture.
 
In that case it sounds like maybe the shed is lost somewhere. On the piece you do have, is it a clean tear, or extra stretched? Since corns usually start the shed by rubbing their heads on something, maybe try looking for the missing piece stuck to whatever is rough in the cage, like a hide or log, or water dish. If the shed is still on the snake, try inspecting the scales on the border of the piece you have to see if you can see where the skin pulled away (maybe with a magnifying glass if you have one).
 
Hello everyone, so I have a feeling that the skin is still on him, i will postpics up as soon as i find the USB for my camera. The only reason why i believe his skin is still on is because I know that his eyes pupils will look a piercing red afterwards, and now they're just like dark pink. usually when snakes with red eyes r about to shed, they're eyes look strawberry milkish, but his just aren't as bright as i know they should be. maybe over the next 2 days they will turn into the strawberry milk to prove if they are actually still on or not. should i wait. i was also planning on feeding him tonight, would that be a good idea?maybe this will also show if his skin is still on. thoughts suggestions?
 
I have taken a piece of masking tape and repeatedly pressed my finger on it and removed it until most of its adhesive properties are gone. You want there to be just a little stickiness left on the tape. You can then GENTLY place the tape on the eye and pop off the skin. You should be 100% sure the old cap is still on the eye before doing this. You should be able to see it with a good magnifying glass. Again I emphasize knowing without a doubt that the old cap is still there.
 
My ball python almost always has poor sheds (still unknown as to why), so I have come to be the master of eye cap removal (not really)! But I usually get him the morning after he sheds, so they're still loose, all I do is take a warm wet towel and gently rub the eye in a circle and they pop right off. Make sure you restrain your snake by placing your fingers right behind his head and holding tightly- not too tight to hurt him! But tight enough so that even if he struggles to pull back he can't get out. Support the body with your legs.
If you don't feel comfortable messing with the eyes yourself, you can always place your snake in a wet pillowcase and tie the end so that as he struggles to find a way out he just gets them off himself. I have not used that method personally (because when I tried my ball just sat there and didn't move), but I know others do and I see no reason as to why that wouldn't work.
Though I do have to agree that he probably did shed them somewhere and it's under the aspen or something.
 
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