Pondering Effectiveness of Cross Ventilation

[viper69]

What? People just leave them on? C'mon, help a snake out

One would think an owner would take care of its pet. I understand if someone is reluctant to do it themselves, but there are people with DVM degrees who are trained in this area.

I was reading on a snake forum that a couple eye caps may actually do severe damage to the snake's eyes, occlude their vision innside the eye somehow, restrict blood flow in the eye. I don't know if it's true but if it is, I was really surprised to read the amount of serious side effects 2 or 3 or more may have on snakes.

 

[cold blood]

One would think an owner would take care of its pet. I understand if someone is reluctant to do it themselves, but there are people with DVM degrees who are trained in this area.

I was reading on a snake forum that a couple eye caps may actually do severe damage to the snake's eyes, occlude their vision innside the eye somehow, restrict blood flow in the eye. I don't know if it's true but if it is, I was really surprised to read the amount of serious side effects 2 or 3 or more may have on snakes.

Several years ago in the late fall while I was walking the pooch, I found a 5ft ball....in freakin' Wisconsin....being late fall, I found it just in time as temps were dropping fast....I gave to a good friend who's lizard had just croaked, so he had a decent set up...anyway, it had marks on its upper jaw like it had an old injury....based on the snake's activity we believe it was either escaping or always trying to escape, as it was obviously released by a bad owner.

But this snake is like one described here, darn thing rarely uses the water bowl, which is a small lake, and literally never sheds clean, always in pieces and the caps are frequently remaining...my friend asked the first time what he should do and I was like "you need to remove them, do some homework and get them off". He subsequently has always removed them...occasionally "Bob" doesn't seem to appreciate it at the time of removal.

thread officially dis-railed.

 

[viper69]

Several years ago in the late fall while I was walking the pooch, I found a 5ft ball....in freakin' Wisconsin....being late fall, I found it just in time as temps were dropping fast....I gave to a good friend who's lizard had just croaked, so he had a decent set up...anyway, it had marks on its upper jaw like it had an old injury....based on the snake's activity we believe it was either escaping or always trying to escape, as it was obviously released by a bad owner.

But this snake is like one described here, darn thing rarely uses the water bowl, which is a small lake, and literally never sheds clean, always in pieces and the caps are frequently remaining...my friend asked the first time what he should do and I was like "you need to remove them, do some homework and get them off". He subsequently has always removed them...occasionally "Bob" doesn't seem to appreciate it at the time of removal.

thread officially dis-railed.

My BP has occasionally needed eye cap removal. I always make sure all my snakes' skin is off. I don't care if there are 3 scales on its tail remaining.

I've always removed these specialized scales because of some training I have. They don't like, nor would I expect them. Who likes being prodded in the eye?? Also, for some unknown reasons to me, BPs have evolved to be EXTREMELY "head shy" as a species. So removing them w/ BPs is particularly challenging with some specimens.

 

[Trenor]

I've not done any shed removal by hand from around the eye or head. I had a rescue female ball python that had a mouth injury from a previous owned who had shedding problems. She had large amounts of scale build up around her eyes and head. I took a huge clear plastic tote from Walmart and filled it with water that was of a good temp. Put some shed aid in there and put her in. Placed the lid on and let her soak for a pretty long while. Most of it came off with the first soaking. After the second one she was pretty clear of scales. Even with her head out of the water most of the time the high humidity softened the scales up a lot. Unfortunately her mouth never did heal right and there wasn't anything the vet could do. She had more and more trouble eating till she couldn't at all. Finally, we had her put to sleep.

 

[Bemottled]

I've not done any shed removal by hand from around the eye or head. I had a rescue female ball python that had a mouth injury from a previous owned who had shedding problems. She had large amounts of scale build up around her eyes and head. I took a huge clear plastic tote from Walmart and filled it with water that was of a good temp. Put some shed aid in there and put her in. Placed the lid on and let her soak for a pretty long while. Most of it came off with the first soaking. After the second one she was pretty clear of scales. Even with her head out of the water most of the time the high humidity softened the scales up a lot. Unfortunately her mouth never did heal right and there wasn't anything the vet could do. She had more and more trouble eating till she couldn't at all. Finally, we had her put to sleep.

Yea, I've read that humidity-boxing or soaking is the way to go for stuck sheds, incl. eyecaps.
Sorry to hear about your ball, man That's tough.

My BP has occasionally needed eye cap removal. I always make sure all my snakes' skin is off. I don't care if there are 3 scales on its tail remaining.

I've always removed these specialized scales because of some training I have. They don't like, nor would I expect them. Who likes being prodded in the eye?? Also, for some unknown reasons to me, BPs have evolved to be EXTREMELY "head shy" as a species. So removing them w/ BPs is particularly challenging with some specimens.

Does simply pulling/removing the shed do any harm to the animal? I always assumed that since people soaked or humidity boxed, actually removing the shed could be harmful.

 

[mistertim]

Off topic to the current conversation, but for Psalmo slings do you guys put ventilation on the lids of your deli cups as well as the sides or is it best to keep it with just cross ventilation and help a micro-climate form?

 

[cold blood]

Off topic to the current conversation, but for Psalmo slings do you guys put ventilation on the lids of your deli cups as well as the sides or is it best to keep it with just cross ventilation and help a micro-climate form?

Just like any other t...mostly on the sides, with just a few on the lid.

 

[viper69]

Does simply pulling/removing the shed do any harm to the animal? I always assumed that since people soaked or humidity boxed, actually removing the shed could be harmful.

If the skin is dry yes it hurts them quite a bit, like peeling a scab off a human. But if the skin is moist you can slide it off w/a wet paper towel. I'm impatient and tend to do it by hand.