In honor of Jason Longboards request for more topics, here you go:
My 12 yr old Ball Python (Squeezer) lost his right eye Wednesday.
I got Squeezer for free aprox 10 years ago; he was dumped in a bag outside of a local pet shop in February. I can assure you February in NY is no place for a snake!
I walked in and asked if they have snakes. "No but we have this one". I didn't even want a Ball Python but took him and he's been with me since.
The one issue he had was a pretty bad eye problem, specifically he had several eye caps fused together on both eyes. I made many attempts over the years to free 'em up but he always seemed to have an extra 2-3 (4-5?) caps in place.
In 2003 I took him to a vet that has a great reputation with dealing with reptiles. As you may know many vets know very little about reptile related issues so I was happy to find this guy.
The vet managed to remove a fairly thick cross section of eye caps but he still had the standard 2-3 left behind. Squeezers left eye actually got dark for a few weeks from filling with blood. The vet explained this really wasn't a problem for a variety of reasons and the eye cap problem wouldn't create any health issues for him in the future.
(NOTE: this is a well known vet that deals with reptiles on a regular basis. I do not want to enter in an "Eye cap" arguement. Contrary to what you may believe, fused eye caps are not the end of the world and present virtually no health risks to snakes. Screwing around to remove the eye caps CAN lead to health problems though, as you will now see...)
Flash forward to last week...
The vet removed a cap from squeezer's left eye but his right eye is pretty beat up. I took him back to the vet because he had a bubble under his cap, like an air space. I figured it would be a good time to see if we could make some progress on his eyes.
The vet hands squeezer back to me and explains that the right eye was a pain in the ass! He backed off from trying to remove them because he was afraid of pulling his eye out of the socket! He gives me this antibiotic cream to use. The plan is to allow the cream to soften it up so the cap will come right off.
Within 3 days the eye starts leaking blood and clear fluid.
The fluid is clear so i'm not too worried about infection but nonetheless, i'm a little worried.
I make an appointment for wednesday. I tell the vet tech what's happening and frankly, that i'm pissed. "My snake had two functioning eyes prior to coming here".
The vet comes in and takes squeezer to the back...
He comes back 5 minutes later and says, "I have bad news-it's not good. while attempting to remove his cap last time i nicked the membrane...the eye is infected and turned to gelatin. It has to come out".
WTF?
He says it will take 10 minutes.
10 minutes later, here comes Squeezer with what looks like cotton stffed in his eye socket (It was actually this zinc based cream).
NO CHARGE for this visit.
Squeezer is doing well. He was actually cruising for food yesterday but I will wait another week to feed him. He reacts HORRIBLY to pinning his head. Don't let anyone tell you snakes have short memories because he remembers having his eye plucked out and must have experienced some pain in the process.
He is having to learn to deal with the sight loss; you can tell he has trouble with right turns and approaching him from his blind side startles him a bit.
He'll adapt and hopefully live much longer.
The vibe I got from the vet was that he f*cked up and knows it. I really got the feeling he is second guessing this situation and probably brought his work home with him that night.
I can be somewhat intimidating and I threw him a look; he knows how I feel about the situation.
That being said, I would use this guy again. He made a mistake-we all do. Do not ask his name, I will not reveal it. He doesn't deserve to be beat up on the internet, IMO.
I also accept my responsibilty in this.
Anyway, feel free to post your comments.
Story # 2: Nope, not done yet! I told you I have drama in my life!
I have 2 RES and 3 Snappers. It's a long story: The snappers came with the package deal (Rescue) from a local lake. The previous owners intended to keep them as hatchlings until the spring when they would be returned to the lake. They have grown quite a bit as i'm sure you can imagine!
Anyway, last night i'm setting up a spare 20L because the larger of the two RES decides to dine on the edges of the Snapper's shells. Enough to draw blood.
Needless to say the Snapper's are in the 20L now.
Like I said: DRAMA.
My 12 yr old Ball Python (Squeezer) lost his right eye Wednesday.
I got Squeezer for free aprox 10 years ago; he was dumped in a bag outside of a local pet shop in February. I can assure you February in NY is no place for a snake!
I walked in and asked if they have snakes. "No but we have this one". I didn't even want a Ball Python but took him and he's been with me since. The one issue he had was a pretty bad eye problem, specifically he had several eye caps fused together on both eyes. I made many attempts over the years to free 'em up but he always seemed to have an extra 2-3 (4-5?) caps in place.
In 2003 I took him to a vet that has a great reputation with dealing with reptiles. As you may know many vets know very little about reptile related issues so I was happy to find this guy.
The vet managed to remove a fairly thick cross section of eye caps but he still had the standard 2-3 left behind. Squeezers left eye actually got dark for a few weeks from filling with blood. The vet explained this really wasn't a problem for a variety of reasons and the eye cap problem wouldn't create any health issues for him in the future.
(NOTE: this is a well known vet that deals with reptiles on a regular basis. I do not want to enter in an "Eye cap" arguement. Contrary to what you may believe, fused eye caps are not the end of the world and present virtually no health risks to snakes. Screwing around to remove the eye caps CAN lead to health problems though, as you will now see...)
Flash forward to last week...
The vet removed a cap from squeezer's left eye but his right eye is pretty beat up. I took him back to the vet because he had a bubble under his cap, like an air space. I figured it would be a good time to see if we could make some progress on his eyes.
The vet hands squeezer back to me and explains that the right eye was a pain in the ass! He backed off from trying to remove them because he was afraid of pulling his eye out of the socket! He gives me this antibiotic cream to use. The plan is to allow the cream to soften it up so the cap will come right off.
Within 3 days the eye starts leaking blood and clear fluid.
The fluid is clear so i'm not too worried about infection but nonetheless, i'm a little worried.
I make an appointment for wednesday. I tell the vet tech what's happening and frankly, that i'm pissed. "My snake had two functioning eyes prior to coming here".
The vet comes in and takes squeezer to the back...
He comes back 5 minutes later and says, "I have bad news-it's not good. while attempting to remove his cap last time i nicked the membrane...the eye is infected and turned to gelatin. It has to come out".
WTF?
He says it will take 10 minutes.
10 minutes later, here comes Squeezer with what looks like cotton stffed in his eye socket (It was actually this zinc based cream).
NO CHARGE for this visit.
Squeezer is doing well. He was actually cruising for food yesterday but I will wait another week to feed him. He reacts HORRIBLY to pinning his head. Don't let anyone tell you snakes have short memories because he remembers having his eye plucked out and must have experienced some pain in the process.
He is having to learn to deal with the sight loss; you can tell he has trouble with right turns and approaching him from his blind side startles him a bit.
He'll adapt and hopefully live much longer. The vibe I got from the vet was that he f*cked up and knows it. I really got the feeling he is second guessing this situation and probably brought his work home with him that night.
I can be somewhat intimidating and I threw him a look; he knows how I feel about the situation. That being said, I would use this guy again. He made a mistake-we all do. Do not ask his name, I will not reveal it. He doesn't deserve to be beat up on the internet, IMO.
I also accept my responsibilty in this.
Anyway, feel free to post your comments.
Story # 2: Nope, not done yet! I told you I have drama in my life!
I have 2 RES and 3 Snappers. It's a long story: The snappers came with the package deal (Rescue) from a local lake. The previous owners intended to keep them as hatchlings until the spring when they would be returned to the lake. They have grown quite a bit as i'm sure you can imagine!
Anyway, last night i'm setting up a spare 20L because the larger of the two RES decides to dine on the edges of the Snapper's shells.
Enough to draw blood. Needless to say the Snapper's are in the 20L now. Like I said: DRAMA.
