I think my pythons blind !

[bucky]

honestly just keep feeding him. make sure he has a place to keep warm if he wants or cool if he wants and has water. he looks healthy enough to me. the eye prob will be checked by a vet and thats the best thing to do.
you are keeping him in good conditions. when you can i would give him more room to be able to climb and so on just for the reasons farma said. not cause he is in to small of an area. keep up the good work and do your best.

 

[Tsubakai]

I think the vet check is the best way to go. They can talk to you about his tank and other husbandry issues, check it for parasites and sort out whether it has retained shed/lens etc. Don't stress too much though as if conditions were too bad it wouldn't want to eat so you must be doing something correctly.

 

[harley0402]

i dont mean to upset you, im just trying to figure out what it could be, and being wild caught could mean he is not used to being in a captive environment, everything would be completly different. Its good that you are asking questions and helping him. so the vet is a good start. about the enclosure, if it was me, i would put him in wood enclosure with a glass front because they are easier to maintain the right heat and humidity and will help make to him feel more secure - so its not like everything is watching him. I would also use a different substrate, like aspen shavings or shredded coconut husk or maybe just newspaper. Google for some info on temps and humidity and get them right in the enclosure, its good that he is eating. is he shedding in one peice ?? it seems weird to me that he doesnt use his branches and hides but i spose they are all different. Do you know how he was kept before you got him ??

 

[Echiopsis]

Id be more worried about the thing cooking if its sitting in its water bowl non stop. Get a thermomenter and check the temps, 'hot and cold end' doesnt cut it.

 

[Torah]

know what thank you all heaps hay !. now how do I delete my profile and membership ?

 

[bucky]

i dont think that is necessary. dont take offence to it. take all the info on and go from there. as i said you seem to be doing fine. just get him checked and keep up the good work.

 

[snakeluvver]

Zeezza, people arent trying to be mean, theyre just trying to help. I agree, some people do sorta have a go at you, but dont take it personally Most people dont realise that their posts may be hurtful, they may not mean to do it.

 

[moosenoose]

Constantly sitting in water to try and soften up annoying retained caps could be one reason it's soaking?

I've never been concerned with glass enclosures. People tend to make a real song and dance over it. Not knowing what the temps are doing is a bit of a concern.

A vet visit for a general health check would be advisable to say the least

 

[waruikazi]

You're all mad! Ask the most obvious questions first.

Is the old fella about to slough? Looking at the first pictures and the way the skin is folded around him he looks like he could be a week or so away from shedding.

If it is retained eye caps DON'T PANIC! They won't kill your snake over night and they are not an immediate health concern. You have a large window of opportunity to fix this and you can easily do it yourself at home (we can talk you through it if you like, PM me and i can even do it over the phone with you if you like). I've seen upto 7 layers of retained eye caps. That snake is still looking at stuff, so it's ok. That said the retained eye caps i have seen don't look cloudy, but soaking could have caused the cloudy look if it is indeed retained caps.

Eye caps aren't the only possibility. I've seen pythons with eye infections that cause the eye to go cloudy but they usually swell up too so that may not be what is going on here.

 

[Snakeluvver2]

God I love you Waruikazi.

To the OP. I have read a few articles that Diamonds should kept at a lower temperature or normal temperatures for shorter time periods. I would be investing in a thermostat and a temperature gun (thermometre)

Glass tanks are fine. Will just suck up more power really, I have kept all my snakes in a glass enclosure at one point and have never had a problem with (excessive problem) it.

I'll see if I can dig up those old articles if you want.

Also wouldn't take anything from any forum or any sort to heart.
Check out a site called Rivers Of Gore and you'll see that this is a pretty nice place with a few no it all and grumplestilksins but more importantly a wealth of knowledge.
Just learn to ignore crap and not step in it

 

[byron_moses]

not sure if it will help but the latest scales and tails mag has an article on diamond pythons may be worth a read

 

[Smithers]

I think your doing a great job Zeezza to take on someone else's pets and have a good crack at it. You have done nothing wrong but try and help the animals your have inherited that can only be commended not criticised. As others have mentioned you unfortunately have to wade through a few know it all's to get the right people answering. Sometimes it may be easier to give up run away from those who make it hard but if you ignore them they usually get bored and move to another thread to annoy. Good luck at the vet,..stay on and let us know how it goes.

 

[-Peter]

Retained lense dont really look like that, this seems cloudy like its is going to shed again. Sloughing isn't calender related but growth. If you have introduced a more frequent feeding regime then your diamond may shed more frequently. Dont worry to much about substrate and focus on perches with a good basking spot, warm ground spot and a cooler perching area. Diamonds move between various spots.

 

[moosenoose]

I'd read that this person has kept pythons before (???) so in that regard I'd presume they'd be reasonably familiar with what a snake in a pre-slough stage would be going through? How about this one: have you given it water to drink?

 

[waruikazi]

I'm pretty sure Seezza is new to it all.

i HAVE AFEW PYTHONS - INHERITED - SO I HAVE TO LEARN QUICK ! GOT LOST OF QUESTIONS ! 2X BREDLI , 1X DIAMOND , 2 X DARWIN 100% HET , 1X SPOTTED PYTHON , IVE GOT MY AKL....

1. HOW DO I TELL MALE FROM FEMALE ?

2. CAN I HOUSE ANY OF THEM TOGETHER ???

3. IVE READ THEIR TANKS SHOULD ALLOW THEM TO BE ABLE TO FULLY STRETCH OUT , IS THIS TRUE ?? CAUSE IVE ALSO BEEN TOLD PEOPLE KEEP THEM IN TUBS ???

4. DO THEY ALL NEED HEATING ?

5. WILL THEY FIGHT ? IF YES HOW CAN I TELL IF THEIR FIGHTING OR PLAYING LOL ???

6. CAN MY 2YR OLD DARWIN AROUND 1M BREED WITH MY 3YO DARWIN AROUND 2.2M , PROVIDING THEIR M N F ??? OR IF THE SIZE DIFFERENCE AN ISSUE ???

7. MICROCHIPPING ? YES OR NO ???

8. HOW OFTEN SHOULD THEY BE HANDLED , I HAVE THEM ALL OUT AT LEAST ONCE EVERY TWO DAYS.

9. ARE THERE PEOPLE THAT WILL COME TO MY HOUSE AND HELP ME MAKE SURE IM DOIN EVERYTHING RIGHT ?


ZEEZA

 

[giggle]

Zezza Please don't be so quick to anger. I think you have mistaken some common terms that everyone understands here, but being new you thought they were offensive.

Please at least stay on some forum, experienced people can be a big help at times Believe me, I have considered leaving due to keyboard warriors lol just think of it this way... everyone has their way of relaxing or making themselves feel better... and some peoples way of winding down is to be a tough guy, or a nasty troll on a forum.

When they say wild caught, they dont mean illegal and they dont mean you did it or that you are responsible. Just that his origin may be the wild where his life may have been very different.
He is a pretty diamond, a lovely colour! I have heard sometimes they can take a few weeks before they shed... and that I guess would explain why his eyes are cloudy and why he is sitting in his water all the time

Has an experienced person come around to take a look and help you out yet? They would be able to tell you when they get around there and they would no doubt be able to help you fix the issue if it is retained lens. My diamond is a squishy little thing... compared to my coastal! She LOVES her food also, but she is very soft and kinda podgy... where as my coastal is like a string of big chunky lean muscle lol She rarely sits in a hide and will often sit out in the open. Sometimes she is too lazy to use her little prehensile tail when climbing which led me to ask the dumbest question ever.... dont diamonds have prehensile tails LOL *forehead slap* she is just a little lazy bum. She is active during the day at times as well, when she needs to get comfy or is feeling peckish... my coastal has a strict routine.

I think your diamond is pretty Do you know how old he is? I guess the only problem with his enclosure is that in NSW they are changing the enclosure requirements and its size may not comply. Otherwise I keep mine in glass enclosures, I might soon change to plastic. I havent had a problem with gradients.

 

[moosenoose]

I'm pretty sure Seezza is new to it all.

I see.... now

 

[Torah]

Well the Vet actually came all the way out to my place this morning and I had all of them checked over......He is Blind but apart from that there is nothing at all wrong with him. He just likes his water , i guess...... Had him probed (as well as the others) , Vet said the spurs near his cloaca? were HUGE.....although Im still unsure of exactly what that means. and moosenoose im pretty sure I said hes been sitting in a bowl of water , opening his mouth to drink etc.

 

[waruikazi]

So was it retained eye caps? Were the experts right?

Also, i'm curious, how did the vet determine that the snake is blind?

 

[Guest]

Well Zeezza good thing you had a vet look at him then as even a fairly simple procedure such as wiping off a retained eye cap could cause further harm if you are unsure of what you are doing, especially in this case.
males generally do have longer cloaca spurs than females but it is not always the case so its not really a reliable way to determine the sex