Eye coloration issue?

[xStatic]

So my new baby albino checkered garter finally arrived in the mail today (:

She's tiny! Just a few inches long, and thinner than a pencil.

Once I opened up the box I noticed something right away ): Her right eye is a darkish purple/red color and there's a little black spot near the bottom. Also there's a crinkly surface to the eye.. the other eye is clear and ruby red as you would expect. I'm worried she has an injury or birth defect that could leave her blind.. at the same time I'm wondering if it's just a stuck eye cap? She doesn't have any other pieces of shed stuck on her and the dixie cup didn't have any shed skin in it so if it is an eye cap then it had to have been there before she was shipped out... I'm just a little irked that the breeder didn't mention to me anything about her eye ):

I'll post some pics and if anyone has any advice or has had similar issues

Thanks!

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMG_20110810_125817.jpg
(her right eye is discolored)

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMG_20110810_125836.jpg
(her good eye looks fine)

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMG_20110810_125826.jpg
(blurry view of her bad eye)

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/medium/IMG_20110810_125929.jpg

http://www.thamnophis.com/thamphotos/data//500/albino_garter.jpg (this is the image that was posted on the for sale post, her eye looks good here.. unless the photo was flipped)

[guidofatherof5]

Beautiful snake.

The dark area(purple/red) as you called it might be some kind of small hemorrhage.
It's not in the normal place you would find a pupil.
I've never seen a normal snake eye that wasn't curved and smooth.
Even a retained eye cap will still appear to be smooth.
It almost sounds like a deflated eye.
Some close up, clear photos would help.
Of course a visit to the Vet. might be best if you have a good reptile Vet. in your area.
I've had retained shed problems with many of my albinos, Checkereds in particular.
A little time in a shed box might be in order if you think it's a shed problem.
Hope some of this helps.
http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/husbandry/5014-cheap-shed-box.html

Cs0Vqm2pP18

[xStatic]

Thanks ): I'm starting to get a little worried.... I mesages the breeder and asked if she has this condition before she shipped her out. We don't have the best reptile vet here but I can look around a little bit..

I did try to use a damp Q-tip to see if an eye cap would wipe off.. but it didn't and she ended up musking me so I put her down..

[guidofatherof5]

Look closely around the edge of the eye. Sometimes you can see a small piece of skin that is attached to the lens. That's the place to attempt a removal.
Before the eye is even messed with you must be certain that it is a retained cap. Otherwise you might damage the active lens.
A retained eye cap in itself isn't life or death. Many times I simply wait until the next shed for it to come off.
Hope the breeder gets back in touch with you and will work with you.
Please keep us posted on your progress.;)

[RedSidedSPR]

I've never heard of this.. weird.

Beautiful snake, hope it works out!

[xStatic]

She got back to me and said that her eye wasn't like this when she was shipped out! ): She did say that she was getting ready to shed right before she was sent, so I'm hoping it is shed related and will resolve itself once the snake sheds. I'm going to keep the humidity up just a little bit higher for the next few days. I love the pattern on this snake and I sure hope her eye starts to get better.. if nothing changes I will arrange a visit to the vet..

EDIT: I put her into her dixie cup with a damp tissue for about 10 or 15 minutes and it looks like her eye has puffed back out! The little indentation isn't there anymore (: it's still a little purple with the black dot but now I'm wondering if she was just really dehydrated???
She's very tiny and was in the mail about 19 or 20 hours.. plus I noticed she used the bathroom in her dixie cup several times. I'm hoping now that the discoloration is only shed related. She's still active and calmed down a lot this time when I removed her from her vid.

Thank you!!

[guidofatherof5]

Upping the humidity might not be enough and a retained shed on a baby can be deadly. Time in a high humidity/warm shed box followed by a warm water bath might resolve this issue.
Just my opinon.
Please keep us posted on this little one.;)

[xStatic]

okay will do! (: just wondering how warm "warm" should be? I know babies can be delicate and I don't want to overheat her. I have a thermometer to measure water temp, so any advice?

I'm also going to put a humid hide in her cage


I'm use to caring for corn snakes... in some ways snakes all have similar care.. but in other ways different species can be radically different

[guidofatherof5]

I use warm tap water as far as heat goes.

[d_virginiana]

That's so weird! If she got really dehydrated could that cause a small hemorrhage in the eye or something? I hope it keeps getting better. Keep us posted on how she's doing!

[snakeman]

A lot of albinos have dark spots in thier eyes.Do you have a better pic of it?

[xStatic]

I can try to get a better pic... but she's tiny and fast, and my camera is slow and has a terrible focus.

The breeder told me she didn't have that dark spot in her eye before she was shipped out..

[Mrs N1ntndo]

I hope she gets better . Shes so beatiful.

[jitami]

She could have gotten bounced around a bit during shipping. Hopefully it doesn't hinder her in any way.

[xStatic]

That's what I'm thinking... I have a feeling she's just past the stage of "blue" where their skin goes back to looking normal.. but that her right eye retained the liquified state for some reason and that's why it stayed "purplish" I'm not sure about the dark spot.. I hope it heals itsself.. But it did look to me like one edge of the eyecap was starting to peel away, so I'm hoping all is fixed with this next shed. I know of plently of humans who have busted small blood vessels in their eyes, and they always have healed up to normal. I'm just going out on a limp here but that would be a great relief if that's all the problem is..

Hopefully her eye will return to normal, but if not I'm really hoping that she will continue to live a healthy happy life even if it means losing sight in one eye. I've know quite a few corn snakes born with only one eye that are able to function and grow quite well (:

[RedSidedSPR]

well, like said, she should shed soon. That may just fix it.

[xStatic]

Zara shed yesterday. It was a good shed, all in one piece, and included the eye caps and tail tip...


I fed her a F/T pinky head today and she took it happily. So her shedding and eating seems like good signs to me.

Her right eye id still a little darker and the black spot is still there, but the crinkly appearance has gone away and the overall color seems to have gotten lighter.

She's an active, friendly little snake, but she's not afraid to give me a little musk as well lol. She has never attempted or shown any signs of biting though so that makes me pretty happy (:

[guidofatherof5]

Sounds like things are going well for Zara.
Nice job.

[RedSidedSPR]

Good news.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

It's not uncommon to see a dark spot in the iris of an albino snake... I have many garters I could go look at right now that have it.

[RedSidedSPR]

Maybe Shannon could post a picture of one those close up...

[jitami]

Glad she's doing well. That's really interesting, Shannon. I had no idea it was common.

[xStatic]

Thanks! Do you know if these dark spots can develope suddenly or are they something the snake is born with? The breeder told me she didn't have the dark spot before she was shipped out, and the sale photos she posted were recent ones as well. Also, I studies it more closely and it looks almost like a fleck of paint is inside of her eye if that makes any sense.. it doesn't have a "liquid trapped under skin" look to it, but more of a defined shape, as if a small sliver of black paper had been inserted into the inside of the iris... I've tried repeatedly to get a photo but I just can't get anything to focus. I'll have to see if next time my dad comes over he can bring his very expensive camera with him lol

It feels like maybe she did have a burst vein or something along those lines, and now her body is reabsorbing any blood that had been trapped in her eye... however I don't know how the black spot would relate to that.

If you did have a photo of an albino with a dark spot that would be amazing! That way I could see if it looks similar to something normal, or if its different... I suppose theres a chance the spot could have been missed by the breeder since her eyes are so small and the dark area is located on the lower part of the eye

[ConcinusMan]

Hmmm... I don't see any obvious signs of a retained shed and like Steve said, it doesn't sound like a retained eye cap. Sounds more like the snake's eye got struck and the clear scale over the eye got "pushed in" during shipping perhaps, much like the center cone on an audio speaker would if it was struck.

That could keep the eye and pupil from returning to a normal position until the eye cap pops back out and full fluid volume is restored underneath.

At any rate it sounds like the eye cap wasn't ruptured, but required better fluid pressure underneath to restore the eye cap to it's original domed shape.

It's really tough to tell sometimes when an albino is needing to shed. Often times they just get slightly "purplish" eyes for just one day or two. It's easy to miss and the signs are usually very subtle unlike with "normal" colored snakes.

I can only add that it doesn't look too serious. Not like something that would cause permanent damage or blindness.

EDIT: oh crap. Just realized there are two more pages I didnt read. She shed and is fine! That's great!

She looks just like the male I recently acquired from Julio. (sirtalis01)

And BTW, I took considerable time to view your photos and the photo that you say was shown in the "for sale" ad. I don't think it was "flipped". I think they are both the same individual snake. Just that the ad photo is a bit older than yours. The patterns match. No two snakes have patterns that match unless they are clones or produced by parthenogenesis.:p

One thing though, I get the impression that this snake is not a female. Don't take that as my final word though.