# Idk what’s wrong with my Ball Python’s eyes



## Ellaandreptiles

My Ball Python, King, has weird white lines on both of his eyes. I’m not super worried about it, but I just want to know what it is. I’m very sure it’s not stuck shed because his eyes are gray during shed of course. I think he might have scratched his eyes on something, but I’m not sure. Here is a picture:


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## Ellaandreptiles

Ellaandreptiles said:


> My Ball Python, King, has weird white lines on both of his eyes. I’m not super worried about it, but I just want to know what it is. I’m very sure it’s not stuck shed because his eyes are gray during shed of course. I think he might have scratched his eyes on something, but I’m not sure. Here is a picture:
> View attachment 356166


He is also not eating but I’m very sure that’s because he’s on brumation. My room is usually pretty cold at night and his lamp turns on at 8:00AM. When I pick him up early in the morning, he feels pretty cold. And I know it’s because I have one-paned windows.


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## ian14

Oh for crying out loud.
Royals do not brumate.
You need to be providing heat day and night.
This is probably why he's not feeding.
To get any meaningful advice, please detail exactly how he is housed, what heating you use, how that is controlled and measured and what temperatures he has.


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## Elly66

Can you provide more information on his set up please?
One concern jumps straight out and that's the lack of heat at night. Royal Pythons need heat 24/7. During the day I use a uva/uvb bulb and a ceramic heater on a thermostat. At night, it's just the ceramic heater on. 
Without the correct set up and heat, the snake just cannot function properly and digestion will be poor.


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## Malc

Ellaandreptiles said:


> He is also not eating but I’m very sure that’s because he’s on brumation. My room is usually pretty cold at night and his lamp turns on at 8:00AM. When I pick him up early in the morning, he feels pretty cold. And I know it’s because I have one-paned windows.


You would think that with Royals being probably the most commonly kept snake, and thus with stacks of books and on-line care sheets available, people would find it impossible to get their husbandry so so wrong. We even have sticky posts in this snake section yet people are still using the wrong type of heating, and treating a tropical species as if they originate from a temperate part of the world !!

Have a read of this and this - Your snake need access to 30c - 33c air temperature at the warm side 24/7. The majority of royals typically have very good appetites this time of year, building up reserves for the breeding season that typically starts in the next few months. As Ian has stated, these snakes do not burmate.. you are effectively killing your snake by not providing the correct environment. It's too cold so its stopped eating. It needs the warmth to ensure digestion, which with the heat being turned off over night, when the snake typically hunts it can't do that.

I've provided you with one source of information on proper care for Royal Pythons... there are plenty of others, which all say the same... You should have done your research prior to getting the snake, but we are where we are. 

With regards to the white part of the eye that's normal. Occasionally it's more noticeable after a shed, but nothing to worry about.


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## Ellaandreptiles

Malc said:


> You would think that with Royals being probably the most commonly kept snake, and thus with stacks of books and on-line care sheets available, people would find it impossible to get their husbandry so so wrong. We even have sticky posts in this snake section yet people are still using the wrong type of heating, and treating a tropical species as if they originate from a temperate part of the world !!
> 
> Have a read of this and this - Your snake need access to 30c - 33c air temperature at the warm side 24/7. The majority of royals typically have very good appetites this time of year, building up reserves for the breeding season that typically starts in the next few months. As Ian has stated, these snakes do not burmate.. you are effectively killing your snake by not providing the correct environment. It's too cold so its stopped eating. It needs the warmth to ensure digestion, which with the heat being turned off over night, when the snake typically hunts it can't do that.
> 
> I've provided you with one source of information on proper care for Royal Pythons... there are plenty of others, which all say the same... You should have done your research prior to getting the snake, but we are where we are.
> 
> With regards to the white part of the eye that's normal. Occasionally it's more noticeable after a shed, but nothing to worry about.


He’s a VERY good eater in the summer. He ate every time right away. The eye was the only thing I was worried about. He is very healthy and active. He’s actually a pretty good weight too. I have done all of my research and provide a humidity box for him when he’s in shed. He has perfect sheds. Should I have his lamp on longer?


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## Ellaandreptiles

Ellaandreptiles said:


> He’s a VERY good eater in the summer. He ate every time right away. The eye was the only thing I was worried about. He is very healthy and active. He’s actually a pretty good weight too. I have done all of my research and provide a humidity box for him when he’s in shed. He has perfect sheds. Should I have his lamp on longer?


I do have a heat mat for him… should I keep his light but add his heat mat? If I add the heat mat, I would keep it on constantly, correct?


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## ian14

Ellaandreptiles said:


> He’s a VERY good eater in the summer. He ate every time right away. The eye was the only thing I was worried about. He is very healthy and active. He’s actually a pretty good weight too.* I have done all of my research* and provide a humidity box for him when he’s in shed. He has perfect sheds. Should I have his lamp on longer?


I dont think you have!!
Because I have never read, anywhere, that royal pythons BRUMATE!!
How exactly are you keeping him? What temperatures are you providing and how are you measuring and controlling them?
Heat mats do not warm the air and should not be used for heavy bodied snakes.


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## Ellaandreptiles

ian14 said:


> Oh for crying out loud.
> Royals do not brumate.
> You need to be providing heat day and night.
> This is probably why he's not feeding.
> To get any meaningful advice, please detail exactly how he is housed, what heating you use, how that is controlled and measured and what temperatures he has.


I have read that Ball Pythons do not brumate but I have heard of breeders putting their Ball Pythons through a brumation stage to stimulate better breeding. So I thought that maybe it was just the cold temperatures and it was normal for some Ball Pythons. I did not find any other information on that. I house him in a 20g wide front opening terrarium because he is not full grown yet; he’s only 5 months old. I use Aspen Snake Bedding for his substrate. I use Aspen to kind of mimic his habitat in the wild, dry desert and humid termite mound(his humidity box when he needs it). I am planning on providing him two caves but he has a pretty big plant he could hide under in the cool end, and a cave in the warm end. His temperatures stay around 95 degrees in the warm end, and 80 degrees in the cool end. I do believe the humidity levels go up a bit because of the good-sized water dish in the cool end. He roams around every night and does great with handling. I have a heat mat for him I just need to get the thermostat so I can provide him constant heat. His enclosure looks like this:


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## Ellaandreptiles

ian14 said:


> I dont think you have!!
> Because I have never read, anywhere, that royal pythons BRUMATE!!
> How exactly are you keeping him? What temperatures are you providing and how are you measuring and controlling them?
> Heat mats do not warm the air and should not be used for heavy bodied snakes.


I house him in a 20g wide front opening terrarium with Aspen Snake Bedding. I provide a humidity box when needed. He’s never had stuck shed. I use the Reptispot basking lamp with a timer. It turns on at 8:00AM and turns off at 10:00PM. I use a thermometer on the wall of his terrarium (although I do know it can fall off and he could get stuck to it. I have tried to take it off but it leaves some of the sticky residue) and I use a temp gun. His warm end temperatures are 95 degrees and his cool end temperatures are 80 degrees.


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## ian14

I suspect they issue is lack of heat at night. What thermostat are you using for the heat lamp?
Also, without a thermometer you have no way of knowing what the temperature really is.
You need to use a digital thermometer.


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## ian14

You need to research again.
Breeders condition adults, that is NOT brumation. The two are very, very different.
Royals do not come from dry desert. Where on earth did you get that idea from?? They are from West Africa, which is a warm, humid fairly tropical part of Africa. Nor do they live in termite mounds, that is old and very outdated.


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## Ellaandreptiles

ian14 said:


> I suspect they issue is lack of heat at night. What thermostat are you using for the heat lamp?
> Also, without a thermometer you have no way of knowing what the temperature really is.
> You need to use a digital thermometer.


I have a temp gun too


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## Ellaandreptiles

ian14 said:


> You need to research again.
> Breeders condition adults, that is NOT brumation. The two are very, very different.
> Royals do not come from dry desert. Where on earth did you get that idea from?? They are from West Africa, which is a warm, humid fairly tropical part of Africa. Nor do they live in termite mounds, that is old and very outdated.


What type of heat should I use then?


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## Ellaandreptiles

ian14 said:


> You need to research again.
> Breeders condition adults, that is NOT brumation. The two are very, very different.
> Royals do not come from dry desert. Where on earth did you get that idea from?? They are from West Africa, which is a warm, humid fairly tropical part of Africa. Nor do they live in termite mounds, that is old and very outdated.


Should I change my setup completely?


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## ian14

As already suggested I would use a ceramic heater controlled by a pulse thermostat. This can then be left on day and night.
As you say it gets cold at night, it might be worth putting polystyrene sheets on the sides to aid heat retention.
Aspen is fine as a substrate, but you could also consider bark chip.
Have a read through General care and husbandry for Royal Pythons


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## Debbie1962

> As already suggested I would use a ceramic heater controlled by a pulse thermostat. This can then be left on day and night.


As said above this is how I keep my royals. Keep him warm 24/7 and appetite should improve.


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## Malc

Ellaandreptiles said:


> He’s a VERY good eater in the summer. He ate every time right away. The eye was the only thing I was worried about. He is very healthy and active. He’s actually a pretty good weight too.* I have done all of my research *and provide a humidity box for him when he’s in shed. He has perfect sheds. Should I have his lamp on longer?


You either didn't research enough or read the wrong care sheets....



Ellaandreptiles said:


> I do have a heat mat for him… should I keep his light but add his heat mat? If I add the heat mat, I would keep it on constantly, correct?


I provided links to the heating methods and care sheet - clearly you couldn't be bothered to read them otherwise you wouldn't be asking theses questions



Ellaandreptiles said:


> What type of heat should I use then?


Again, its covered in the links I provided, which again Ian linked to for the second time (how many more times do we need to direct you ??)



Ellaandreptiles said:


> Should I change my setup completely?


YES !!!!!!!!!!

I'm not going to repeat what I've written before... links to the information you need have been provided.

With regards to breeding, the drop of a degree or two for a few hours is what's known as conditioning, but is not IMO needed. But breeders do not turn off the heat all together !!


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## Zincubus

ian14 said:


> I dont think you have!!
> Because I have never read, anywhere, that royal pythons BRUMATE!!
> How exactly are you keeping him? What temperatures are you providing and how are you measuring and controlling them?
> Heat mats do not warm the air and should not be used for heavy bodied snakes.


Is that you , Malc ?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


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## ian14

Zincubus said:


> Is that you , Malc ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Haha! 😄🤣😅🤣😅


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## Malc

Zincubus said:


> Is that you , Malc ?
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


Eh ?


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## Zincubus

Malc said:


> Eh ?


I read through Ian's reply and presumed it was you !!!







Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro


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## Malc

Zincubus said:


> I read through Ian's reply and presumed it was you !!!


Nope, just singing from the same hymn sheet


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## Elly66

Ellaandreptiles said:


> Should I change my setup completely?


In a word, Yes. 
I have a young Royal Python as well, he's just a few months older than yours.
He has a 3ft x 2ft x 2ft vivarium and a uva/uvb bulb that's on for 12hrs a day. He also has a ceramic heater on a thermostat and that stays on 24/7 and the temperature is from 30 - 34c. 
Don't use heat mats, they're pretty useless and can cause burns, cracking tanks etc. 
For substrate I use orchid bark. He has 2 hides, some branches and artificial plants, a big ceramic dogs bowl of water and a moss humidity box. I spray his viv once a day with room temperature water and currently feed him a 30 - 40g multimanmate once a week. When he starts going into a shed, he stops eating until the cycle has finished. 
Fluffy weighed 261g a month ago. 

Hope this information helps.


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## Zincubus

Malc said:


> Nope, just singing from the same hymn sheet


That was my point 


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## Malc

Zincubus said:


> That was my point
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro


 Maybe Ian cut and pasted one of my previous posts


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## ian14

Malc said:


> Maybe Ian cut and pasted one of my previous posts


No, all my own work! 😀


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## CasperTheSnake

Ellaandreptiles said:


> I have read that Ball Pythons do not brumate but I have heard of breeders putting their Ball Pythons through a brumation stage to stimulate better breeding. So I thought that maybe it was just the cold temperatures and it was normal for some Ball Pythons. I did not find any other information on that. I house him in a 20g wide front opening terrarium because he is not full grown yet; he’s only 5 months old. I use Aspen Snake Bedding for his substrate. I use Aspen to kind of mimic his habitat in the wild, dry desert and humid termite mound(his humidity box when he needs it). I am planning on providing him two caves but he has a pretty big plant he could hide under in the cool end, and a cave in the warm end. His temperatures stay around 95 degrees in the warm end, and 80 degrees in the cool end. I do believe the humidity levels go up a bit because of the good-sized water dish in the cool end. He roams around every night and does great with handling. I have a heat mat for him I just need to get the thermostat so I can provide him constant heat. His enclosure looks like this:
> View attachment 356181


 I have the exact same snake, Blue eyes leucistic super lesser, with white on both eye lids i always wondered the same, and we have the exact same enclosure with basically the same setup and backdrop. I also struggle to keep heat in the enclose as its quite big and its glass so it loses heat faster. Its currently winter and the house is very cold and on a night my temperatures drop to 22 - 23. But i leave the heat lamp on a thermostat and it turns off when it hits that set temperature. Since winter I don't think its turned off once, and its not hit 28 Celsius its always at 22-26 Celsius.


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## Elly66

CasperTheSnake said:


> I have the exact same snake, Blue eyes leucistic super lesser, with white on both eye lids i always wondered the same, and we have the exact same enclosure with basically the same setup and backdrop. I also struggle to keep heat in the enclose as its quite big and its glass so it loses heat faster. Its currently winter and the house is very cold and on a night my temperatures drop to 22 - 23. But i leave the heat lamp on a thermostat and it turns off when it hits that set temperature. Since winter I don't think its turned off once, and its not hit 28 Celsius its always at 22-26 Celsius.


You need to improve your set up to ensure better heat. 22-26c is way to low and not good for your snakes health.
Glass tanks are not great, you need a proper vivarium really. 
I'm currently setting up a vivarium of just over 5ft x 3ft x3ft and have managed to maintain the needed temps via a CHE.


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