Retained Shed Indentication and Treatment

[ConcinusMan]

They can be. They can be very serious. They can cause blindness/loss of the eye/life threatening infection if the eye.

[d_virginiana]

They can be. They can be very serious. They can cause blindness/loss of the eye/life threatening infection if the eye.

Would they normally cause problems that bad between one shed and the next, or is that more if it builds up over several sheds like the cobra that was mentioned?
Any suggestions on how I could tell with a blind snake? His eyes, especially his left one, are very clouded by what appear to be cataracts, and are almost always 'murky' and dark looking. I try to find the eyecaps on every shed, but sometimes they're mangled too badly to tell. I always worry that something bad is going to happen if I miss one.

[Artic Exotics]

They can be. They can be very serious. They can cause blindness/loss of the eye/life threatening infection if the eye.

I second this. You do not want to have to deal with this... 100_0900.jpg

This Amazon tree boa had extensive retained caps which lead to an infection and total blockage of the lacrimal duct. Without an open pathway into the infection antibiotic therapy failed. Surgical drainage of the eye was the only viable option as shown here. After initial improvement this poor creature lost the eye and sadly due to complications of losing the eye eventually passed.

Diagnosis and treatment for retained caps is easy enough for home herpers to do when caught early but that certainly doesn't mean it should be taken lightly.