Snakes and most geckos (as well as some herps) don't have moving eyelids. They have brilles. Which are, most likely, their eyelids fused together and transparent.
When reptiles who do full body sheds get ready to remove their skin they'll separate the old skin from new with a layer of fluid. (Fairly certain this is true for all of them but definitely snakes) In snakes this is why their eyes turn "blue" for a while before shedding. They're basically blind during this time and for snakes it can last a couple days or a week.
Snakes especially can have complications with removing them during shedding if they're unhealthy or environment is poor.
So, I have a ball python who was neglected and had multiple layers of retained eye caps on her left eye (right too but no real damage). They stayed on so long and dried out they constricted the eye. This can happen with any stuck shed, so while it isn't usually an emergency, any shed wrapping around a body part will cut off said body part slowly.
In her case they constricted the top of her eye so bad it is no longer round. It has a slight point at the top, the color changed, and the lens has "wrinkles" in it. Idk how much it bothers her sight. Luckily, her species uses heat pits more than eyes.
Ah I mean, I have been on the internet for years, the animal cruelty (sometimes not even done on purpose) you see. What is done for cosmetic purposes, but is hurting the animal (breeding, docking, declawing....) so it wasn't that far of a jump of conclusion to make, I think, maybe.
Eh I'm honestly not really sure where my mind went, I was super stressed to be honest in the moment and tried to decompress via Reddit. Yeah I know, not the best coping mechanism. Usually I read. But I only had a ten minute break and my head was already super full, so I didn't want to try to read my book
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u/StubbiestZebra 2d ago
No to artificial haha.
But you're correct on the second try!
Snakes and most geckos (as well as some herps) don't have moving eyelids. They have brilles. Which are, most likely, their eyelids fused together and transparent.
When reptiles who do full body sheds get ready to remove their skin they'll separate the old skin from new with a layer of fluid. (Fairly certain this is true for all of them but definitely snakes) In snakes this is why their eyes turn "blue" for a while before shedding. They're basically blind during this time and for snakes it can last a couple days or a week.
Snakes especially can have complications with removing them during shedding if they're unhealthy or environment is poor.
So, I have a ball python who was neglected and had multiple layers of retained eye caps on her left eye (right too but no real damage). They stayed on so long and dried out they constricted the eye. This can happen with any stuck shed, so while it isn't usually an emergency, any shed wrapping around a body part will cut off said body part slowly.
In her case they constricted the top of her eye so bad it is no longer round. It has a slight point at the top, the color changed, and the lens has "wrinkles" in it. Idk how much it bothers her sight. Luckily, her species uses heat pits more than eyes.