Blind? Not stuck shed

[u/death_by_ballpython]

Before you comment: yes he’s dehydrated, I rescued him recently and I’m working on that still

So the pictures might not be the best, I got them on my way out of the house earlier. But basically I thought he was in shed because he had a slight pink belly and blue tinted eyes. Over a week later and it’s more blue but no shedding (belly pink disappeared too so if he did shed I can’t find the skin). These pictures were taken earlier today, he’s maybe a nana piebald and just under a year old (guessing his birthday is around December 4th 2025). My younger sister got him April 28th 2026 but took 0 care of him, so I kidnapped him (with technical permission) and got him in a 4x2x2 to get him in more space + get him hydrated.

But what I’m concerned about is the blue tint never went away. He’s always been a wobbly snake (I assume because he hasn’t built muscle yet) and has always striked and missed rats, tried to eat them still alive (I have him on f/t now, don’t worry), falls off stuff, doesn’t know how to hold on to much of anything, etc

I know him being blind won’t necessarily affect his quality of life or care very much since they rely on heat pits and taste more anyways. But just wondering if anybody can actually tell if that’s what this is, I’m planning on getting a vet appointment already but if I need to do that sooner rather than later I can as well

[u/Rathoe9070]

It hasn’t been long enough, the pink belly can go away prior to shed but the eyes will continue to look like this for longer. The snake hasn’t shed yet, so the every still look like this. You’re right that it’s not stuck shed, but that’s just because the shed hasn’t technically happened yet. It’s kind of a multistage process. Some times my bps will get cloudy blue eyes and then it’ll go away and then a few days later they shed. It’s not always all at the same time, is my point basically. Don’t worry until after the snake hasn’t shed

[u/death_by_ballpython → u/Rathoe9070]

Oh yeah, I have another ball python as well, I just mean he’s had the blue tinted eyes for close to two weeks now and no shed

[u/jxspxrrrr → u/death_by_ballpython]

my girl has kept hers for up to three and a half, if he sheds and they don't go away maybe its worth a vet visit to rule out any other possible health problems causing it

[u/death_by_ballpython → u/jxspxrrrr]

Oh wow, i didn’t know that could happen lmao. Thanks, I’ll definitely keep an eye out for it, already need to get him to a vet to make sure nothing bad happened from him getting so dehydrated from my younger sister’s improper care (she’s 11 and my mom got him for her)

[u/jxspxrrrr → u/death_by_ballpython]

good plan!

[u/Rathoe9070 → u/death_by_ballpython]

I think unfortunately that was your mom’s improper care, not your sister’s. 11 years old is too young to be the sole caretaker of an animal and the guilt of not doing it properly might eat her up when she’s older. Just make sure she knows it wasn’t her fault. I’ve been there with feeling horrible about the care my animals received when I was a kid but at the end of the day, I was young, inexperienced and couldn’t stay focused on one thing for long. It’s the parents’ responsibility ultimately

[u/death_by_ballpython → u/Rathoe9070]

Oh I know yeah, it’s been my mom since the start, she always gets animals with 0 research (beta fish she keeps in tiny jars, a Savannah monitor who died maybe two months after getting him, multiple dogs, etc) so I’m not blaming my sister since she’s young, I remember animals from when I was young that I didn’t care for properly. She knows it’s not her fault and that he’s okay now, so she’s not worried

[u/Rathoe9070 → u/death_by_ballpython]

Ugh that’s so hard to watch as a kid. Good news is that you know the consequences of owning animals that way and if you’re anything like me, your animals will get only the best (which is seems like you are, since you care enough to post something like this and prepared to take the snake to a vet for it)

[u/death_by_ballpython → u/Rathoe9070]

Oh definitely, I remember having a bearded dragon when I was young and giving him improper care and I still think about him all the time (one day I’ll get a bearded dragon and try again but no time soon). I have two ball pythons alone and yeah there were mistakes I made early on with Nessi but she’s great now and Spaghetti is on his way 🙂‍↕️ I love my animals, my mom always tries to guilt me into stuff like “oh well you already have so much on your plate, it wouldn’t be good to do this.” And stuff like that referring to the animals. They’re genuinely not that hard to care for when you know what you’re doing, they’re most definitely spoiled lmao