Distribution and outcome of ocular lesions in snakes examined at a veterinary teaching hospital: 67 cases (1985–2010)

Objective—To determine the distribution and clinical outcome of ocular lesions in snakes. Design—Retrospective case series. Animals—67 snakes with ocular lesions. Procedures—Signalment, lesion duration, diagnosis, treatment, and clinical outcome were recorded for all snakes with ocular lesions that were examined at a veterinary teaching hospital from 1985 to 2010. Results—71 ocular lesions were detected in 67 of 508 (13%) snakes examined. Affected snakes were of the families Boidae, Pythonidae, Colubridae, and Viperidae. The distribution of ocular lesions did not vary by taxonomic family, age, or sex; however, snakes from the genus Epicrates with ocular lesions were overrepresented in the population. The most commonly diagnosed ocular lesions were retained spectacle (n = 41), pseudobuphthalmos or subspectacular abscess (13), trauma (8), and cataracts (4). Pseudobuphthalmos or subspectacular abscess developed more frequently in Colubridae than in non-Colubridae snakes. Of the 16 snakes with retained specta...