Need help with my Boa Constrictor

[paulbrown09]

Hi guys,

I've got a Red Tailed Boa which i've had now for just over a month and a half. Currently she's about 5ft in length. In this time she eaten very well (3 large rats) though last week she started going into shed, and hasn't eaten since then, naturally. Though since shes shed, she's been having a slight froth at the mouth and has blown bubbles a few times too. She's been opening her mouth too, and i can see mucus in there, enough for me to be slightly concerned.

She is wheezing slightly when breathing, but i've not heard any pops or clicks or anything like that. She's also showing no signs of struggling for breath, nor is she raising her head either. This is the first time i've seen anything like this with her.

When i used to handle her pre-shed, i could hear her breathing if she was close to my ear, it just sounded like a deep exhale, sort of a hissing noise, but i read that Boa's can hiss when slightly threatened. I'm going to take her to the vets this week for a thourough checkup, and i'm fearing a RI, though i'm guessing even if it is, it musn't be that far along. I've also checked her for mites and i see nothing in her bowl or on her scales.

Her enclosure is:
4ft long x 2ft high x 2ft deep, though a 9ft x 3ft x 3ft tank is nearly ready for her.
Aspen bedding
Heat mat set to 92F (heard these aint advisable though)
Covered Heat Lamp
Large water bowl, not big enough for her to fit in though.

Temp is 92F in the basking site
about 78F in the cool end
82- 86F Ambient Temp
Humidity is about 60 - 70%

Night time temps drop to room temp, any suggestions here welcome if this isnt right.

There are other snakes and spiders in the house, but all are enclosed seperately and in another room (besides my Columbian Rainbow Boa which is in the same room, different tank).

Seeing as i've not noticed anything wrong with her since this shed, could that be a part of the problem, or is this definately a Respiratory Infection? I've tried to include as much detail as possible as this is slightly worrying me now!

Thanks alot, Paul

 

[Mina]

Get her to a vet, NOW!!! That sounds like a respiratory infection. The mucus, the bubbles, sound bad!!!
Best of luck!!!

 

[moose35]

i agree with mina. worth the trip to the vet in my opnion



moose



but excellent post. wish more threads were started in this manner.

 

[Callie Stick]

I would change the substrate to something like ZooMed Eco Earth. Aspen/pine shavings aren't that great for high humidity snakes. Good luck. and get a heat lamp not a heating pad.

 

[paulbrown09]

I have an appointment with my vet tonight just to check over her and see what the problem is. I'm fully expecting to be told that she has an RI, but every effort is being made to make sure that the 9ft tank is ready in the next few days to give her some more space to move around. I've noticed that when she's in her tank, she's not foaming or blowing bubbles, just when i'm handling her.

I'm going to do away with the heat pad, but i'm just wondering what should i use at night to keep the warm end of the tank hotter than the cool end? I have a heat lamp in the at the moment which is fully protected with a cage so she cant get near it, do i just put a low power red light in at night to keep the temp slightly hotter? I'll look into putting some of that substrate down in the new tank too.

One last thing i'd like to ask, i've read that lowering the humidity and highering the temperatures can help with RI's, but how exactly do i go about lowering the humidity in the tank? Currently the humidity is right where it should be, but just incase i need to lower it, how exactly would that be done? Could a fan blowing around the tank improve airflow and lower the humidity, or am i looking at a dehumidifier?

Thanks for the help guys, and i'll definately post an update when i get some more info for you.

 

[bityrock]

I would leave the humidity where it is for her and get meds from the vet. When I got my first RTB, she came to me with an RI as the store "had given her a shot to make her better" Yes they wanted me to believe that one shot would cut it. I came home from with vet with a month worth of shots of antibiotics for her. I prefered to do the shots every three days over the stress of force feeding the anitbiotics everyday. If the doc gives Baytril becareful as it will/can cause burns on her. You with out question want to get her in to the vet right away, I know you said she has an appointment tonight. During this time frame she might not want to eat and that will be ok. She can go for several months with out, it's not something that you want her to do but she will be ok if she does, just make sure she doesn't lose wieght. I have had many Snakes and work at a vet so if you have more questions feel free to ask me. Also you can raise the temps and that will help her as well. If the doc does say to lower the humidity the way you go about that would depend on how you control and maintain your humidity.

Amanda

 

[pitbulllady]

This is definitely a respiratory infection, and often these can be brought on by dust in shavings. I would switch her substrate to clean newspaper; while it might not look as attractive, there are far fewer problems associated with it. I've had much greater success with using Amakacin injectable to treat RI's in snakes, than with Baytril. Baytril has more potential side effects, like kidney failure or injection site infections/inflammations, not just in snakes, either. Burms are a lot more succeptible to these infections than Boas are, and Boas do tend to respond more favorably, although from the sound of things her infection has progressed to a pretty serious stage.

pitbulllady

 

[paulbrown09]

Ok guys, i took her to the vets tonight and she does indeed have a Respiratory Infection. The vet checkhed her over, and checked to make sure she werent suffering from Mouthrot or anything either. She was also checked for mites too, and as i thought, she was clean from them too, still a relief to here.
According to the vet, her heart is great, her eyes are fine, and her weight is perfect too, she's not showing any signs of weightloss at all, which again i'm very thankfull for! The vets also advised me that i should take out the heat mat in the tank, and as replace the substrate with clean newspaper as suggested by pitbulllady. I'm considering doing this on all the snakes i own, as even though it's not pretty to look at, it's so much cleaner and easier to sort out and change.
As for treatment, i've been given 500mg of Amikin (Amakacin?) Sulphate and i'm to inject her every 3 days giving 10mg. I'm to do this for 3 weeks and then to bring her back for another checkup.

I've almost finished her 9ft Viv, so she should have a bigger and wider enclosure to stretch out in very soon. I'm also monitering her temps and humidity very closely at the moment. The humidity is now about 55 - 65% and her temps are as follows:

Hot end - 93F
Ambiant - 86 - 89F
Cool end 85F

Not sure if they sound about right, but i'm hoping with the new tank being ready and the use of newspaper instead of aspen all should be perfectly fine with her soon!

 

[Craig]

I think it is really cool you took her to the vet! These days most people would not bother with a snake. It is also good Karma that you did the right thing.

I for once agree with everything the vet said. There are better antibiotics for snakes but Amikacin works fine.

 

[paulbrown09]

Thanks Craig, the way i see it they're my pets and friends, so i they're ill, they deserve to be looked after and treated the same as any human would in the same situation.

Same with my Tarantulas, if i see theres a problem, i'd get them to the vets as soon as possible, i dont think any animal should suffer, regardless of what they are.

I'm hoping this Amikacin does the trick, i've removed her heat mat now and the lights off for the night, i'm monitering temps just incase they get too low. I'll try post some pictures of her and her new enclosure as soon as it's up and ready.

 

[paulbrown09]

Quick update:

A week later and she's showing signs of improvement! Her bubbling isn't anywhere near as bad as it was, there is still q bit of saliva in her mouth that i've noticed, but ive noticed that there isnt as much as there was a few days ago! She's also looking a lot more alert when i'm holding her and she's eaten too which i'm happy about!

She moved into her new home a couple of days ago and now has a 9ft long, 3ft wide, tank to roam about. It's just basic at the moment whilst she's unwell, newspaper, heatlamp (covered for protection) and a big water bowl. I'm not decorating it untill she's been given the all clear from the vet, i'm going to decorate it with a few hides and branches then.

Temps and humidity are still good, and the heatmat has been totally removed now, which i'm hoping is the right thing to do!
I'll try update with pictures when i get time, i've been cleaning the room out ready for the other 9ft tank to go in there for my Retic, so it's a bit hectic at the moment!

Paul