I picked up the Columbian rainbow boa today. The girl has only had him for about 2 weeks but says that he's defecated four times without feeding. Is this a sign of internal parasites? I'm taking him to the vet as soon as I can but is this going to be something to worry about?
New rainbow boa
- Thread starter LeilaNami
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From someone who has recently become a former CRB owner
( ), congrats on your snake! CRBs are awesome and pretty smart in my opinion.How long did she have it before you picked it up? Maybe it defecated on her as a means for wanting to be put down in its cage if it wasn't used to handling. If she's had it for awhile now, that definitely doesn't sound normal. Just make sure your snake drinks plenty of water until you get it to a vet to play it safe.
I appreciate your help!
She actually picked him up from a Petco that received him as a relinquishment. They said he had mouth rot but i see no signs on that. She maybe had it for about 2 weeks before giving him to me. He's defecating just in his enclosure. When I saw him two weeks ago, he seemed a little dehydrated. Now, he's looking a lot better but still frequently defecating and refusing food. I'm taking him to the vet definitely.
She actually picked him up from a Petco that received him as a relinquishment. They said he had mouth rot but i see no signs on that. She maybe had it for about 2 weeks before giving him to me. He's defecating just in his enclosure. When I saw him two weeks ago, he seemed a little dehydrated. Now, he's looking a lot better but still frequently defecating and refusing food. I'm taking him to the vet definitely.
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Sometimes they will go on hunger strikes for no apparent reason, but it could definitely be something internal. My guy went for a month without accepting food and when he started up again, he didn't attack his rats with much enthusiasm as any of my other snakes did in the past. Whether or not that has anything to do with why he died so young I don't know, but I suggest you keep an eye on how yours accepts prey should he start to eat before a vet examines him.
Please keep me updated on how things go, and I'm glad I'm helping at least somewhat!
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Take a stool sample to vet and watch for bubbles coming out of mouth and nostrils.
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How does the poo look? If it is normal looking and intact, that is a good sign. If it is runny and looks like diarrhea and he is still pooping often, then there is possible cause for concern. I have many snakes that normally poop two or three times per week, and that's just fine for them. Others, only poop every three weeks. I will say that I have never kept a rainbow boa, so I can't really relate on their normal pooping routines. lol. Anyway, if you don't know what to make of the poo, take a picture and we'll see if "looks" okay.
But, as mentioned earlier, the pooping could just be stress as well. If you are concerned I would definitely take a fecal sample into the vet, which isn't a bad thing to do anyway with a new snake. This way you can know for certain whether he/she has parasites or anything like that and start early treatment if necessary.
I may have missed it somewhere up there, but is it known whether it is male or female? And, how old is it? These can both be factors for its non-feeding response.
Also, I would wait on taking the snake into the vet, unless you really NEED to. Just take in a fecal sample for now. If they need to see the actual snake, then take it in, but for now you just want to know what may be in the stool. The snake sounds stressed to me, and taking it into the vet may only make things worse for it. Some snakes take time to adjust, and don't take change well. I had a retic that was only 6 months old, pooping three times per week and took one month to start feeding again after giving her to a friend of mine. The pooping eventually slowed down, but when she went back to eating, she had reverted back to the mice the breeder started her out on. It takes time, but she eventually went back to rats. I just attribute all that to stress, as there was nothing else wrong with her.
But, as mentioned earlier, the pooping could just be stress as well. If you are concerned I would definitely take a fecal sample into the vet, which isn't a bad thing to do anyway with a new snake. This way you can know for certain whether he/she has parasites or anything like that and start early treatment if necessary.
I may have missed it somewhere up there, but is it known whether it is male or female? And, how old is it? These can both be factors for its non-feeding response.
Also, I would wait on taking the snake into the vet, unless you really NEED to. Just take in a fecal sample for now. If they need to see the actual snake, then take it in, but for now you just want to know what may be in the stool. The snake sounds stressed to me, and taking it into the vet may only make things worse for it. Some snakes take time to adjust, and don't take change well. I had a retic that was only 6 months old, pooping three times per week and took one month to start feeding again after giving her to a friend of mine. The pooping eventually slowed down, but when she went back to eating, she had reverted back to the mice the breeder started her out on. It takes time, but she eventually went back to rats. I just attribute all that to stress, as there was nothing else wrong with her.
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Congrats on the new rainbow boa!!! I don't know much about them but I do think they are pretty!!! Maybe you can post some pics for us to enjoy her too
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No offense but I'd trust a vet who works with reptiles more than an unqualified internet message board.
Just look at the RESCUEEEEE MEEEEE thread. Everybody(myself included) overreacted to a nice plump snake who just needed a bath.
The poop is a little loose (for a snake I guess lol). The frequency concerned me because I was used to my other snakes pooping once between feedings. He was more dehydrated then I thought. I put him in his new home and he chugged water for a good 10 minutes before finally settling down. The reason I don't think there is mouth rot is because there is no discharge, sloughing, "spit bubbles", etc. I looked at his gums (wasn't too happy about that) and they were lookin good. He was obviously fed live from the scarring so I think they mistook an infected wound on his nose to be mouth rot. It's healed now, though. The only other wound is a bite wound on his side that no one bothered to clean up. There was still crusted blood around it. Gonna try and transition him to f/t but I don't know how successful I'll be. I have pet rats so rescenting is an option. I'm going to take him to the vet anyway, just to get him an all around wellness exam. The person I'm going to bring him to did a wonderful job when my iguana hurt his jaw and it abscessed.
EDIT: Also to answer your question, I'm pretty sure it's male (thought I saw some hemipenes last time he got moody) and he's around 4.5 ft.
EDIT: Also to answer your question, I'm pretty sure it's male (thought I saw some hemipenes last time he got moody) and he's around 4.5 ft.
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If he won't take f/t after a few offerings, starve him for a week or two and then offer. That's how I got mine to switch. But then he went on a weird strike after that where he'd only eat live, so I had to do it again! Anybody else ever experience this with their snakes?
Most of my snakes would switch willingly at anytime from either f/t to live or live to f/t....Also, his poop is firmer now now I'm still worried about him dehydrating. I've been having some trouble getting the humidity up but I bought some new stuff today to try and remedy that also...here's a pic
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oh nice he's in his nighttime coloration. i love how they grow more white on the sides at nightMost of my snakes would switch willingly at anytime from either f/t to live or live to f/t....Also, his poop is firmer now now I'm still worried about him dehydrating. I've been having some trouble getting the humidity up but I bought some new stuff today to try and remedy that also...here's a pic
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I'm not sure who tells anyone this but snakes NEVER go off feed for no reason at all. below are some of the reasons they go off of feed maybe yours is below:
sick
injured
not hungry
wrong temps
stress (housing more than one per tank sometimes causes stress)
breeding season
pregnant
shed mode
hasn't settled in completely
improper housing set up (setting up a tank made for a ground dwelling snake even though you might have purchased an aboreal snake.)
picky eater
I know a lot about snakes but i might be missing some causes here but yours might fall under one of these. good luck
I think he falls under more than one
He was kept in a dry tank with no heating
He's been moved from place to place until he's finally been settled with me
He was fed live before and I'm trying to see if I can transition him to frozen
And last but not least, the tank is on the small side but it's the only one I have right now. I had to grab him as soon as possible before this girl's "care" ended up killing him. I'm saving up for a larger tank and will be getting it as soon as possible.
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You should buy a tub they are very inexpensive and hold heat well and they come in many sizes.
Also its easy to transition snakes from live to frozen. what i would do is let a live mouse run around a thawed out mice (or a rat if its a rat you are feeding) so the snake gets the scent immediately. sometimes if you go to the pet store and ask them if you can have the substrate that they use for the rodents they already have and take the thawed out rodent you have put it in the bag with the used rodent substrate you got from the pet store and shake it up.
Then use some tongs and make the snake think the food is alive by moving the rodent around with the tongs until the snake strikes it. this should help.
Ah, I didn't think about the tub. I have pet rats so I might just rescent using them or their bedding.
So Wal-mart fails me. I went last night and they had nothing bigger than a 20 long size in the tubs. I went again tonight because they said they were stocking the bigger ones. Well they aren't much bigger than a 20 still. Anyone know where I can get the huge sterlite stuff?
I found this tub by Rubbermaid at the local Wal-Mart and I use it when cleaning the snake cages as a temporary cage http://www.rubbermaid.com/rubbermaid/product/product.jhtml?prodId=HPProd260063 It wasn't in with the other tubs in the storage department it was in their home hardware department :? The top is thicker and the latches stronger than the Sterilite tubs. Another tub that I have heard is quite good are from these guys http://www.reptiletubs.com/