Rescuing a Rosy

[PatrickM]

A friend of mine owns a Rosy Boa that he didn't know how to take care. I've taken it off his hands before it dies. Apparently it has been kept at 60 degrees F or lower and hasn't eaten in 18 months (his claim, not sure if thats even possible). As you can see from the pictures, the snake has a bad shed and is very under fed. Its been very lethargic, and is always curled up like you can see. I would guess that the bad shed and poor temperature has to do with it.

Game plan is soak it in warm water with a couple drops of olive oil to assist the shed, and keep it 75 Degrees and up. Once thats done I'm gonna figure out what it will eat. Start with F/T Pinky, if that doesn't work try live, and if that fails try a night crawler.

If there any experts in the house I'd love some advice and input. Thanks!

 

[MOBugGuy]

Im pretty shure they have to be kept around 90 degrees any less an theyll prob wont eat.. Did he try even to feed it f/t an if it didnt eat. your probably gonna have to get live pinkys until its back to health then switch it to f/t. Here is a care sheet.
When I had kenyan there pretty much the same mine would only eat f/t in a snake bag under there substrate so try that under the right temps first.
http://webspinners.com/coloherp/careshts/snakes/rosy-boa.php

Thanks for adopting an taking care of it I hate ppl that dont get there info before they get an animal.

 

[Drakk]

I wish u the best of luck on its recovery...keep us posted!
Ive never kept one but always wanted too and i agree....people should learn to LEARN about there animals before they get them home...*sigh*.
Congrats on a beautiful rescue.
Ya gotta love ppl that rescue animals.

 

[SNAFU]

Wishing you good luck with your little boa. Hopefully it will bounce back to good health & thrive.
Here's a small care sheet with some info that may be helpful.
http://www.anapsid.org/rosyboa.html

 

[PatrickM]

I was able to remove half of the bad shed last night. He soaked in warm water and a little olive oil for 10 minutes. Took a bit of scrubbing to get it half. The other half is being really difficult. Right now he is soaking in warm water. I'm gonna leave him there for an hour and try again tonight.

Does anyone know why he keeps himself curled up like this? I've never seen him fully straighten his body out. He's been laying in the water like this for the past 15 minutes not moving. Also, thats what he does when he is in his enclosure.

 

[Leora22]

Its really cool your trying to save this little one I don't know much about rosey boas but I have a tip on trying to get the shed skin off more of a warning then a tip but anyway make sure when your pulling it of that you pull head to vent not vent to head basically with the scales not aginst(& u probably know that but I thought just make sure).
I wish you luck and hope you can get it healthy and happy again

 

[PatrickM]

UPDATE

Got most of the skin off now. Still a bit that is being very difficult. Can anyone suggest something that can scrub it off without hurting it?

Also, he finally extended himself for the first time and started moving around while I was removing skin. Now he's curled tightly curled in a ball inside his temp enclosure. Poor guy is really stressed.

 

[MOBugGuy]

The extra skin should come off with the next shed so dont worry about the rest. Pulling shed off feels like taking a bandaid off. But just keep him warm dry an try to feed him also give him a shedding box if he wants a moist enviroment hell go in the box.

 

[PatrickM]

The Rosy has been stretching himself out in the cage and moving around a little now. Tried feeding him a live pinky, however the boa completely ignored it. Before I helped it shed, I tried a F/t with no luck. Gonna try a f/t pinky later on. If anyone has suggestions please throw them out there. If the f/t doesn't work I'll be out of ideas besides a vet.

 

[MOBugGuy]

He might need a little time to adjust to the better conditions since he was kept poorly for so long. Try the frozen if that doesnt work then try the live an if that doesnt work wait a week an try again but if that doesnt work youll have to take it to the vet since youve probly never had to force feed a snake before.

 

[Ariel]

Been keqeping up with this thread, and was wondering how this little guy was doing?

 

[PatrickM]

Well unfortunately he has Inclusion Body Disease, which is a neurological disease that is always fatal. You can tell from the strange way he is curled up in some of the pictures. I could post some more, but for the most part he has been laying around staring straight up into the sky. If you do some research or youtube it, you can get a better picture. This morning he wasn't moving, so if he hasn't passed on, he is very close. He was like this when I got him, so there was nothing I could do to save it. However, I was able to ease his passing.

 

[PatrickM]

Poor little guy has a nice resting place in the garden now. Dunno about dogs, but all Rosy Boas go to heaven.

 

[myrmecophile]

Would have been good to get him tested for IBd just to be sure.

 

[Spidershane1]

Dont' bring anymore boids(boas & pythons) home for at least 6 months. If you already have others, keep them quarantined away from where the rosie was kept.
IBD is not fully understood, but it is contageous and has wiped out entire collections before.
Be careful man, and good job and trying to help that snake, that was really cool of you.

 

[PatrickM]

Thanks. Your absolutely right about IBD. I threw away everything that the boa touched. Luckily, the only other herp I have is a Colubrid, which are supposed to be immune.

 

[Spidershane1]

Yeah apparently only boids are susceptible, with pythons being slightly more so than boas.

 

[Kweegwin]

You are a great person Patrick. Helping the world one snake at a time

 

[PatrickM]

Thank you very much.