Worried

[ballpython2]

Someone gave me a boa between NOV and DEC and they said it is so slender because he didn't want it to grow.

Now its about 2 - 4 feet (not sure how long exactly) but the first time i fed it once (last year some time) it killed the rat never ate it.

I moved downstairs to where the heat is always on full blast 8o degrees or more all the time.

So i gave it a mouse (I know a mouse isnt the correct size fora a big snake) but it was just to see if he was even going to go after it. needless to say the snake went to sleep on the floor of the tank and the mouse went to sleep on top of the hiding place lol.

Should I just try another rat but a smaller one? The snake has a good size water dish but rarely drinks and he has a hot undertank heater i dont know what the issue is.

the snake isnt making no noises and it doesnt have anything runny on its face. it never holds its mouth open nor does it look upwards towards the top of the tank with its mouth open.

So if its showing any sickness signs i dont know what they are i need some help please.

Even though this snake was free from a craigslist user i am still mad its in such bad shape. Poor baby

I also have 3 other boas so I do know how to properly take care of boas but its hard to take care of them properly when they come off others.

Also another reason why i think it may be sick is because it recently shed about two weeks ago and it wasnt doing the normal hunting and searching because its hungry mode they do after shedding.

 

[Mina]

Are there any exotic vets near you? Even if you can't afford to take it in if you tell them it was a rescue and you are just trying to save its life they might be willing to help you over the phone.
Have you tried any specifically boa boards?
The only other thing I can think of and I hesitate to recommend it, is force feeding it.
I wish I could help.

 

[ballpython2]

Are there any exotic vets near you? Even if you can't afford to take it in if you tell them it was a rescue and you are just trying to save its life they might be willing to help you over the phone.
Have you tried any specifically boa boards?
The only other thing I can think of and I hesitate to recommend it, is force feeding it.
I wish I could help.

There is an animal hospital near me i can call. but i dont know of any specific boa boards at all.

and i dont think id ever try force feeding any snake even a baby lol..but ill just call thanks.

 

[Boanerges]

What kind of Boa is it? You got him/her in Nov or Dec. is that when you tried to feed? Do you know how old it is? Do you have any pics of the Boa in it's cage that you can post?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

What are the actual temperatures in the tank?

 

[halfwaynowhere]

exposure to temps that are too high can do some damage, too. Do you have a thermostat on that UTH?

I believe there is a boa specific forum, http://redtailboa.net/

a good exotics vet is a must when you keep animals like this. Call the vet, and if you need to bring him in, please do. He's sick, and he needs attention. Get to know the vet, find out how knowledgable he/she is about reptiles, and specifically boas. Just because the vet will treat exotics, doesn't mean that he/she is actually qualified to do so.

I hope you've got a decent quarantine program going... Boas can carry IBD, which is a pretty nasty disease that is 100% fatal, and they can be asymptomatic for over a year and a half, but still be contagious to other boas and pythons. Even if that's not the case this time, if you are getting snakes from craigslist (or anywhere) without proper quarantine, you are putting your entire collection at risk.

 

[ballpython2]

What kind of Boa is it? You got him/her in Nov or Dec. is that when you tried to feed? Do you know how old it is? Do you have any pics of the Boa in it's cage that you can post?

Its a regular common boa from what I can see.

I got him i wanna say like the end of NOV beginning of DEC and a week after I got it and it was settled in i tried to feed it. not right away.

The age I don't know at all.

I'll have to take pictures when i get a chance cause i dont have a digital camera anymore.

And the actual tempeture in the tank I'm not sure of but I brought one of those heat emitters and it didnt work at all I want to say because of the over all house tempeture combined with the undertank heater maybe.... because it was brand new.

I will invest in another digital thermometer...but where does it go exactly? Close to the bottom correct because that's where all the heat is?

As far as the heat goes wouldn't the snake be fine with eating and so on if I have another boa directly under that one (both snakes are on a stand) and all it has is an under tank heater like the the one with the issue right above it and it (the boa on the bottom) eats without any issues and its much smaller than the one in question. its actually a juvenile it ate about three live mice the same day the one in question wouldn't eat.

Or maybe because the hotter the snake is the better off it might me in returning to good health?

Cause I remember seeing somewhere either on this board or some other board when a snake has a respiratory infection if its kept under real hot conditions (not deadly ones) it cures the infection. (if this is true or not im not sure just what i've read before)

So that's why I'm wondering why the temp in the cage matters (even though temperature is always important when diagnosing problems)

 

[ballpython2]

exposure to temps that are too high can do some damage, too. Do you have a thermostat on that UTH?

I believe there is a boa specific forum, http://redtailboa.net/

a good exotics vet is a must when you keep animals like this. Call the vet, and if you need to bring him in, please do. He's sick, and he needs attention. Get to know the vet, find out how knowledgable he/she is about reptiles, and specifically boas. Just because the vet will treat exotics, doesn't mean that he/she is actually qualified to do so.

I hope you've got a decent quarantine program going... Boas can carry IBD, which is a pretty nasty disease that is 100% fatal, and they can be asymptomatic for over a year and a half, but still be contagious to other boas and pythons. Even if that's not the case this time, if you are getting snakes from craigslist (or anywhere) without proper quarantine, you are putting your entire collection at risk.

Ok but thats one thing i dont get how long am i supposed to quarantine something that after about two weeks or so isnt showing symptoms of anything??.....Or you mean Do it now until it gets better? And Yes I'm going to take it the vet for a check up. ASAP.

 

[kupo969]

Have you tried braining the rodent?? Get a f/t mouse/rat, get a knife/blade/something sharp and make an incision on it's head. It's exactly what it sounds like, braining. Sometimes this helps the snake take the prey.

 

[mindlessvw]

could it be off feed at the moment?

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I will invest in another digital thermometer...but where does it go exactly? Close to the bottom correct because that's where all the heat is?

It goes on the bottom because that's where the *snake* is. There's nothing living in the upper half of your tank, so you have no reason to care what the temps are up there. Floor temps are the temps your snake is living in.

Or maybe because the hotter the snake is the better off it might me in returning to good health?

I don't know who's going around claiming that keeping a snake hot will cure a respiratory infection, but that's not really very good advice. Being kept too cold *will* weaken their immune system, so being warm does help...but it's absolutely not reliable enough to say you don't need to get the animal treated by a vet too once they've gotten sick.

And just being kept "hotter" is not reliable advice either. There's a difference in keeping an animal 3-4 degrees above its normal range, and 10 degrees above. Reptiles are VERY sensitive to environmental temperatures...mammals like us feel mildly uncomfortable if a room is ten or even twenty degrees below our comfort zone, but our body temp is still pretty reliably the same. Reptiles can die.

This is why you need to have a working thermometer to know the temps in the warm end and the cool end of every last one of your tanks. You can't just wing it and expect that to work forever.

That is why the temp in your tanks matters.

Ok but thats one thing i dont get how long am i supposed to quarantine something that after about two weeks or so isnt showing symptoms of anything??

Given the post you replied to:
"Boas can carry IBD, which is a pretty nasty disease that is 100% fatal, and they can be asymptomatic for over a year and a half, but still be contagious to other boas and pythons."

I'd say you should be prepared to quarantine the new snake for months, if not the full year or year and a half. Two weeks is not even remotely effective, even much tamer medical conditions can hide for that long. Reptiles hide their illnesses very well until it's gotten bad.

could it be off feed at the moment?

"Off feed" just means it's not eating, and we know that.

 

[halfwaynowhere]

exposure to high temps can cause pretty nasty neurological problems. You want to be able to monitor the temps. you can pick up a digital thermometer with probe at walmart for about $12. You can measure the warm side, cool side, and humidity all at the same time.
As mammals, we use homeostasis, so our bodies can function when it gets cool as well as when it gets warm. Reptiles need to rely on the heat provided for them, their bodies don't produce heat or have ways of cooling off naturally. They have to be able to find the temperatures they need. If the tank is too hot or too cold, there can be problems.
If the snake has a RI, it is a bacterial infection, and needs antibiotics. This is where a vet is handy.
Quarantine for boas is recommended at around 6 months, which isn't even 100% effective against IBD.

 

[mindlessvw]

I meant for winter. Where it is not eating for no reason other than it is the time that it wouldn't. I think most snake people understand often a lot of snakes around the winter months stop feeding.