Everyone:



Please read Rose's thoughts again!!!! She hit the nail on the head!!!! Detecting a snakes heart beat is tough enough when they are not being put down, let alone when they are going down. Don't judge the vet because our emotions are involved!!!!!!!! I have seen a 23 year old Puerto Rican Boa being put down at a zoo I was employed by(by an amazing zoo vet) and it took almost 8 minutes before we detected a faint heart beat! We are still scratching the surface in sooo many ways when it comes to ALL the aspects of captive care of animals,....let alone reptiles!!!

You did the right thing in first removing the boa from your collection(cross contamination is very common). To me it sounds as if the signs of IBD were present. But, sometimes signs, whether true or not, are a warning of quarantine possibilities.

When I write this out, I mean not just after you see problems. Quarantine your reptiles before moving them near your established collections!!! The dollar sign does not rule success!!!! Proper care, husbandry, fecals, behavoir records(especially in larger collections) is the judgement of success.....these are not machines, they are living creatures. We have sooo much to learn from our boas, each other, and the problems that may come up. The fact that you all share your experiences on the forum is such a PLUS! Just keep an OPEN MIND, practice GREAT husbandry, and be perceptive of differences in your reptiles behavoir and routine. You can ALWAYS learn from it!!!! My condolences!!

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