Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a male bci about 6 months old, about 2 feet long. Have him about 2 weeks now. The last week, he is very active at night, but one behavior is bothering me. He sits up, about 1/4 of his body is lifted off the astroturf liner, just sits there straight up, like he is a cobra. The rest of his body is a loose s-shape. His nose is sometimes against the glass, othertimes he is just "standing" this way unsupported for 5 minutes at a time. He then goes back to moving around the tank and will do this on top of hides, etc., sometimes reaching the top of the tank.
He is on the cooler side of the tank (30 gallon, i know its not optional to have him in a tank, saving up for the right setup) and the tank read is 75 in the evening right now. Joe Rollo suggested he is too hot but the temp on tank gauges seems ok. Currently his hot spot is only at 84. Does anyone else's boa do this? He just ate tonight, a f/t pinkie. But he does this even he has not just been fed. He then retreats to a hide for the entire day.

here are 2 photos of the behavior i am describing. He is a very friendly snake and likes to be taken out. Could he be just sniffing the air coming thru the fine mesh on the top?

another shot

sorry, here is another shot.

I don't have much experience with snakes having just got my BP a month ago. Something I have learned about temps is that ambient temps in the enclosure can be far different than surface temps if using a UTH. By measuring ambient temps I thought mine were perfect at 91 on the hot side and 83 cool side. Bought a IR thermometer to get surface temps and it was 108 on the hot side. No wonder he didn't like it over there!

I am obviously no expert and don't even own a boa but I would definitely try to get accurate surface temps and make adjustments as necesary. If the behaviour is heat related this may solve the problem.

Our young`un does this too,mostly after being out for awhile.
Put him back in the tank and he just freezes like wtf ??? I dont wanna be in here,I wanna be OUT !!!!! LOL!!Then he goes on about his buisness.

but how long does this go on for? our snake will do this on and off for hours, mostly ON! He also keeps just his head lifted up. I liked the suggestion to check the surface heat. going out to buy a Digital Infared temp gun now, but could it be that he doesnt like his substrate? (reptile grass mat bought at pet store.) He was formerly in a "drawer" type setting with just newspaper. Maybe its all that extra room he has overhead to stretch? We are baffled. He does this way too often and long.

Hey there first thing you may want to do is take him off the asrro turf that stuff is no good for snakes keep him on either aspen bedding or newspaper then i would sugest feeding him something bigger than a pinky that snake looks way too big to be eating a pinky that would probably acount for all of his movement he is searching for prey try feeding him a rat fuzzie good luck

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Guess what? Went to Jeff Ronne's site and found a thread from a year ago where about 6 other people reported the same exact behavior as my snake and guess what again? They all said he is probably still hungry too! Thanks. I am still open to other suggestions. Will get that digital infrared temp gun Joe Rollo suggested, will remove astroturf as suggested, will check breathing as suggested (he is currently fast asleep in his hide) and will take to vet if behavior continues after he eats a second pinky. From now on, will feed small furries. THANKS TO ALL.

Hopefully, this behaviour is something related to temperature or feeding and can be easily corrected... but, just to be on the safe side, you might consider a vet visit.

Odd postures can be an attempt to ease breathing in the case of respiratory infections or it could be a neurological disorder. I remember reading something about neurological problems causing "stargazing" or "sungazing" in snakes (but I don't know the details). I do hope that's not the case for your snake.

OK so far i have tried: feeding him a second pinky. That stopped him for about 2 hours. Then he started again.
Then we put down newspaper instead of astroturf crap. He seems a bit better but still doing it on and off. Put in a lower wattage bulb overhead in case he's hot.Ordered the temp gun and it arrives in 4-6 days.If no better tomorrow, the vet.
Thanks all. will let you know results.

Try feeding at least a hopper mouse, maybe even a small adult in a seperate box. Do you have a hide? My neonate Brazilian rainbows start on hoppers and they are a much more slender snake.

Ok and the winner is... those who said he has an upper respitory infection are right. Took Baby to the vet last night and he was seen by a regular vet who suspects he is having trouble breathing, and that is why he is lifting himself up. He has/had NO bubbles coming from his mouth to make me suspicous. So, if you see your snake elevating his upper body (1/4 of his length or more) up, as in photo, take the guy to the vet! Mine has to go see an Exotics specialist tomorrow night for meds. Lets all pray he can hang in another day before being treated. I am very worried but even here in Manhattan, its hard to find alot of Exotics vets. Thank God i had the name of a vet PRIOR to Baby getting sick. Thanks to all of your comments/suggestions.
Oh, and we are to raise the tank temp to 88 and lower the humidity to as low as possible to alleviate his symptoms as best we can until he can get his meds.
Pray for Baby.

Ok, so we take Baby the boa to the vet after changing temperature, substrate and feeding him more to try to alleviate his "standing up" behavior... and after $136. dollars spent, guess what? We have a snake who enjoys standing up in his tank. LOL nothing wrong with him. probably just curious and exploring all that headroom up there and maybe wants to come out more. No respitory infection.
Just thought i would let you all know.

I know you already purchased a temp gun but I though I would mention that you can puchase these for under $30 at RadioShack. Just in case others needed to know where they could get one without having to order from the net.
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Jared Douglas