Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an 8 month old Boa c. constrictor that is going through her shed cycle and begun to wheeze a bit (mainly when you try to handle her). But what really worries me is for the first time i have seen a tiny bit of clear mucus in her nose and some open mout breathing. I have always used a temperature gradient of around 78 - 85 degrees so i do not suspect it is getting too cold. Right now i have the temp at 93 degrees to try and help her fight off the infection, and i am planning to only let id drop down to the low 80's tonignt. But I am not sure how many days to keep the temp. raised? Can anyone help me out? Also i have noticed slight clicking and wheezing with my boa constrictor and water snake in the past during shed cycle and symptoms quickly went away after shed. Has anyone else ever noticed such behavior?

Its been 3 days and she went through dysecdysis then promptly ate a small rat. She has stopped all clicking and open mouth breathing since I kept the heat up in the 90's during the day. I do not think it was lack of humidity that caused the dysecdysis but stress of the slight RI. Hopefully she is fully recovered from her little cold.

hydrometer then your temps look to be about 15 degrees low to me.65 on the cool side would explain the RI.However I am glad its doing better.JOHN

1. Maintain the Boa at 94 degrees but DO NOT let it or the cage air temp exceed 96 degrees, as they can start to cook.
2. Keep Humidity between 60 to 70 percent (least bacteria growth)
3. Add a reptile UV lamp to your cage, on during daylight, off at night. While not specifically required for Boa health, UV light kills bacteria.