Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My boa is twitching and looks like she's having a seizure. She's been showing clear signs of IBD for the past few days!! And right now it's gotten HORRIBLE. What should I do? Should I freeze her and let her go, or is there another solution? I've already taken her to the vet, and he's said that it might be an infection or IBD, but that was on Saturday, and she's clearly changed today! Someone please help, she's my first boa, and she's my baby. I dont' know what to do!

- Ali

I would definately not hold or disturb her. If you put her in the freezer you will not be able to get her tested for IBD. At least this is my understanding. Its hard to say what to do without really knowing how bad she is twitching and how often. Is she staying upright or is she on her back? If it seems like she is not going to stop or get better then I would try to get to a vet as soon as possible to put her down. If she passes, and I really hope she doesn't, put her in the fridge and take her to a good reptile vet for an IBD test as soon as possible. You are really going to want to get this test if you have other boas for obvious reasons. I'm really sorry to hear about this and keep in mind I am far from a vet. These are just things I would do. I hesitate giving suggestions like these but I figured another opinion might help. Maybe putting her in the freezer is the right thing if she is suffering. Its hard to say without seeing her. Hopefully someone else will chime in with some other ideas.
Michael Burton

it could just be a protozoan of which you would treat with SMALL doses of Flagyl.

We tried doing all kinds of things, and we tried the Flagyl for a few days, but yesterday it got horrible, and she looked almost dead. She was mouth open, twisting and she was biting her tail, and after a while just stopped moving. I couldn't watch her suffer anymore, I had to freeze her, so hopefully the vet can find out if it was IBD because I have three other boas, and one of them was caged since day one with her. So if that's the case, I got to isolate that boa from every other one. Thanks again for your help.

- Ali