Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how long does stargazing last generally, per session? is it a 5 or 10 minute deal or is it an all day all night thing?
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1.1.0 Colombian Redtail Boas (normals)
2.1.0 Sumatran Blood Pythons (normals)
1.0 Dumeril's Boa (normal)
0.1 Coastal Carpet Python (normal)
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python (normal)
1.1 Surinam Redtail Boa (normal)
1.1 Short Tailed Python (Black Blood) (awaiting delivery)
0.1 Roommate (sigh...okay, she has a corn snake)

Most animals that are stargazing from illness tend to raise their bodies up in a manner that looks like they are looking up and then flop over. If your animal is looking up for 5-10 minutes and then going back to their normal routine of crusing about their cage, they're proabably doing simply that just looking up. Stargazing is contious and the beginning signs of a illness or disease. If your animal looks up and then flops over without much motor control then you should get them to vet asap.

Al Brown/Brown's Boas

ok thanks. i guess he was just trying to find a way out of the tank.
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1.1.0 Colombian Redtail Boas (normals)
2.1.0 Sumatran Blood Pythons (normals)
1.0 Dumeril's Boa (normal)
0.1 Coastal Carpet Python (normal)
0.1 Jungle Carpet Python (normal)
1.1 Surinam Redtail Boa (normal)
1.1 Short Tailed Python (Black Blood) (awaiting delivery)
0.1 Roommate (sigh...okay, she has a corn snake)

Thats perfect advice. If you notice your boa every now and then looking up for a few minutes and then returning to a normal cruzing routine I wouldn't worry but if the animal looks to have little control over its movement and flopping on its back/side then i would take the animal in to an exotic vet and run a blood panel asap.

Sincerely,
Rose Aguilar
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www.srsnakes.net

I think every snake owner panics a little when they have just read about the symptoms of IBD... I know I did when my boa looked straight up after I read about it. I think lots of boas like to stretch out and look around and this shouldn't be confused as stargazing. The muscle control thing sounds like the symptom to look for - if your boa cannot right itself from an upside-down position in addition to other abnormal behavior - definitely time for the vet. But "periscoping" or stretching out the neck to look around for a little bit isn't necessarily stargazing. I think snakes do this to get an idea of the area they're in, to decide where to try to crawl next.
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Lauren Madar
www.ophidiagems.com
1.1 Hog Island Boas
1.1 Hypo BCI
0.1 Sarong-type GTP
1.0 Normal Ball Python