Reptile & Amphibian Forums

First off Ill say Im going to try and find a reptile vet in my area, but Im in the middle of nowhere so that might be tough to do. I have an anery het albino newborn that is acting sick. I noticed that when she is moving around her cage it looks almost like she has trouble keeping her balance, rocking back and forth. She is kind of twitching a little also. Today I noticed her mouth was slightly cracked open on one side. I have several others in the same rack with the exact same temps and conditions, 89 on the warm end and mid to upper 70's on the cool end,none of them are showing any of this behavior. She eats once every week and doesn't have any trouble defacating. If anyone has had any problems like this please let me know what I can do. thanks

Separate your Boa and place it in quarantine. Second, get it to a vet as soon as you can. There isn't much else you can do besides that. It sounds as if it has a respiratory infection or possibly worse. I know this doesn't sound like much help but there is obviously something wrong with it and needs to be fixed and kept away from your collection. Good luck....

Brett

Also She is always in a U shape around the perimeter of the tub, unlike every other Boa Ive had thats usually coiled up pretty tight.

sounds to me like a serious case of RI. I had a boa of mine get a pretty bad case of it and i was told basically to increase the heat to low 90's and to forfeit the cool side. the reason being (i was told) is that the reason why the snake goes to the side of the tank is because they dont like to go where it is warm, although they wont get better unless they do. kind of like when you were sick as a kid and you were made to get under all those blankets. it was hot as hell and you would always try to kick the covers off but your parents would make you stay under them. this may be wrong but removing the cool side (basically what i did was put a towel on top of the screentop of the tank and increase the bulb wattage) and mist the tank with cool (room temp) water once or twice a day. of course, i took him to the vet and had to give him shots. but he is fine now so it mustve worked. you may want to see what other people in the room say about it or even run it by your vet when you get to see one if possible. all i can say is that it worked for me. good luck.

where do you live? begin a search with www.arav.com

also ask who your local vet recommends. Then try finding recommendations from zoos, friends, herp clubs,ect.

Good luck, unfortunately I agree that a vet is needed soon.

Ian

So how does a snake get a R.I.? Is it contagious to other snakes? I always thought that snakes got R.I. from temps bieng too low? Thanks

Get that boa away from your others immeadiatly. I hate to be the one to say it, but from what you describe I doubt your boa will make it. The balance issues sound like neurological problems. It is pinned aroung the sides because it thinks it's going to fall. I'd get it to a vet ASAP. Be sure to do some festigious cleaning around your animals and your own hands hooks and such.
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Ed Lilley, www.constrictorsnw.com
www.reptileinsider.com

"First off Ill say Im going to try and find a reptile vet in my area, but Im in the middle of nowhere so that might be tough to do. I have an anery het albino newborn that is acting sick. I noticed that when she is moving around her cage it looks almost like she has trouble keeping her balance, rocking back and forth. She is kind of twitching a little also."

OK, so your boa is acting a bit different. That doesn't always mean they're sick. Now when she's doing this rocking thing. How much of her body is off the cage floor. Is it just her head or more like 1/4 of her body and is she sort of "searching" around? How old is this baby boa?? Is this boa in shed? Now the tiwtching thing. Sometimes when a boa is startled they'll suddenly jerk. Much like you would if someone popped a ballon behind you and you didn't see it comming. If you're observing your boa from a distance and it's still doing that "twitch" thing.... Actually I've never seen a boa twitch. I've seen one jerk from being startled, but never a twitch. Even a boa with a neurological problem doesn't "twitch". So...... From the first part of your post, and without more info, I don't see much of a problem. BTW not all baby boas lay coiled up. Some are more curious than others. Some search around the cage for hours and are very active. These very active boas will lay around the cage rather than coiled up. They constantly search their cage from top to bottom. Depending on how much of their body is off the ground they might "appear" to rock.

Now if your boa is rocking really badly and flipping over you might have a problem.

"Today I noticed her mouth was slightly cracked open on one side."

Sometimes snakes "yawn". They don't always close their mouths back perfectly. Sometimes they'll fix it right away and sometimes it will be a few hours. Most of the time they fix it right away. If her mouth is a bit open and fluid or bubbles are present then you might have an RI going. RI's can be caused by dirty cages, exposure to another snake that's got an RI, extremely cold temps for a long period of time. Normally it takes 7 days of cold temps in the lower 70's to High 60's to do it.

"I have several others in the same rack with the exact same temps and conditions, 89 on the warm end and mid to upper 70's on the cool end,none of them are showing any of this behavior."

Boas are individuals. They don't all act the same way to the same condidtions. Most will thrive in the conditions you have them set up in. Others need a bit more care. You might want to give that one snake a bit more attention, but definately "ISOLATE HER".

"She eats once every week and doesn't have any trouble defacating. If anyone has had any problems like this please let me know what I can do. thanks"

The #1 thing you look for in determining if a snake is sick is..... DOES IT EAT! If she's eating and defacating she's probably not sick. A sick boa normally doesn't eat. Of course, I'm sure there are exceptions to that rule. I'm sure those exceptions would be few and far between.

It's always a good idea to have a reliable Reptile Vet. Even if your snake is 100% healthy it's always a good idea to take it in for a checkup. With proper care a Boa will "never" get sick. The 2 main ways a boa gets sick is improper husbandry and exposure to a sick animal. Also some people believe that mites can cause illness. I don't know if mites can make your snakes sick, but they do make them unconfortable.

Since you are concerned about this one boa you should "TAKE HER TO THE VET" as soon as you're able. If she's actually sick they can treat her. If she's not...... Well, if she's not then it's worth the price of a vet trip for a little peace of mind for you.