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The flesh seems to have disappeared from the end of my ten year old boas tail-about one inch. It appears as if just the bone is showing. We have no vets here in Montana that deal with snakes so how am I to resolve this issue? Will something regenerate?
Is this a case of nothing can be done and the snake has to be put down. It's in an incomplete shed mode now and I'm afraid to put it in Water and Shed Ez. Help.
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I have a 10 year old Columbian red tailed boa. It's been healthy these past years until the last two sheds. This last shed has been the worst and still isn't complete. I put snake in warm water with Shed Ez. The snake pooped and so I emptied the tank. Then I discoverd that the flesh around its tail seemed to have disappeared leaving his spine open for about one inch. Now I'm afraid to touch the poor thing for fear of hurting it. It needs to finish its shed as its eyes are still covered as well as some areas of its body. Do I dare put it in warm water again with Shed Ez?
We have no vets here in Montana that handle snakes. I can't even get our dog and cat vet to look at my snake. Every time I've asked the vet who supposedly specializes in exptic pets, he tells me to let nature take its course. I have no idea what that means. Will the flesh grow back or is this an issue requiring an end. My snake is not agressive and just keeps looking at me to do something. I would if I knew how to help.Have any of you seen this sort of thing happen?

This is from shed skins that had not come off completely which eventually will result in the flesh beneath that stuck skin dying. I have seen many wild caught Boas with the stumpy tails from this. So apparently at least in the wild, there is, at least in some cases, hope. In captivity, you have to get that animal to a good Reptile vet no matter where you live or your animal may or may not survive. I would not venture a guess what will happen if you don't get it fixed. I just don't know. I assume a good vet would remove some portion of the tail tip and stitch it up so a nice little stump will heal. Good luck!
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I don't think water would hurt.. I would skip the shed ez, just my personal opinion. If the shed comes off the tail tip, you may want to use a little betadine, but I agree with Jeff that this boa needs to go to the vet for the best advise and care. It's very hard to try to help without being there in person and seeing what is really going on. I had a BRB that lost the tail tip, it does not regenerate. Some scales grew back over the area where the skin came off that were black and not as big as normal scales. So, find a vet, your cat/dog vet should be able to recomend a place, it will be the best chance to save your snake. Good luck!
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