Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have had this female boa for six years without any problems. She never refused a meal. Alot of the time when it was feeding day and I would walk by her cage she would strike thinking it might be food. I hold the rats(F/T) by there tails with forceps and wiggle them around. Once in a blue moon a boa would go to strike and accidently stike itself.
Could this boa have stuck herself and hit a lung or her heart??
This is how I found her the day after I fed all my boas.

another pic

If she dropped babies 3 months ago, I would lean towards some type of complication that stemmed from it. If you were to open her up you'll probably find a massive infection that showed no outward signs, towards the ovaduct or farther south.

Bummer!

Boa teeth aren't long enough to hit the lung or hear, especially at that angle. About the only way to figure out cause of death is to have a vet or someone knowledgable open her up and look inside.

Paul Hollander

I had a boa a long time ago that had violent seizures and died almost ecactly in that position. Something to think about

I'm very sorry to hear about this.
I don't know what happened, only a vet doing a necropsy could tell you for sure. I just wanted to add that boas do sometimes bite themselves like that when they die. Perhaps she had some sort of internal organ failure?
My condolences.
-April

Many years ago, I have seen boids that have been overdosed with antibiotics do this exact same thing on more than one occasion. I believe in their cases, this behavior was caused by kidney and/or liver failure.

Kelly

I have noted from personal experiences and through other people's stories, that many animals that are suffering from any sort of pain (and in this case, possibly internal pain), that they will attack whatever or whoever is around at the time, assuming they/that is what is causing the hurt. I have heard stories of dogs with porcupine quils that worked themselves deeper into the dog and became lodged near the brain, and whenever the dog would get excited it would cause severe pain and the dog would attack whomever it was excited to see. That dog was put down. So in conclusion, having read posts from others regarding other snakes doing the same exact thing whilst having suffered from convulsions or internal problems, it would seem possible that a snake may bite itself in response to that unseen pain.
Just my 2 cents too... with a little story.
I'm sorry for your loss as well, I know it does happen, but it is never easy to lose an animal. Good luck!
Steph S.

sorry for your loss.
I also want to say that I appreciate that you shared this with the boa forum.. this is part of how we all learn.

Patrick