Reptile & Amphibian Forums

great christmas break! My vet is out of town untill jan 15th and today I went down to feed my collection and noticed my large 6 ft ghost boa didnt eat her dead rat which is a first for her. She shed last week. Upon checking her out I found a smal lump on her nose area and I don't think its a rub cause I don't see a red scab just a raised area. It doesnt seem to be anything that can be squezzed. What do I do there is no snake vets in this area for a few weeks? Is a small bump something to worry about cause I have notice some breeders with a snake with a nose bump. Could it still be that she rubed to much on a cage?

A pic is worth a thousand words and without one people are just gonna ask you ?'s. So

how is the heat controlled for the cage?
with what are you measuring temps?
what temp zone is your snake hanging out in?
when did it eat last?
is this the only cage on this heat source or is it shared?

and I'm sure there are 50 other ?'s but without knowing what's going on now, no one may be able to help unless we know all the details and a pic would help out great.
Bob

This snake lives in a rack. It ate 2 weeks ago fine and no bump. The warm end is in the low 90's and the cool end is in the 80's. She seems to have great muscle tone and is healthy cept not eating and the bump of coarse. She acts allright no whezzing. she always prefers the warm area and the others seem to preffer the cool area

I cant get a picture loaded. My snakes are causeing me way to much headaches this year. I spend thosands in caging and thosands in vet care and everything else only to get one more problem this year. I'm reading to kill this collection

It's been my experience that Boa constrictors get the nose damage on the superior surface posterior the rostral. Develops as large bump. If they have a screen top they will rub the rostral raw, in that case. You have to correct the situation or it will become an abscess and an open wound. By correct the condition I mean remove whatever factor that is causing the snake to be such a serious nose rubber. May need a larger cage, may need a cleaning, may need water, may be infested with mites, may be too hot, may want food, may want out to breed with nearby female, etc.
First determine the cause, before treating the condition.

See the bump in her nose (between her nostrils and her eyes)? It's going down now. She was in too small a cage and saw me feeding other snakes, but not her. She didn't like that. She did that in one day. If the container is too small they get too much leverage from the other sides of the cage. Too much leverage to push too hard on their snouts in an effort to pry their way out. They can be very determined. They do exhibit a will to achieve what they desire. See the scar to the lower left. She did that several years ago rubbing to get out of a container she didn't like for some reason or another. I moved her to a larger container. She was an extreme climber when young. Practically arboreal.

Hope this helps.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

I posted pics on myspace can't figure out how to do it any other way. She lives in a rack and her care aint change in the year I have owned her so I can't figure it out for the life of me cept she has a bump and it could be a rub. She didnt have it last week.

Heres the my space link I just added pics. SHOUld I be worried. these snakes are really getting to me this year

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.editAlbumPhotos&albumID=981670&MyToken=e78c189b-6424-4ce7-8252-48fcb6dfdddd

i have a male snake that keep trying to get out and finally did by pushing the handle around on a boaphile cage, he too has a bump and breathes through his mouth, he is in shed and his mouth is closed now and i will try to feed tonight as he refused his last two meals, he stopped pacing now as he is with a female and don't know why he did this.
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1.4 various boas(Flicka,Felony,Nova,Alias,Alibi,confessa,custody,Ms.Demeanor)
0.1 BRB Abalone; ABBI
1.0 Rott X (OSO)
2.0 cats (Simba, Morris)
fish & feeders

First Off you need to chill the negative attitude towards your animals,that will greatly improve your perspective on the situation.

Every snake is different,each has its own way of doing things with-in the set limitations of its species.

Sounds as if she is beginning her "heat cycle" and is looking for a mate.This is her first time experiencing this NO?(over all behavior)
Assuming your husbandry is with-in tolerable limits,just allow the animal to do as it see's fit.Some snakes will do this every year,others seem to only act in this manner their first year of "maturity"think of it as PMS,LOL and let hell week run its coarse.If the animal doesn't respond to the addition of a mate or stop with-in a few days,put the animal in the dark,cover the cage or whatever means to block out any and all light for 48 hrs.
This will usually calm the animal.Its not an absolute cure,but I know it works because I have done it and seen the results.

As for your photo posting skills .......
Use photobucket.com to host your pictures for forum postings.
Its pretty simple,if you can post to myspace you can use Photobucket.

Shoot me an email if you would like more assistance.
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TnK

My big Albino girl has done this every year since '03. Always around the same time of year too. In my case, she wants to breed. Every time I have put a male in the cage with her when she starts this rubbing, she has quit within hours, and settled down.

Yeah, ditch the attitude towards them too. Animals are really sensitive to our frustrations. You could inadvertently be making it worse. If you can't lose the bad vibes, maybe you should give them up. I mean, if they frustrate you so much, maybe it's best for them in the long run.

I spent around 2K on one animal this year. I mean surgery, not purchasing. If I had the same attitude, I wouldn't have her anymore. She couldn't have pulled through without my head being in the right place.

Food for thought.
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Richard Carew
Sunset BCI
You laugh at me cuz I'm different! I laugh at you cuz you're all the same.
Stop Inhumane and Illegal Practices

Still has the bump seems fine cept for the bump and no eating. I ain't trying to breed her as shes a 05 and I'm waiting for that. The bump just appeared and she seems healthy cept the bump and not eating. I am hoping it goes away on its own. My vet charges a arm and leg and won't even be in till mid jan. I have never had any problems with my boa colony and heat and everything aint changed. IS IT A RUB MARK? DID anyone look at my pics??????