Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a Columbian Boa who's been to a couple different vets and I'm having trouble getting a straight answer out of them. The last one said she was anemic due to the light color of her gums. He said we should be giving her vitamin a & d, but he never said how much. We keep asking him and he just says maybe once every other feeding and then talks about something else. Does anyone know how much I should be giving her? I have Vitamin D tablets (people vitamins) that are 400 IU and Vitamin A softgels that are 8000 IU, but that seems like a lot. Any ideas?

Maybe it is just me or a new type of "medicine" I have never known anybody being able to tell that a snake is sick or defficient by looking at the gums. You can tell this with mammals.

You can pick up a reptile specific vitamin supplement at most pet stores, if you feel the need. If you decide to supplement I would only dose once a month at most. I can not recomend an amount...not knoeing how large your boa is.

I personaly do not supplement, I use high quality feeder rodents that are fed a high quality rodent specific diet that makes them become "vitamins".

Sounds like you should search for a vet that specializes in reptile medicine.
Joel

Thanks for your reply. Sorry, my boa is 6.5 feet long and about 13 pounds. We switched to this vet because he was supposed to be a reptile specialist. I'm not convinced.

Thanks!

Snakes normally have gums that are closer to white than to the pink of human gums. So I am a bit skeptical of the diagnosis. And many of the supplements for herps have a lot of calcium, which is useless for boas. Rodent-eating snakes get calcium from the bones of the prey.

On the other hand, here is a copy of a tip from a rather short-lived magazine from some years ago. It folded in a year or so, but they printed some good stuff in that time.

This tip was printed without the contributor's name. I think I met him about that time, though I can't remember his name either. Anyway, this guy made the same suggestion and added that the vitamin pill should be made of lecithin and kelp instead of having a sugar coating. He didn't think the snakes digested the sugar coating well.

I tried his suggestion on Burmese pythons, and it seemed to work. Or at least didn't hurt. However, I couldn't find the Solovite brand at the local health food store. I used Solotron brand, that seemed to be about the same thing. Both had vitamin D3, 10,000 I.U. of vitamin A, and a long list of other ingredients that were in almost microscopic type (to fit on the label). Probably the
brand isn't particularly important as long as the ingredients are about the same.

I generally fed the pills with a dead rat. Easiest way is to pry the rat's mouth open a bit and put the pill in crossways behind the incisors. (It always made me think of a cartoon dog with a bone in his teeth.) Then feed the rat to the snake.

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian. Not responsible for any ill effects or disappointments resulting from the administration of diet supplements to herps.

Paul Hollander

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Tips

To inprove the condition of captive snakes try using Solovite
vitamin-minereal tablets. Sluggish appetites have been improved with
routine use of this supplement.

Dosage: Not to be used in animals of two (2) lbs. or less.

1 tablet / 40 pounds once every two (2) weeks.

For animals of lesser or greater weight, regulate the time rather than
the dosage.

ex. A 10 pound snake would get one (1) tablet every eight weeks.

This product is available at health food stores or from Solgar Co., Inc.,
Lynbrook, N.Y. 11563.

- Natl. Assoc. for Sound Wildlife Progs. Newsl. 1(2): 7. (Oct-Nov 1977)

Gums that are too white, are a sign of dehydration.

Another way to check, is real simple.

Pinch the side of the snakes skin and if it snaps back quickly, " it is well hydrated. "

If it takes a second or two for the skin to snap back, " it is dehydrated. "

If the snake is hydrated, then the white gums could definately be a sign of being enemic.

JJ

Why did you go to the vet originally? what were the snake's symptoms?
Kim

Our snake was originally being treated for red splotches along her underside. One vet told us they were mites and we were taking her to him for injections. That vet kept leaving town and changing the plan on us, so we decided to switch. We have a lot of reptiles, and taking them to the vet is usually an all-day thing, so having this vet (who makes house calls) was really appealing. I'm starting to wonder if it's worth it, though.

That red underside could be normal coloring. It could be from too much belly heat. Could be from laying in urea or regurge. Could be from excessive dampness. Could be from a lot of things.
Do you keep the snake in an "Aquarium", or home made wooden cage?
What kind of substrate do you use? How often do you change it?
As for supplements use -- RepCal "Herptivite" and "RepCal "Phosphorous free Calcium with Vitamin D3". Sprinkle a little on the rear end of the food. Good idea with frozen-thawed rodents. Probably not necessary with freshly killed/stunned rodents.
You may or may not have mites, but the belly thing isn't any indication of mites I've ever heard of.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

The mite treatment has caused the red spots to clear up a little, so my guess is, it's not normal coloring. We use newspaper (vet's suggestion) in an aquarium and there are no heat sources under her cage. What is the best bedding to use for Boas? How often should it be changed?

If it were my snake I would not worry about it unless I saw other problems (not eating, the splotches were turning into sores, etc.) I have also seen many scale problems just shed off and correct themselves (mites obviously would not be one of those however, if thats actually what it is). This is only my personal experience and I am by no means an expert. Good luck with your snake.
Kim

As stated, snakes have gum color far whiter than that of a dog. Being a vet tech, I think I would quit if any vet I worked for diagnosed anemia without getting a hematocrit/PCV first. I'm thinking that the vet you saw was not well-versed with reptiles. As the above poster said, what was the initial complaint that had you see a vet?