Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, i have a columbian boa who i aquired in early august. shes only a year and a half old or so and feeding on adult mice every 7-10 days. the first week of october i noticed mites on her cagemate and few on her. they were separated and treated and were gone farely quickly. and are still separated and mite free. for about the past months time i havent noticed any waste in her cage. the only thing ive noticed is a clump of bedding assuming she released some sort of fluid. ive refrained from feeding her and am begining to be very concerned. i have been soaking her once a day in warm water for the past few days but only for about 30 mins. she doesnt enjoy it and i fear stressing her out too much. is there anything else i can do or do i need to be soaking her more frequently throughout the day and for longer durations? i appreciate any feedback. also i wonder is this a frequent problem with columbian boas? i have a jungle carpet python as well who ive never had problems with and ive had her for 6 years now.

A month of no stool is not really concerning as long as she is not straining to go. I would actually continue to feed her just maybe smaller meals as that will keep her GI tract moving. The best things for constipation are warm soaks and activity. Quite often these guys just sit in their cages and if you can get them out for a spell of crawling and climbing for about 30 minutes every other day it can help quite a bit. Continue your warm soaks, very few of them enjoy it, and just hang in there.

I agree. Exercise and hydration are the keys to defecation.
If there are still mites, they will dehydrate and possibly cause anemia.
May I suggest handling the snake using some resistance to it's movements to enhance isometric exercise. 20 minutes or so should be adequate.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Thank you very much for the suggestions. I haven't taken her out a whole lot for exercise alone so I will do that more and I am 100% sure the mites are gone so it probably is the dehydration and exercise. Thank you again.

Chasing mites is worse than herding cats. Depending on how many critters you've got, they can be awfully hard to get rid of.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

Yes I realize that but it never got out of hand as far as I was concerned. I spotted very few and took action immediately and luckily got a hold of a good product, Reptile Relief. Got things under control before they spread to my other snake, lizard, or bird. But after reading all the horror stories about how you cant see them and how they multiply overnight and cover your snake I was frightened they'd be in the carpet on their way to the next enclosure.