Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My female red tail columbian boa has always been healthy. She has been saoking for about a week now (she is about to shed) which is normal. When i held her today she started bubbling from the mouth alittle bit this has never happened before. She has not had her mouth open at all and has not bubbled from the mouth since the one time. Do you think she could be sick or is that normal?

hey sorry to hear your boa might not be feeling good it might be a temp thing. I owned a blood python years ago and she started to do that one time and my vet told me to keep the temps up and make sure they have a hot spot and make sure that her water was clean with bleach and water her whole cage so there's no trace of bad bacteria. Also my buddy is a firm believer that giving snakes a good substrate kind make them happier and less stressed. I use to keep all my pythons and boa's on news paper or paper towels and they seemed to be not so calm and relaxed. Now most of my pythons are on cypress mulch and my boa's are on aspen they seem more active crawling around at night and just overall pleased by observing their body language now! Sorry and kinda trailing off the subject but you should always seek a good HERP VET when any problems occur with any reptile! =)
GOOD LUCK
Regards,
JAKE

sry for my speeling and or bad grammmer LOL
i type way to fast and don't look after im done typing LOL 8)

The first thing to check when you see excess mucous in the mouth of a blood python is your humidity level. Even at normal to high ambient temps, if the humidity is too low, you will typically see this as a first symptom with blood pythons. They do not require high temps and usually prefer the low to mid 80's. However, humidity needs to be between 60 and 70%. If all of that appears to be correct, then look at the temps and the possibility of an RI if they were too low. Most of the time it is a humidity issue, and not a temp issue with bloods.

Kelly

I'm well aware of husbandry for bloods! The risk of too much humidity can cause belly scale water blisters. I let my bloods choose one side of my tank has much higher humidity then the other. I used to go into Pro Exotics when they used to be open to the public and I was shown all about caring for bloods by one of their breeder blood specialist!

I've been maintaining large numbers of brongersmai since the early 1980's, and have never come close to having one with a skin issue. The blister problem you speak of has absolutely nothing to do with high ambient humidity, and everything to do with a constantly wet substrate that is contaminated. Humidity between 60 and 70% is ideal for this species in captivity on a dry substrate, and between 70 and 80% ambient humidity is what they experience in their natural habitat and would be even better for them. However, very few people have the high tech facilities to consistently maintain this higher level of humidity and also maintain the proper ventilation that would also be required. I have respect for Robyn and Chad and their husbandry knowledge, however I was maintaining groups of brongersmai before either of them even knew what they were.

Kelly

I completely agree!! I too kept alot of brongermai...... I think it has less to do with humidity and moisture and more to do with keeping the substrate clean..... If you keep your substrate humid... you are going to have to be much more vigilant about changing it when soiled... that bacteria that breeds in the old feces... is what causes blister disease....

Keep it clean....

I keep my bcc at 70-80 % humidity and Ive never had a single issue with skin blister... etc..
-----
Marc Duhon
Lafayette, Louisiana
SURINAMBOAS.COM
kaiyudsai@SURINAMBOAS.COM

Only my opinion, but a week is a pretty long time to allow a boa to soak. Dirty water is a great place for bacteria to grow. And even if it looks clean, its guaranteed that if a snake has been sitting in it for a week, its not clean. Around the edges of the mouth and in the mouth is where a snake will develop stomatis, commonly known as mouth rot. It's bacteria growing in the soft tissues of the mouth. Sometimes a snake will feel it and try to rub it off, but it wont. If stomatis is setting in, it will require a trip to the vet and some antibiotics to remedy. It is not difficult to remedy it caught early, but if left untreated, it can become serious, even fatal.

My recommendation is to use water bowls too small for your snake to get into, and if you want to let her soak for shedding purposes, put a larger one in for a day, then take it back out.

Just my $.02

Best of luck,

Mark
-----
uncommonboa.com

One of the most common causes of RI's and stomatitis is dirty water dishes.. It basically innoculates them with the bacteria every time they drink.... it is very important to take them out and run them through the dishwasher on a high temp cycle every week or so.....
-----
Marc Duhon
Lafayette, Louisiana
SURINAMBOAS.COM
kaiyudsai@SURINAMBOAS.COM

If she is not doing it anymore, I would attribute the bubbles to the soaking and shedding. Sometimes when they soak, they get extra fluid in the mouth and may, occasionally blow bubbles or drool. I would just keep an eye on her.

Mark make me think. Why would she be soaking so long? I recommend containers in cages big enough for the snake to soak, but if the snake is observed soaking for more than a day, they should be checked for mites. Have you considered this?

We've checked for mites and haven't found one. She's always soaked alot, even with her prior owner and she is also about to go through a shed. She's currently out of the water now. We haven't seen her with any bubbles or anything of that nature around her face since. We have also turned up her tempertures. We will continue to monitor her very closly.

Thank you so much for everyones help