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I was just wondering what the signs are in a rainbow boa of respitory infection. Just incase. Also, what to do to prevent that in rianbow boas.

Thanks
brock

Brock,
. When Rainbow Boas have respiratory infections they almost always have some sort of discharge in their mouth or nostrils. The discharge can be either very watery or it can be thick. It is usually clear to white in color. I have never seen yellow or green or brown discharge from a Rainbow but I do think that it is very possible with serious infections as these colors occur in disharge from other animals with various different bacterial strains causing the infection. The watery discharge is often bubbly. If the snake has just drunk lots of water and is held with the body above the head it can have water come back up and this is not a sign of respiratory infection but the watery discharge from a respiratory infection will often look about the same. Breathing noises can be a sign of respiratory infections. Whistling or wheezing can be a sign but can also be caused by small obstructions around the nostrils. Incompletely shed skin around the nostrils is the most common cause of whistling breating noises. Gurgling or bubbly sounding breathing noises are usually a sign of an infection but they do not occur with all respiratory infections. Rainbow Boas with respiratory infection often have swollen heads and/or necks. They will sometimes gape when breathing if the discharge is heavy. Rainbow Boas with any sort of health problem will often quit drinking and become dry looking quickly. Respiratory infections can be prevented by keeping the cage and water clean and at warm temperatures with plenty of humidity. We used to treat snakes with respiratory infections with various antibiotics. We often had poor results. In recent years we have found that Amikacin is highly effective in treating most respiratory infections in snakes. Many people have good luck using Baytril.
Jeff

>>I was just wondering what the signs are in a rainbow boa of respitory infection. Just incase. Also, what to do to prevent that in rianbow boas.
>>
>>Thanks
>>brock