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I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

4henry Nov 01, 2003 01:23 PM

Maybe its just the worried parent in me but I'm having a lot of problems with my two babies.

The first one (henry = central american boa) was eating like a pig until his eyes clouded over... of course I know this means hes preparing to shed so I wasn't concerned when he lost his appetite. my concern began after 2 weeks had passed and he still had not shed. Although when I handle him sometimes the skin from his underbelly will flake off. He has plenty to rub on, his tank is very warm, I soak him in warm water at least every other day, and even sprayed water in his tank to raise humidity. I just purchased a spray on vitamin for both of my snakes but don't know if something else may be wrong or if he is just having a bad shed. He has lost a lot of weight and is now starting to worry me.

My second baby (sarai = true red tail boa) just started having issues over the past couple days. Last Sunday 10/26 her eyes clouded over. I've done everything the same for her and her shed seems to be going without any flaws. Although yesterday I noticed something was wrong with the alignment of her jaw. she was in her tank by the front glass and her water bowl and it almost looked as though her lower jaw was hanging down on the right side. I took her out to see if maybe there was just some shedding skin that was pulling it back. I didn't see any directly around her mouth but I guess there may just be some tension around it?? Anyways she was moving her jaw a lot even while I was holding her and then when I placed her back in her tank she unhinged completely and then reset it the same as it started. I believe this is the first day that I have noticed this considering Sarai often gives me kisses and I am very observant of their behavior. She is still very strong and no other changes in her behavior have been noticed... I'm wondering what other symptoms I should look for if its a URI (no bubble blowing etc.)

thank you so much.

Replies (2)

jones Nov 02, 2003 12:36 AM

I almost never reccommend this after just one post and I could be wrong but...I think you should take the male or maybe even both of them to the vet. I'm not saying I know what's going on but something about the combination of symptoms between the two makes me think there may be a serious problem. Expecially the fact that the one is losing weight. That shouldn't be happening. I hate to be an alarmist so maybe you should wait for a second opinion. Have you posted on the boa forum?
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4henry Nov 02, 2003 10:58 AM

No I have not posted on the boa forum... The funny thing is I am already planning on taking them to work with me whenever I head home (I work at a veterinary hospital) although I don't actually know if they have experience with snakes since I JUST started working there.

Update on Sarai she seems to be doing perfectly fine now (although I will still get her checked out) I believe my previous assumption was right about the tension around her jaw. Her shed is going very well.

Henry seems to be healthy otherwise even having a BM yesterday... I'm going to go ahead and see if either of them have an appetite today.

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