Reptile & Amphibian Forums

1)my boa hates the water. He rarely goes in and when I place him in the water bowl, he slithers out as fast as he can. Is that normal?
2)my boa only defecates after I lock him in a 10 gallon tank with water about two inches high. He immediately starts sqirming around like I stuck him in acid. He eventually goes after a fifteen minute soak. Again, is this normal? thanks for your time!

There are many snakes, not just boas that prefer not to be in their water bowl. I have some myself that do not 'soak'. There is nothing normal or abnormal about either one, just a preference I think.

As far as deficating. How do you know it will only deficate in a 10 gallon tub? How long have you waited to see if it will go elsewhere? I am sure if you fed your snake on a steady routine and left it where it is (cage or whatever) you will see that the snake deficates just fine. Steady diet is the main thing here. If it is fed only a couple times a month, it is using more of the food than say an animal like mine that is fed every 5-7 days.
-----
Brian Oakley
Phoenix, Arizona
BrianOakley@cox.net

>>1)my boa hates the water. He rarely goes in and when I place him in the water bowl, he slithers out as fast as he can. Is that normal?

Depending on the animal...Not all of them like to soak. Also, not a lot of animals feel "safe" when they are placed in a soaking position. Or, owners fill a tub up too much where the animal feels it needs to "escape" so it won't drown.
I don't even soak my animals anymore. I just mist them. I use to a long time ago. I stopped just because I didn't think it was really necessary. They are better off being misted in my opinion.

>>2)my boa only defecates after I lock him in a 10 gallon tank with water about two inches high. He immediately starts sqirming around like I stuck him in acid. He eventually goes after a fifteen minute soak. Again, is this normal? thanks for your time!

To me, this doesn't sound like a good practice to get into. First off, it really sounds like it is stressing the animal....More than it is helping it. Second, it isn't necessary to do this for your animal to defecate. Generally, an animal is soaked to bring about a deification if it is dehydrated or has a hard stool which needs to be passed. Both are really husbandry errors that need to be corrected. Also, another problem I have with this is the fact that you are shortening the snakes natural deification process. Snakes, like humans, have many processes that a stool must go through before it is passed. It is necessary for these processes to occur so that all the minerals/nutrients and water may be taken from their food. You shortening this is detrimental to the animal in my opinion.

Just my two pennies on the subject.
Hope this helps.
John
-----
"To be the best..........You must lose your mind."