Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok, I recently received this boa in this condition and am 99.9% sure that I am going to send her back to the person I bought her from. Don't ask who, since they're willing to work with me. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, here are some pics. No mites, no signs of physical damage (that I can see)other than her ribs/bones/vertebrate showing since she is definitely underfed and underwieght for her size. She also has almost no muscle mass. I have her quarantined (note the latex gloves in the pics) and was worried about potential disease. When turned upsidedown, she has no problem turning back over. She does move around ok.

If it is a matter of simply being underfed/underweight or dehydrated, can boas improve from that condition quickly? If so, how quickly? If she's eating, can she get better or how soon could I expect to see improvement? Are argentines hardy survivors or delicate by nature? Any thoughts, opinions or comments welcomed...

here is another pic

last pic...

Poor little girl...just breaks my heart.

.... already agreed to work it out to your satisfaction whatever we might add to your observations is moot.

My experience is that when I have a bad first impression of an animal it turns out I'm right. Go with your gut on this..

Gus

Aregentines are great hardy animals. feed this snake on a 5-6 day window and you will end up with a healthy robust animals. they are great survivors. in the wild they are subjected to harsh climates as well as local conditions. with some tlc this will be a fine addition.
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IF YOU HAVE IT SHOW IT. IF YOU OWN IT FLAUNT IT!!

That boa is either underfed,loaded full of parasites,or has some serious birth defects.Probably all 3.It's a poster child for argentines.Just my opinion buddy....Paul.

Hope this doesn't sound too harsh, but in my opinion,
this snake was obviously not being taken care of and the seller has NO apparent concern about the buyer or the snake. I can't imagine anyone with any sense of integrity or responsible knowledge of snakes selling a snake in this condition, and being willing to "take care of the situation" doesn't change my opinion of this seller at all.

I would love to hear who sold you this snake and to keep the TOS of this website, if you email me the info I promise not to post it.

thanks
Patrick

I haven't read the other replies, so bear with me if I'm repetitive. I have taken in a number of snakes over the years that were underweight and a couple that were just flat out malnourished and dehydrated (a 2 year old ball python & a 9 year old Colombian rainbow boa). The ball and rainbow were both excessively thin and dehydrated (loose wrinkled skin, spine showing clearly, etc.). I was able to turn them both around with a good feeding regimen and some TLC - the rainbow was in bad enough shape I also got supplements from my vet. Bear in mind that the snakes I'm talking about were not diseased, simply mistreated and malnourished. Both of them took about 6 months to get to where they really looked good and a year before I noticed any significant growth because the feeding regimen I used started out slowly and with smaller than normal prey and slowly worked up in size. Often times if you have a seriously malnourished snake and try feeding it a normal sized prey item it will regurg. I fed my rescues no more than one or two prey items every 7-10 days (both were adults when I got them). Once they started putting on some weight, I moved it out to every two weeks because I didn't want them to gain too much too fast but to build muscle as they gained weight. As for Argentines, I've heard they are very hardy snakes and forgiving of keeper errors - to me that would make them good candidates for recovery.

Best of luck in your decision.
Raven

I would have taken the snake in, if it was a rescue.But it was bought and paid for.Some dealer put the screws into him good.He should get a full refund and report them to the BBB and the dept of agriculture for sending something that decimated to him....Paul.

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edited subject line.

Edited on February 28, 2004 at 19:41:20 by phwyvern.

I got that he paid for it, I was just relating my experience with rescued critters (though I also paid for the ball I rehabbed). I agree that the dealer should be reported for selling an animal in such poor condition as well as who the dealer was posted on the proper forums, but I personally would be hesitant to send an animal back to the same conditions if I thought it could be turned around. From the pictures she basically looks dehydrated and malnourished, both easily correctable problems with effort and time. The wrinkling could also be from a retained shed in addition to the dehydration...stil a correctable problem. I understand paying good money for an animal in poor condition and wanting justice, but I'm a sucker for the animal and do my best to help them. Heck, if I had the money I'd pay him for the Argentine and have him send it to me.

Raven

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edited subject line.

Edited on February 28, 2004 at 19:42:00 by phwyvern.

Ive done the rescue thing a few times myself,add on fecals,meds,Time,possible regurger,etc.This shouldnt happen when you open your deli cup.The breeder should go all out and refund everything but the shipping.Seeing a snake in such bad health just infuriates me.And believe me not everything lives no matter how much time and money you spend on it.This i know for a fact.Ive also, like you had success.It's a great feeling.Knowing how much carl3 loves snakes i bet he keeps her.And i wish him well no matter what his choice is...Paul

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edited subject line.

Edited on February 28, 2004 at 19:42:24 by phwyvern.

not all of them make it no matter how good the care, I've experienced that as well first hand. I ended up having to put down my white oak grey rat February 2003. I'd gotten him from a great couple who sells corns at the local show. They'd gotten him in trade and he seemed in great health - I fell in love with him on sight. The only flaw was a small scratch on his neck which we all felt would be gone come his next shed. Little did any of us know that underneath that small scratch was a fair amount of infection. After the infection was discovered, I treated him for several months - vet visit to clean out the infection, daily shots and cleaning of the wound at home plus coating it with a topical antibiotic (roughly $200 all told for a $20 snake, everyone thought I was nuts). The infection would clear up for a while then come back, it finally got into the bones in his jaw and he developed a respiratory infection. Through it all he never lost his appetite and remained active though he grew to hate handling because of the shots and cleaning of the wound. I ultimately decided to euthanise him because there was obviously an underlying problem that was preventing him healing - not that the vet and I didn't try. It just killed me, but it was worth the effort and expense to me to at least try. The ones you lose can hit home much harder sometimes than the ones you save.

Thanks for all of your nice comments and thoughts. It is well appreciated. Like so many others, I do have trouble weighing my love for helping innocent herps vs. the right thing to do, which is to send her back. In this case, I am 99.9% sure I'll send her back simply b/c it will send a message that this is simply not right and unacceptable. I talked with the seller once again and they were completely willing to work it out with me so its not right for me to drag their name into this b/c it might piss them off and hurt my chances of receiving a full refund. I can't do anything until after the weekend with shipping anyway. Plus, she eagerly ate for me but it was a slight struggle for her to take the mouse down and the poor girl still looks unhealthy for what I assume is normally a hearty species.

I have every bit of confidence that the seller will do right. And by sending the animal back, they can probably care for her better than I could since I really do not have much experience in rehabing a boa like this.

I'll post another update sometime in mid-week.