Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am not 100% sure if my male boa is impacted or not but I am wondering how much this would cost to get fixed if it is the case. What to look for in an impacted boa? He hasn't gone to bathroom in a while and I stopped feeding him 3 weeks back, just seeing if he would go after his shed....still no luck.

He doesn't look "bloated" and he is agressive as he usually is so I don't know what to think. I have tried soaking him in warm water for a couple of hours and that didn't work.

Tyler

I would call a good herp vet for this. If you don't get this taken care of, the snake will not make it, if it is really impacted. I would try soaking him again today.

Danni
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Danni
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SMILE SMILE

Has it ever been seen by a Vet ?
Ever had a fecal done ?
I would feed it a smaller then usual prey item,then wait a week before going to the Vet.
It could/should act like a plunger and help move things along.
What your describeing really isnt uncommon for boas.But theres still several variants that can apply.

Good Luck
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I Dont Want To Have A Hero.When a hero comes,that means human beings have a problem.Bad things happen,and the hero comes to save everybody.I really hope there are no heroes in the world.If there are no heroes,that means we are safe.

I would say very doubtfully, that your boa is impacted. You said " That you stopped feeding the animal about three weeks ago. " I do not know what your regular feeding schedule is, but let me bring something to your attention.The more you feed a boa, the more it is going to defecate. Overfeeding these animals is the number one cause of premature death in captivity. Most Boas have a 12-15 year life span in captivity, TOPS. They should live much longer than that. An 8-9ft Boa in captivity may be 10yrs old or less, but physiologicaly it thinks it is 40yrs and ready to die. " POINT " When you slow down your feeding, a Boa will naturally take longer to digest because, " The animals system is utilizing all the nutrients that it can from the meal. " The Boa does not have to defecate quickly to make room for the next meal that is being shoved in its face every 7-10 days, wich is the schedule that most Hobbyist keep their Boas on. Years ago, I made the same mistake and since I changed my views on feeding, my animals have become healthier and more muscular and more active; with zero problems. I have plenty of animals that go a month or sometimes more, between defecations. This is not a problem, it is what they normally do in an enviroment were they are not being overfed. If you have any doubts, as the others said; " Take the animal to the vet. " I think however, you will be wasteing time and money. Good Luck and GOD BLESS......Johnson Herp

This is worth repeating "EVERYDAY" !
But with many folks,you couldnt fire it up their b&tts with a canon and make it stick !

Anyone else feed on 3 week schedules ? I know many feed every 2 weeks but how many do it on a 3 week basis ?

You know " sslonestar " alot of people on this forum have chose not to like me on this forum over the years, heck just the other day a well known breeder that posts on here frequently called me an " arrogant jerk " over E-mail, beacause he took something I said out of context. I do not try to " force my beliefs " on anybody. I do however, try to make my points strongly and clearly " wether anyone agrees with them or not. " What makes me an expert?? Absolutely nothing! I do however, have experiance in the past with doing things " THE WRONG WAY. " While most people are on here showing the " Picture of the day, " I try to share my experiances with people so them and their animals do not have to pay the price for ignorance.I could have opened a BOOT FACTORY with all the animals I killed in the early years and I am greatful that my EGO was not to big to learn to do things the right way. Overfeeding Boas is one of the many " points " that I have " debated " on here and got ripped to pieces for. Fat Boas or overfed Boas, may live a while and may indeed produce, but they will be short lived and they will stop being fertile after a while. If peoples gain is to; " Raise Boas quickly so that they can try to get them to breed and make a few dollars, then more power to them. " It is really sad for the animals though. GOD BLESS ......The " Arrogant Jerk " of Johnson Herp

The ones that want to " debate " this topic and others, I would ask a question; " How many of you have been to South America and seen these animals in their natural habitat?? " Probably, very few of you. Now, I am not saying; " That makes me a Bill Lamar " but you would all become much more " inlightened " if you could go. When you go, I can assure you that; " The only fat Boa that you will find is either a gravid one or a Anaconda. " It has been documented that these animals eat on average in the wild no more than 4-6 times a year! It is commonplace to find small 4ft females giving birth to large clutches of babies. I watched a three and a half foot Guyana give birth to 26 babies right in front of me. " POINT " Were they lack in size, they make up for in age. They live 30-40yrs plus in the wild and in captivity, they rarely live past 15yrs. It does not take a Phd to put it all together. I am going back to Guyana in the spring and I plan on staying for at least 3 weeks. I hope to learn even more. It is AMAZING how much you can learn, by seeing them in the wild. You can learn about; " temperatures and humidity and size and habits and a wealth of other information. " Sure, captivity cannot be completely programmed like the wild enviroment, BUT you can give it your best shot and the animals will respond with gratitude......Johnson Herp

"Popeye," the "longest lived boa in captivity" died at the Philadelphia zoo after 40 years, 3 months and 14 days. it was owned by a Eugenia S. Sherrock of Reading, Ma. for it's first 33 years of it's life. No mention of how it was fed but it was a male and was only six feet long! That speaks volumes about your theory, but with all the intestonal parasites, ticks, mites and infections from injuries they would sustain in the wild, do you really think they live 20 years in the wild? I am skeptical on that point. Also, on the 4-6 times per year feeding in the wild, how was that documented? Do you have a link to that info, because I would be very interested in reading it. Not trying to get anybody upset, but I do think there is a lot of misinformation out there on this topic and I am willing to get flamed to get more PROVEN info.

Nobody would come on here and debate "facts" such as this,they`ll just sit back and wait till the thread is buried under more glow-worm pics.
Heaven forbid they would actually refrain from the "Accepted Normal Healthy" feeding schedules !
The last ten years as spawned some pretty screwed up herpers.
You can spot them daily as they huddle together,ask any one of them at random,but on a daily basis"What have you learned today?"
10 outta 10 will answer exactly the same thing,in most likely the same way.
"NOTHING I CAN THINK OF" rotfl...
They have all the books and all the friends why would there be a need to "learn"?Its easier to just follow like a lemming then to actually "learn" anything outside the politically correct keyboard huddles.
Sadly they have already sentenced many thousands of boas to a untimely demise.

What is Wisdom without Experience ?

How often do you feed your boas and is there a differance in the feeding schedule of your males and females?
I feed my 3 year old male colombian boa once every two weeks. But in the winter he voluntarily fasts. I continue to offer him his bi-monthly feedings but he sometimes skips a feeding and he will then go a month between meals. This seems to have no ill effect on him. He is very strong and healthy.
Thanks,
Chuck

It has had no ill effect on him and it will not. Right now, your boa is doing something rare in captivity; " He is making his own choice when he eats, by going off feed when he chooses. " Alot of boas will not do that in captivity because they are so " pre-programmed " by their keepers feeding schedule. I do not have a " feeding schedule. " I feed every 3-5 weeks and sometimes longer. If I was to recommend a " feeding schedule " to anyone, it would be no more than every 21 days for sub - adults and no more than once a month for adults. Babies, are the only exception to this rule. Feed them every 14 days and here is the reason; " In the wild, the biggest majority of a babies food comes from frogs and lizards. Mice are not indigenous to South America and it is HIGHLY unlikely that baby Boas are out there raiding rat nests. The moma rats would make short work of a baby boa.In essence, their are alot of frogs and lizards scurring the ground and they are less intelligent and make the baby boas food source, more attainable.All of this changes as the Boa gets larger and starts leaning more toward mammals for food. AT that point, they become complete ambush hunters. If you take a adult or sub-adult Boa and put it in the middle of your living room with a live rat, the rat " unless retarded " will not go toward the Boa. Same in the wild. If a mammal sees the snake, it does not have a chance at getting a meal. Imagine a boa curled up somewere waiting for a meal to come by. How long do you think it will take for a prey item to scurry within the strike range?; days,weeks or months, who knows? In essence, " Theres no set time or schedule. " You can rest assured for one thing though; " There not lucky all that much. " Hence, the reptile; " Cold blooded with a slow metabolism. " In the wild when they eat, they utilize every little bit of nutrients they can from the prey. In captivity, they are to busy beeing fed to utilize much of anything other than the fat in the prey.Years ago, when I overfed, I had a boa so fat, that it HAD to be fed dead prey in order to eat, because it was to fat to exude the effort in killing. Now, I have adult boas that are " pure muscle " and can jerk a 8 pound rabbit clean off of the cage floor and wrap it so hard and quick that the poor bunny cannot even let out a yelp! Of course, they only get those rabbits rarely. In essence, Yes I starve my boas and they love it.......Johnson Herp

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I would say no. I have a 3 year old male boa, he feeds once every two weeks. He goes once every 4 to 6 weeks.
Constipation is usally due to dehydration or lack of exerise.
So soaking may help. Or just taking out your boa and letting it move around outside its cage.
I hope this helps.
Chuck

then dropped a "Labrador." Now when I feed I leave the rat wet (from the warm water from thawing.) Never had a problem since. I think CHE's tend to dry them out more and if that's what you use to heat-hydrate more. Yes, I always have fresh water on the cool side.