Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i already posted this in the boa constictor forums, but its so busy over there its so easy to be over looked. I intend to call the vet tmw and (hope) someone who has a clue is around, but until then, any input is very welcome. (C&P below from earlier post)

my boa has a fairly bad RI, we got her to the vet a few days ago and shes on meds for it, but this am when i took her out for her shot she had a little blood in her mouth by the right (her right) fang. is this just something likely caused by her RI? or maybe even an accidental self-inflicted bite/etc? should i be worried? i would have just called my vet for these little questions, but not only are they out on wed, but according to the letter i got in the mail just a few minutes ago, shes (argh!) now gone permentally (i'd heard mention of some family deaths or illnesses or something like that awile ago, so im assuming its related to that) and they wont have a replacement vetrinarian for a couple weeks.

Its not caused as a result of eating, shes refused food for a bit now, and im sure its related to the RI and so havnt even bothered offering her food for the past two weeks (no worries, shes plenty fat, and only starting to get a very slight sign of fat loss), i plan to resume normal feeding about a week after she finishes the medication. maybe i can persuade myself to feed her some poor, cute, innocent little bunny rabbit by then too.

I honestly dont know the exact temps in her cage, but its about 95 on the far end, the heat pad is hot, but not burning to the touch, and it gets down to about 75-80 on the far end (definatly going to be trying to buy a temp gun asap). shes in an 80 gal tank, aspen substrate, a (treated) climbing log, the heat mat is set on the backside of the tank going from top to bottom, all the way flush against the right wall, i dont have it underneath to prevent cracking, as this is a temporary home for her and the dempseys would like their fish tank back usable when i finally discover my inner builder and make a cage that doesnt fall apart before its even finished.
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1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
1.0 Ghost Corn (Ghost Faced Killa)
1.0 Ball python
0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla)
0.1 Burmese Python
0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla
0.0.1 Usambar Starburts Baboon Tarantula
0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula
2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
1.2 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Melleri Cham (Sir Arthur Chamleon Doyle)
1.0 Nile Moniter
0.0.2 mice that were just to cute to feed to anything
And an ever-changing fishie tank...

If the temp gun is hard to get use a $1 thermometer and verify that the temps are good ASAP. The temp is of utmost importancy when a snake is overcoming illness. Low temps are usually the cause of resp. infections. Also find a new herp vet. As per the blood, it's hard to say, and of course even with a pic pinpointing the cause should be left for the vet. Key thing is if you think it is severe enough to warrant a visit. (A tooth prick, or a cut?) Did your previous vet examine the mouth of your snake and was it normal? Is it healthy looking now? Stomatitis often occurs with respiratory infections.
As per your feeding schedule, it seems fine, but make sure to use a scale and monitor weight. A loss of >10% indicates the need for assist feeding.

i've got those "temp strips" so i do have the "general idea" of the temp, but naturally it just leaves those ranges, and i perfer to think of it as "a few more degrees" since they seem rather... chinsey. her mouth was rather grey-ish at the vet, and its been looking pinker since she started on the meds.
the blood was only a little bit, probably a few drops, i just didnt know how likely it was that she miht have jabbed herself with her own fang (thats where the blood was at) there were no visible wounds, so i wasnt sure if i just couldnt see it, or maybe the infection caused some blood to come up, or what.
I'm really not the least bit worried about her loosing too much weight, she was a fat girl before she got sick, and now shes about the same, but i can get a little bit more skin offa her. I'm sure once shes all better she will more than readily chow down, she always was the one we could toss the "uneatens" too. live, dead, fresh, f/t, big, little... (and my stinky garbage can is dying for her to start taking them again! i need to find a better disposal method....)
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1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
1.0 Ghost Corn (Ghost Faced Killa)
1.0 Ball python
0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla)
0.1 Burmese Python
0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla
0.0.1 Usambar Starburts Baboon Tarantula
0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula
2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
1.2 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Melleri Cham (Sir Arthur Chamleon Doyle)
1.0 Nile Moniter
0.0.2 mice that were just to cute to feed to anything
And an ever-changing fishie tank...

>>i already posted this in the boa constictor forums, but its so busy over there its so easy to be over looked. I intend to call the vet tmw and (hope) someone who has a clue is around, but until then, any input is very welcome. (C&P below from earlier post)
>>
>>my boa has a fairly bad RI, we got her to the vet a few days ago and shes on meds for it, but this am when i took her out for her shot she had a little blood in her mouth by the right (her right) fang. is this just something likely caused by her RI? or maybe even an accidental self-inflicted bite/etc? should i be worried? i would have just called my vet for these little questions, but not only are they out on wed, but according to the letter i got in the mail just a few minutes ago, shes (argh!) now gone permentally (i'd heard mention of some family deaths or illnesses or something like that awile ago, so im assuming its related to that) and they wont have a replacement vetrinarian for a couple weeks.
>>
>>Its not caused as a result of eating, shes refused food for a bit now, and im sure its related to the RI and so havnt even bothered offering her food for the past two weeks (no worries, shes plenty fat, and only starting to get a very slight sign of fat loss), i plan to resume normal feeding about a week after she finishes the medication. maybe i can persuade myself to feed her some poor, cute, innocent little bunny rabbit by then too.
>>
>>I honestly dont know the exact temps in her cage, but its about 95 on the far end, the heat pad is hot, but not burning to the touch, and it gets down to about 75-80 on the far end (definatly going to be trying to buy a temp gun asap). shes in an 80 gal tank, aspen substrate, a (treated) climbing log, the heat mat is set on the backside of the tank going from top to bottom, all the way flush against the right wall, i dont have it underneath to prevent cracking, as this is a temporary home for her and the dempseys would like their fish tank back usable when i finally discover my inner builder and make a cage that doesnt fall apart before its even finished.
>>-----
>>1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
>>1.0 Ghost Corn (Ghost Faced Killa)
>>1.0 Ball python
>>0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla)
>>0.1 Burmese Python
>>0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla
>>0.0.1 Usambar Starburts Baboon Tarantula
>>0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula
>>2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
>>1.2 Emperor Scorpion
>>0.0.1 Melleri Cham (Sir Arthur Chamleon Doyle)
>>1.0 Nile Moniter
>>0.0.2 mice that were just to cute to feed to anything
>>And an ever-changing fishie tank...
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Sonya

Haven't we warned you about tampering with the structure of a chaotic system?
Mrs. Neutron

it didnt seem to be mucus, just some dabs of blood. i've watched the past few days, and peeked into teh same spot by lifting her lip (shes very calm about letting me poke around her head) and not seen anything. I'm guessing it was just a little pin-prick she gave herself, perhaps even a little sore from the ever ebil credit card method the vet uses to get into her mouth...
-----
1.3 Dogs (max, tasha, kaya, screw)
1.0 Ghost Corn (Ghost Faced Killa)
1.0 Ball python
0.1 Central American Boa Constrictor (Achilla)
0.1 Burmese Python
0.1 Rose Hair Tarantulla
0.0.1 Usambar Starburts Baboon Tarantula
0.1 White Knee / Zebra Tarantula
2 ferrets (Otis, Milo)
1.2 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Melleri Cham (Sir Arthur Chamleon Doyle)
1.0 Nile Moniter
0.0.2 mice that were just to cute to feed to anything
And an ever-changing fishie tank...