Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all,

I'm concerned about my new juvenile Brazilian Rainbow Boa. She is about 26" long and 6 months old, and I just brought her home two weeks ago from a reputable breeder.

I fed her for the first time on Feb. 15, and although she hadn't defecated yet, fed her again on schedule the following week (Feb 22). I then posted a question to the Rainbow Boa forum asking how long it should take for the feeding lump to lessen, and posted a pic of her lump before the Feb. 22 feeding. The forum members replied that the lump looked too large for the number of days she had had to digest, and suggested that I not feed her again until she defecates.

On the 23rd I had to leave for a two-day trip out of town. I expected she would be just fine, and misted her cage thoroughly right before leaving, to keep the humidity in her ideal 80% range while I was gone (the cage top has a glass lid covering 99% of the top).

When I came home today (the 25th), I was shocked to see that the humidity had dropped drastically, to 52%! I reached in to pick her up, and I was sure she was dead... she seemed very stiff and reluctant to move. I noticed that her belly was still extremely swollen from her last meal, and there was a dark bluish/purplish discoloration on the swollen area. There are also areas of bluish discoloration randomly across her belly and lower sides, and her entire belly has taken on a kind of pinkish hue.

I wondered if it was constipation or impaction, so I soaked her in a warm bath for about 25 minutes. During this time I cleaned her cage thoroughly and found two small clumps of white urates, probably passed from her first meal. However, I didn't find any dark fecal matter along with it. She must have passed it while I was away.

The bath seemed to perk her up considerably, and her activity level rose to normal very quickly, with a fair amount of tongue-flicking. She also drank generously from the water while she was soaking.

I'm going to call the vet tomorrow morning, and if he recommends it, I'll take her in right away. In the meantime, any advice or suggestions are appreciated.

(By the way, I'm buying an automatic mister so I can set it up while I'm away from home next time. The drop in humidity was drastically different than what I've monitored while at home, and I wonder what caused it.)
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::i believe in joy > http://www.winds.org/nekomi/hope.html

::my homepage > http://www.winds.org/nekomi

My Growing Zoo:

1.0 Husband (Byron) ^_^
0.1 black cat (Shade)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Zia)
1.2 Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides yellow-gold)
1.1 WC Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides blue Peru)
3.3 Pygmy corydoras (C. pygmaeus)
2.0 Endlers' Livebearers (P. sp. Endlers)

You did not mention the temperatures that you are keeping your snake at. When kept to cool you can expect to see these signs. If this is the case, the food rots instead of digests. Make sure you do see the veterinarian tomorrow. I'd also call around and find one that is quite experienced with reptiles.
Good luck with your snake

ps, although not a brazilian specialist, I don't think that a drop to 52% for a day or two will harm your snake.

Rainbow boas typically need lower temps than other boids, so she is being kept at a gradient of 79 - 73 degrees. According to the users at the rainbow forum and several caresheets, this is a good range.

She defecated last night, and looks much better this morning. The swelling has gone down and now it appears to be a normal feeding lump, although there is still some slight discoloration.

I have this message cross-posted in the rainbow boa forum, and there are some pictures as well as details there.

My vet clinic specializes in exotics and has a herp specialist on staff. I believe that she is a member of ARAV, if memory serves me correctly. Thanks for your suggestions!!
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::i believe in joy > http://www.winds.org/nekomi/hope.html

::my homepage > http://www.winds.org/nekomi

My Growing Zoo:

1.0 Husband (Byron) ^_^
0.1 black cat (Shade)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Zia)
1.2 Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides yellow-gold)
1.1 WC Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides blue Peru)
3.3 Pygmy corydoras (C. pygmaeus)
2.0 Endlers' Livebearers (P. sp. Endlers)

np

>>Rainbow boas typically need lower temps than other boids, so she is being kept at a gradient of 79 - 73 degrees. According to the users at the rainbow forum and several caresheets, this is a good range.
>>

Does she have the option of a hotter spot even so? I am curious as I have two BRBs and I keep them like cornsnakes temp wise, in your range, but with a humid hide, big water dish and a heat tape at 90 across one end of the enclosure.

I hope your trouble is resolved. I would worry that it may reoccur if she isn't digesting well once and nothing in her husbandry is tweeked.

I too doubt the drop to 52% humidity is an issue unless she was dried out to begin with and sat like that for weeks.
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Sonya

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

No, she doesn't have a warmer spot. The cage is small because she's still just a juvenile, and I can't get a 90-73 gradient in the cage without overheating it. Thankfully though, I think the problem is resolved. My latest post in the Rainbow Boa forum has the details. It turns out that the hot spot was too hot under the substrate (she likes to burrow), so she was avoiding it. On the other hand, the cool spot was too cold under the substrate, so she couldn't digest properly. That seems to have been the issue. After burying the thermostat probe under the substrate for the hot side UTH, she has been spending much more time near the hot side and has defecated twice. I think that my mistake was measuring ambient temps instead of actual surface temps.

Thanks for replying!
-----
::i believe in joy > http://www.winds.org/nekomi/hope.html

::my homepage > http://www.winds.org/nekomi

My Growing Zoo:

1.0 Husband (Byron) ^_^
0.1 black cat (Shade)
0.1 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (Zia)
1.2 Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides yellow-gold)
1.1 WC Cockatoo cichlids (A. cacatuoides blue Peru)
3.3 Pygmy corydoras (C. pygmaeus)
2.0 Endlers' Livebearers (P. sp. Endlers)