Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I took the boa we rescued into the vet. We have called her "cricket" as I originally went in to buy some crickets and ended up with a sick 6 foot boa. He looked her over and gave her a shot of batril. He said she needs 4 more every other day. He thinks she is in the middle of an infection. I am most worried about the belly infection as he said it is a sign that there may be a bacterial infection that has spread through the blood. I hope we can fix her up. I am new to snake ailments as mine are all healthy. I would appreciate anyone's opinion or experience. I have also included a few other pictures of this sick but otherwise beauty.
Please respond.
Travis

Retained eye cap. I plan to treat it with a little mineral oil and a q-tip to see if it will come off with the next shed

Here is a shot next to my lab "izabel" she is quite fond of snakes (likes to lick them) but is terrified of the camera flash!!!

here is a last shot of the temporary setup she is now in. It is small for her but this way I can completely control the space and if she makes it she will get a nice big enclosure (I am a cabinet maker by trade)

I like the nice cozy warm home you have for her at this time BUT it looks like she won't be able to get out of the heat if she needed to. this might stress her as much as not having enough heat. I would give her a bigger place so the cooler end of the cage is around 80 degree or so. just make sure she/he can move between hot and cooler areas.

good luck, the boa looks great

steve

Thanks for the caution. I see how it looks. When she is coiled the enclosure is three times as big as her. I have 3 temp measure spots. the heat pad end is 95 the center is around 90 and the end with the bowl os 80. At the surface. the air is like 82. So she can regulate. She seems to be in the cooler side most of the time but right now she is on the hot end. This is only a temporary setup. If she lives through the weekend then she will get another shot on monday and we should start to see some results. Her mucus is already looking like it is drying up. I will begin construction on a nice big enclosure on monday if she is having good results from the treatment.
Travis

well travis your a good man... i know most people wouldent be up for the task considering they are not familier with the snake... and from the pics i have seen this will make a nie addition to you family once he recieves a little TLC...
you seem to be on the right track, but i thought i would caution you on a few things... make sure you are washing your hands after touching the snake... it would be terrable if you spread it to your other snakes...
the eye cap looks pretty bad... i would recomend you get some drift wood or something for the cage so when he is ready to shead he has something to rub on... also... if you have to take it off yourself... soak him in the tub for a long time and use tweezers and have a few people help hold him still... i have only had to do this once and it was to a friends snake... the eye caps are not just the exposed part of the eye... the skin goes back behind the eye as well so if you make a mistake your snake would be in worse shape...
it looks like your snake has belly rot and i think that was probably caused by the previous owner not cleaning the cage or letting the supstrate remain moist... i would baith the snake at least once a day... i baith all on my snakes once a week, and i have never had to deal with any disease...
the newspaper is a great idea for not... that way your can see if he if deficating healthy or not, and also the color of the urin...
and one more thing... dont let your dog lick this one just yet... lol

you seem like you have it under control... congrats of your new snake, i hope he pulls through...

good luck and keep us posted...

shiloh