Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok.

i keep rosy and sand boas, and a ball pythons..and leopard geckos.

i just got my first two large boas, two hogg island boas, from a friend.

i picked up the snakes, and the looked fine, except for a small mite infestation, that i took care of already, and the fact that the male looked really dry. see, he is in a deep shed, and his scales are really rough, so i dont know if its because of that, but his mouth is hanign open..mabye a millimeter, and last night i saw him stretch his jaws a few times, and i heard kinda wheeze come out of him. i havent heard it all day today and ive been listening. they have 2 water bowls, so they can each soak, and ive kep them warm is a cool end ambient temp of 85.

the female, who is not in shed, ate 2 mice yesturday, the male wouldnt., i looked in the males mouth and i saw no sign of mouth rot.

any idea on what this culd be?

is it just shedding related?

tthnx

>>ok.
>>
>>
>>i keep rosy and sand boas, and a ball pythons..and leopard geckos.
>>
>>i just got my first two large boas, two hogg island boas, from a friend.
>>
>>i picked up the snakes, and the looked fine, except for a small mite infestation, that i took care of already, and the fact that the male looked really dry. see, he is in a deep shed, and his scales are really rough, so i dont know if its because of that, but his mouth is hanign open..mabye a millimeter, and last night i saw him stretch his jaws a few times, and i heard kinda wheeze come out of him. i havent heard it all day today and ive been listening. they have 2 water bowls, so they can each soak, and ive kep them warm is a cool end ambient temp of 85.
>>
>>the female, who is not in shed, ate 2 mice yesturday, the male wouldnt., i looked in the males mouth and i saw no sign of mouth rot.
>>
>>any idea on what this culd be?
>>
>>is it just shedding related?
>>
>>tthnx
I would raise your hot spot up an keep a close eye on the male if you don,t see any improvement seek a good reptile vet,If their is one available in your area!In my experience it is always best to try an raise the heat before jumping the gun an sticking your boa in the back with a needle 10 times!If raiseing the heat doesnt woek then one has no other alterative but to treat with a antibiotic!As far as his scales go if he doesnt mind you holding him then give him a nice luke warm not hot,soaking for about a half hour every day till he sheds an keep his humidity up at 60%!Hope this is helpful,Maybe some of the other breeders that have more experience with other sources of treatement can help,but I have always found that if you catch an r/i in the beginning alot of times raising the temps will get rid of it!Goodluck with him an keep us informed!Eric[Hypoboa]
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E&C's Exotic House of Reptiles

probably just shedding... their nose can get blocked from the sheding shin right before a shed... or it might be a RI... but lets hope not...
you said you have 2 water dishes.............. not to sound rude but you really shouldent keep 2 snakes together unless your breeding... its a good way to spread disease, ect...

also its a good rule of thumb to only feed one item ie: mouse, rat, pinkie, ect. to the snake a week... feeding them one after another could cause problems down the road... plus stress...

hope this helps...

shiloh

yeah im keeping a m/f together. they are each about 3 feet long.

the guy i got them from has had them since they were born in 2002, and has always kept them together.

ill move them to their own cages after my quarentine period.

im tryign to keep form changing to much stuff up on them before i know they are healthy.

p.s. i looked around, and other people said things about shedding and its affect on skin, making it really baggy looking and making it harder to breath.

im gonna listen for gurgling and keep them warm and check his mouth every 3 days or so.

thanks for the replies.

ill post some pretty pics when they come out of shed.

one things for sure.

these guys make rosey and sand boas look even easier.

What people have missed is that the mite problem is most likely the reason for the skin problems. While the mites are gone, the skin is surely scarred and damaged from all those bites. If you have persistent problems after several sheds then take this up with the vet. Of course monitor your humidity and temperatures. Offering a water bowl for a bath often doesn't keep the entire cage humid; but you never know unless you have a hygrometer (a cheap digital is found at homedepot) Your doing good so far, and the other posts are great

As for feeding, offer the male a prey item after he's shed. No need to stress him until then. Also monitor weight. If he isn't emaciated now, having a progressive weight chart will help you assess him in the future.