Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Nzambi, the sick snake we rescued last Friday, passed away this evening.

This came as a bit of a shock; she seemed like she was getting better.

My husband was home alone and noticed that she had pooped and went to clean it up. When he tried to move her, he noticed that she had passed. It's a shame.... such a waste.

So we're pretty sad over here. We really thought she was going to make it, but apparently she was just too far gone and the additional stress of her treatments was just too much for her. I wonder if we could have done anything differently... handled her less to swab out her mouth or something... I'm trying to remember that it's not our fault that she was in the condition she was in, and we did everything we could for her.

Very very sad.

We're not going to let all this equipment go to waste. After we thouroughly disinfect everything, we're going to hunt around for a healthy young boa. It won't replace her, but we'd like to try the boa thing again. Maybe if we get off to a good, healthy start we'll have better luck. This time, I'd like to find a bcc. Anyway, this won't be the last you hear from me.

R.I.P., Nzambi.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

..You did everything you could for her, a lot more than many people would have done! Don't feel guilty for one second. It sounds like she was just too far gone. You gave her a peaceful, comfortable end.

Magz
xx

thank you.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

I commend your attempt at trying to save that poor neglected animal. I missed the being of your string of posts so I am not sure exactly how you came across it but it is always worth the effort to try and save a sick animal unless…….
Here is some advice in regards to keeping or trying to save sick animals that you may want to consider. It is hard for a person to turn their back on a sick or dying animal, but there are many draw backs to taking one in.
A sick reptile has the ability to infect other reptiles in your home. Even some of the most careful precautions are not fool proof. Mites can be transferred on your person from a quarantine tank to a healthy tank, even from another room. Viruses can be airborne and pasted by your air conditioning system in your home. Hooks, tongs and all the other equipment that you normally use can pass the illness over too. IBD (if that is what the Boa was infected with) could easily whip out your entire boid collection (if you have one).
So, although it is humane nature to try and rescue sick animals it could also cost you the lives of the animals that you already have.
Now with all that being said, I saw that you were going to attempt a BCC for your next Boa. I would strongly recommend that you learn on a nice Colombian before trying to take on a more difficult animal like a BCC boa. BCI/Colombian Boas are more forgiving of keeper’s mistakes. If your temps are off, you have equipment failure or other problems that may go unnoticed for a few days, a BCI Boa is going to be able to withstand that much better then the more temperamental BCC Boas. I would hate to see you get turned off of Boas completely by being disappointed in a BCC boa that may be too aggressive to handle, or just difficult to properly maintain.
Whatever you decide though, please feel free to contact me with any questions, A person that has that much compassion to take in a sick or dying animal deserves all the help they can get.
Thanks
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Jim Hopkins "Hoppy"
Hopkins Holesale Herps
Hopfam1@aol.com

Thanks for your condolensces and your concerns.

We didn't take the snake in on a whim. It was well thought out, and we knew what we were getting ourselves into. This wasn't an animal we saw at a pet store and decided to rescue on our own... it was dumped on a coworker by her exboyfriend. My coworker is very afraid of snakes and couldn't take care of her properly, so we agreed to take her on. We currently have no other snakes, and she was housed under quarntine in a room separate from our iguana and they never used the same equipment.

This was a one-time only thing, the rescue. I did it because I was asked for help and couldn't refuse the challenge... and I couldn't look at that snake and refuse to help. We'd been meaning to add a bcc or a bci, anyway, and had already been doing the research. Now we'll get a chance to start over with a healthy snake.

She had a severe respiratory illness, mouthrot, was emaciated and severely dehydrated, and had multiple infected rat bites. We did the best we could for her, but it just wasn't meant to be.

I've worked with large snakes before- still do, really. There are a number of snakes that I care for in my zoo's education collection, including an eastern indigo, a couple of kingsnakes, a bp, a gopher snake, and a bcc boa. She is the reason I want a bcc... beautiful snake and great to work with.

I might not have much of a choice, though. It depends on what we can find locally. My husband would rather get a bci, so when it comes down to it, we might go that way, anyway. I just want to see what we can scare up in bcc's in the area.

Thanks again,
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

I am so sorry to hear she passed. Just remember you did your best and that is all anyone could have asked. It does sound like she was probably too far gone already... snakes and reptiles in general are so very good at hiding any illness since in the wild they would then be easy prey.. by the time they really start to show they are sick it is sometimes too late.

I rescued a BCC... he was being force fed, I fixed his temps, got him to eat on his own, took to the vet who did a fecal and we started dewormer (he was infested!), he seemed to start feeling better, started to actually be active and then just up and died with no warning. It was just too late by the time I got him to save him. I just think that at least his last weeks were confortable and as stable as I could make them.

You did more for that boa than a lot of people would have!

RIP Nzambi
http://www.rainbowbridgepetmemorials.com/rainbowbridgestory.html

RIP Oreo

Good luck with whatever you decide to get next, I think Hoppy made some good points in choosing a BCi over a BCc for a first boa. Take care,
April

Thank you.

She was pretty far gone, and she had to be handled quite a bit for her treatments, which probably only stressed her out more and made things worse. She was very weak... distrubingly so. You know how when you pick up a constrictor you just get that sense of how powerful they are, whether they're holding onto you or not? She never had that. She was very limp, not even trying to hold on, and she could barely even hold up her own head. Looking back on it, I would have been surprised if she had lived, but there was always room for hope.

As far as the whole bci or bcc thing, I can see the argument. I have worked with both a bci and a bcc, both in husbandry and in handling, so I do have an idea about the difference. But when I counsel people about birds, I try to tell them that if they really want an African Grey, they shouldn't start with a budgie just to get experience. Budgies can live to be 20 years old, and what happens to the first bird when the grey arrives? Sometimes it's okay, but sometimes it gets neglected because it's not what the owner really wanted. So I tell them that if they want an African Grey, do the research top to bottom, get some experience with other peoples' large birds, make sure it's what you really want, then get the grey. Both the bird and the people are usually happier in the end for it. The only exception is if the buyer is a kid, then sometimes things are a little different...

So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that it's not like I have 0 reptile experience, 0 snake experience, or even 0 boa experience... I have all of the above. I don't want to get a bci and then wish I had gotten a bcc and then end up with more snakes I can handle... if that makes any sense.

But like I told hopper, I might not even be able to find a good bcc in the area. So far, most of the nice looking babies I've found have been bci's. I'd rather have a good, healthy bci than a sick bcc We'll just see what happens.

Anyway, thanks for all your remarks.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

I'm so sorry this happened....

If you let us know which State you're in, most of us on this forum know of a rescue that has rehabilitated snakes that are perfectly healthy and ready for a new home. For a small adoption fee, you could have a very nice snake and save another one in the process!

Hugs, Dove

I'm sorry to hear it. You did your best.
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1.0 sinaloan milksnake
1.0 western hognose
1.0 colombian boa