Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My friend went to take a walk at about 1 in the morning last night (we live in Tucson, so it was still in the high 80's at the time), and basking under the light of his patio was a 4' red tail boa (I have no idea BCI or BCC, locale, etc.). I'm guessing a neighbor lost him, but we went around today with no luck, so I'm taking him under my wing. Usually I wouldn't take a snake without reading up on him first, so I just wanted to make sure he'll be ok.

I have a 3'X1.5'X.5' tub that I used to use for kings, that's the best I can keep him in for a few days (I can get him something better Friday, payday). Poor guy spent the night indoors with my roomate in a pillowcase, no heat, maybe 74 degrees (My friend had no idea what to do, I just heard this morning). It's about 88 on the warm end now, which the caresheet said was ok.

I have no idea how long he was out, but it must've been a while; he's been drinking water near constantly for the last hour.

With the exception of an unshed eyecap and a slightly stubby tail, his skin and outward appearance is good. No lost scales or scratches. He looks a little skinny (his diameter is somewhere between a half dollar and a silver dollar, his skin is slightly "saggy" at points), but he's strong and really friendly.

Only thing I see that's strange is that he licks with his tongue to the right, and tilts his head to the left to drink (his retained eyecap is on the left). He doesn't hold his head crooked otherwise, stargaze, lean to either direction, etc.

Anyway, I figured I'd give him a little bath when I get home, just to get him good and moist, and let him relax for a couple days. I was going to try and feed him Saturday along with my BP and mex. king. Is that too soon?

Any advice would be helpful. He's almost exactly 4', any idea on what this age could be?

I'll try to get some pictures soon; I've never had a boa before, I'm actually pretty excited.

Baz

Sounds like you are doing well so far with your new-found friend. I would advise you to take him/her to the vet as soon as you can. There is a good chance that the boa has parasites which can cause serious problems. Sounds like he/she has been out for a while and is probably very, very hungry. I'm not a vet, but I would get a little food in the boa soon - not a lot though. Perhaps just one reg. mouse to see how the boa reacts to food, see if he/she has normal stools and all that. From the size description I would say that the boa is extremely dehydrated and has not fed for some time. Definitely give him/her a bath, better yet - let the boa soak to help with the dehydration. At 4', a rough guess would be that the boa is about 1 1/2 years old approx. Also, since you mentioned something odd about the drinking and such - get the vet to check for any mouth injuries, infection, or mouth rot. Good luck! Get us some pics when you can.
Erin

Gunthar (I had to name him something) has been chilling out in his tub... when I went to go look in on him he was drooling this clear slightly-thick fluid, I'm guessing saliva? Maybe he just drank too much earlier.

Anyway, he's quarantined from the others, and I have an appointment with the vet tomorrow. She (the vet tech) said not to feed him till then, he'll probably regurgitate. Pictures are coming a little later... I don't think he's as skinny as I made it sound; he's about as thick as a silver dollar at his midsection.

It was 114 here yesterday with no humidity, and constant sunlight. I'm amazed he's alive at all, and given the fact that he's in good shape given the situation, I'm hopeful.

Baz

As you can see, he's not too skinny, and he's still plenty strong and active when you hold him, but not aggressive at all.

I forgot to get a head shot, but his mouth closes tightly, and he doesn't appear to have any kind of rot. Other than what looks like a very light scratch (maybe an inch) on his back, he looks good given what he's been through.

That's a 15 inch ruler with him; he's just about 4 feet.

I'm not educated in boas too much; is he BCI or BCC? I look around at some pictures, and I couldn't find any as lightly-colored as him.

Thanks again,
Baz

I am sure glad you found him / her and not someone that would of killed it. If you need some good care sheets I have some on my website.

Take care,
Tom McCarhty
http://www.mccarthyboas.com
Care sheet page.

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McCarthyBoas.com --------- Thanks & Take Care Everyone

Thanks for the caresheets. I've already read a few, but a couple more can't hurt.

I'm pretty confident that I can take care of him, I just want to be extremely careful nursing a dehydrated, potentially diseased snake to health.

That is a nice lookin boa, nice and light & clean. I am glad someone found it that enjoys reptiles, congratulations and good luck with your new boa.

Sounds like he has a respiratory infection if he is drooling sticky saliva. Is he making any noises when you pick him up - wheezing, etc? He actually looks very healthy from your pic - so perhaps he hasn't been out for very long. Let us know what the vet says. The boa is very nice looking! Lucky find!

It was only once, and after drinking a massive amount of water. I can't really tell the difference between regurging water and drooling. It was sticky-ish, but he doesn't wheeze or look like he's taking big breaths or anything.

I thought he looked pretty good too. I was going to give him a day or two, try to feed him, and skip the vet until I saw him drinking crooked and the drooling bit. He's really active and docile too, like I said, which I took to mean that he isn't severly diseased or stressed out. Either way, the vet will tell, and I'll keep y'all posted.

Thanks for the comments/concern,
Baz

My neighbor has a female BCI, and seems to know his stuff pretty well, and he thought male "because of the head". Is that something you can eye-ball?

You can tell its a male if it has larger spurs or if you have it probed. Maybe see if your vet will do it for you. Head size can't be used to determined gender.