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my 3 year old female hog island boa, hissy, who is the pride and joy of my collection, who i have raised since she was a tiny little baby, is dieing, and i dont know why! last night, she was completely fine, i woke up this morning, to have her with her head cocked upwards, n when i brought her out, she kept on like doing circles with her head. her tongue isnt coming out at all. I rushed her to the vet immediately, and they narrowed it down to either IBD, or a severe head trauma which messed w her nervous system. she has been seperated from other snakes completely for months, so i dont see how she could have gotten ibd, especially when none of the other snakes in my collection are showing signs of anything. hissy has been great for years, and i have always enjoyed having her, seeing her like this is breaking my heart. please, has anyone else ever had a snake just suddenly, ( literally less than 12 hours after checking on her last), start to act listless, and not seem in control of its motor skills?. IBD wouldnt have come on that quickly would it? gosh this is tearing me apart, my favorite and closest to heart snake is suddenly dieing, and there is nothing i can do about it...are my other snakes in danger? i am just so confuzed and worried right now, any help at all, would be greatly appreciated.

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John woodward
JW REPTILES

np
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John woodward
JW REPTILES

John,
....I think it is only remotely possible that IBD symtoms would come on so quickly. Neuro symptoms in IBD are usually slow to come on. However, symptoms of IBD can come on much later than a few months after exposure to another infected boid or to vectors that may have come off another snake. I can think of four reasons other than IBD for what does seem to be a neurological problem in your Boa.
1. Heat- exposure to extremely high temperatures might be the problem. A failed heater or thermostat can cause a heating element to overheat.
2. Environmental poisoning- Exposure to insecticides or gases given off by burning electrical or plastic components is possible. Exposure to oils from aromatic woods especially cedar commonly causes neurological problems. Has the snake been treated with any medications recently?
3. Trauma- Is it possible that some piece of heavy cage furniture fell on the snake or that someone may have gotten into the cage and harmed the snake?
4. Infection- a viral or bacterial infection in the brain could cause the symptoms.
You took the snake to the vet which was a good thing to do but you should also very carefully look at everything the snake has been exposed to in it's enviironement.
Jeff

>>my 3 year old female hog island boa, hissy, who is the pride and joy of my collection, who i have raised since she was a tiny little baby, is dieing, and i dont know why! last night, she was completely fine, i woke up this morning, to have her with her head cocked upwards, n when i brought her out, she kept on like doing circles with her head. her tongue isnt coming out at all. I rushed her to the vet immediately, and they narrowed it down to either IBD, or a severe head trauma which messed w her nervous system. she has been seperated from other snakes completely for months, so i dont see how she could have gotten ibd, especially when none of the other snakes in my collection are showing signs of anything. hissy has been great for years, and i have always enjoyed having her, seeing her like this is breaking my heart. please, has anyone else ever had a snake just suddenly, ( literally less than 12 hours after checking on her last), start to act listless, and not seem in control of its motor skills?. IBD wouldnt have come on that quickly would it? gosh this is tearing me apart, my favorite and closest to heart snake is suddenly dieing, and there is nothing i can do about it...are my other snakes in danger? i am just so confuzed and worried right now, any help at all, would be greatly appreciated.
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>>John woodward
>>JW REPTILES