I guess I missed the boat on this one, being gone for a few days. Good advice Kelly, the only additional thing that really popped to mind was the presence of hookworms. Now my parasite life cycles are a little rusty, but I do know that immature hookworms are migrators. Many migrating species aim to reach the back of the mouth/larynx area, in which they are swallowed into the digestive tract where breeding commenses. I have little first hand experience on this, but I would guess that this little snake would have to be loaded to get a very noticeable reddness in the mouth as seen by the vet. Still, a tissue reaction, and high parasite numbers, could explain all the symptoms. Keeping the enclosure sparkling clean and removing feces immediately (before eggs can hatch and reinfect... perhaps only a few hours at snake keeping temperatures), will prevent reinfection. I do think hookworms have a direct lifecycle. Antiparasitic med's should be limited to local GIT treatments. Systemic drugs will kill all of the migrants, and with potentially hundreds of dead worms throughout the snakes body, anaphylaxis, toxicosis and septicemia are all concerns.

Here's the real question: Where would this boa get hookworms from? Are BRB's still commonly wild caught in the USA? What about the substrate used; could it contain the hookworms found in local herps?

I should also say that I went off on a tangent and this isn't necessarily the problem, but a possibility. Unless unnecessarily invasive, further diagnostics are always a good idea in my book.

Ian

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