need help with dumeril

[BFE Pets]

I have no clue on dumerils at all other than I know one when I see it. Got a call from a guy who got my # from someone that knows I deal in pythons. Said he had a beast of a ball if I was interested. I went to look at it and it was a dumerils boa. The guy has no idea how to care for it at all. He took it in trade in hopes of flipping it to make a quick profit. He was told it eats one medium f/t rabbit every four or five months. He has had it almost a month and hasn't attempted to even open its cage. It is in an old dresser with vent holes drilled in the back and a piece of plexi screwed to the front and holes cut in each level for it to get up and down. The cage was absolutely disgusting! Over a dozen piles of fecal matter and countless urate piles. No water and no heat. Only a floresent light. I need a good care sheet on them so I can help get it up to a minimum living conditions. The guy does seem to care enough about it to set it up properly now that he knows that what it has isn't right. I held it while he cleaned the cage and hooked up a clamp light for tonight and I'm going back tomorrow to wire up a dimmer and some flex watt. I'm trying to get it off of him but I don't have the amount of cash he seems to want for it. He's looking for $250 with cage and I offered $100 just for the snake as ill have a minimum $75 vet bill the second I leave with it. It is full grown I believe. It's roughly 6.5 feet and as big around as a base ball throughout most of its body. Not a drop of fat on it. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[WarriorPrincess90]

Here ya go.

Care sheet:
http://www.moonlightboas.com/care-in...care-sheet.php

Realistically, $250 for a snake that size, especially a female, is not a bad price even without the cage. Unless of course the snake is in bad physical condition. If the snake is in poor condition I wouldn't pay more than $150-$175. The cage doesn't sound ideal by any means though. So I'd suggest hooking her up with a better cage if you take her.

As to the size, it sounds like it is likely an adult female. She shouldn't get too much longer, but should probably be heavier. They are heavy bodied snakes, so a snake that size should be in the 40-50lb range. (The weight is based off another member's healthy adult female who was 7ft and 50lbs.)

[BFE Pets]

Thank you for the info. I don't have probes any more as I pop my bp's but as a guess id say it is female if its the same as rtb feeling the void and counting the scales after the vent. It's in the 15 to 20 pound range and I'm 5'8" and it is a little less than a foot longer than me. I know adults run more but for a snake that has a rattle in its lungs and a inevitable vet bill I can't bring myself to pay top dollar. As bad as I want to save it and nurse it back to health I can't just throw money away. I'm already giving the flexwatt and dimmer and my time to hook it up just for the benefit of the animal and he will profit from that even if I don't end up with it.

[WarriorPrincess90]

No problem. And very true. Sounds like that poor baby definitely needs a trip to the vet. I hope you're able to take her and get her healthy again. These situations can be extremely frustrating. :/

[BFE Pets]

I will let ya know If I get her. The guy wheels n deals for a living. He's being difficult and I'm at my max so I've walked away for the moment to give him some time to mull over my offer. I hope he takes it cuz I really want to get her back to a healthy environment. I'm up to $50 cash and about $300 of welding supplies that I no longer need or use.

[SquamishSerpents]

Awe, I hope she gets the care she deserves, Dumeril's are WONDERFUL boas!

[Vypyrz]

I believe that Dumerils boas are one of the species that can be pretty reliably sexed by the presence of vestigial spurs. Males will have them, females won't. I would also recommend feeding an appropriately sized meal about every 14 days, instead of every 4-5 months...

[BFE Pets]

Well it has been a couple weeks and..... She is doing much better. Two rounds of nubulized tylan 200 7 days apart and I can't hear a rattle at all even with a stethoscope. Nice clean dry mouth. She is still in that cage but has heat and clean water. I replaced the back wall with peg board and put hinges on it so he can feed her without having to disassemble the front half. And it has been cleaned and disaffected as best as we can. She also ate a jumbo p/k rat for me. And for the great news. I will be getting her next week when I get home from work. He has decided to let me have her for the $100 I offered since I've helped get her healthy and helped get him on the right path for her care. He told me that the amount of effort that I put into helping her was beter than the profit he could possibly gain and that he is confident she is going to an excellent home. so he is happy to break even on the deal knowing that she will be in a better environment. Her name is sugar and I have an extra 55 gal tank with her name on it in my qt room. Can't wait for the 90 days to be over and bring her to the family room in a nice 175 gal long display case. I will post pics soon as I get some good ones of her. As this is my first ground boa any suggestions? I have had rtb's in the past but her disposition is completely different. Can't wait to get her up to weight and see her in all of her glory. Hope her attitude doesn't change too much. Thanks all.

[BFE Pets]

Well picked her up today. She has rub wounds from the wood enclosure she was in. It was a converted dresser and she was trying to squeeze between the back wall and the one drawer that was left as a hide.
Here are her boo boos


Are there any ointment or antibiotic creams that anyone could recommend? Also I know she will heal but will it just be a scar or will the scales actually grow back? I will post pics of the crap cage later.
In boa jail for 90 days

Here she is

[Tfpets]

Those scales should be fine. You might rinse it with watered down betadine daily for a while. She looks awesome! I think your in for a good time with her! The care for them seems pretty close to a bp. Mine actually lives in the coolest tub on my bp rack until he gets bigger.