Stargazing and a faint squeak?

[Souva]

Sorry if this is stupid but I'm worried. x

My boa will tilt up the first third or so of his body very high, tongue flicking and seemingly alert, sometimes to the point where he tilts back a bit and needs to right himself. However, this only seems to happen when induced by visual stimuli like passing through a door (he's fascinated with the doorframe??) or when a ceiling fan is on in the room. I haven't yet seen him doing it without it looking like he was checking out something in the air above him or while just in his enclosure.

Also, I've noticed that when he strains a bit while climbing (or when he gets nervous and starts to thrash a bit when being put back in the enclosure) he has a very faint, high pitched squeak. Again, I've never heard it when it wasn't sometime he was straining. His temp on the hot side is 93. The ambients stay in the 80-85 range and his humidity is always at around 60%. He doesn't mouth breathe or blow bubbles, but I dunno if this is the start of a RI or not. He also eats one small rat weekly, and has never refused a meal in the time I've had him.

Are these normal things, or the indication of sickness?

Thank you for any help. And sorry if its just me being paranoid, I'm a first-time boa owner.

[GoingPostal]

Doesn't sound like anything I would worry about-the squeak may be a piece of stuck shed in his nose or just a weird quirk. Not saying it's not worth keeping an eye on but doesn't sound concerning. My only concern would be the weekly feedings-with boas it's better to space out feedings so I would back that off a bit.

[bcr229]

That's not stargazing, he's just interested in what's going on above him. Also the faint squeak when he breathes is likely more from him exerting himself rather than an illness, just like when you pant after a hard workout. If you don't hear it when he's at rest then I wouldn't worry about it.

[dkatz4]

I think you're totally fine, but good for you for being mindful and proactive. I agree with bcr's appraisal. My boa does the same thing, in fact i know the exact spots in my house that make him go skyward, and they all happen to feature particular lighting fixtures. And the squeak i also get, though mine's not a squeak, more like a quick pant, but we may very well be describing the same noise in different ways, i get it when he thrashes to the sides if he thinks he's going to fall (silly snake, daddy wont let you fall) though not when he climbs, but i still think its just hard breathing due to exertion as said above.
But i also agree with Postal's comment about feeding. It depends on age, but once a week is quite a lot of food for a boa, and it can be tricky b/c they will almost never refuse a meal even if its not in their best interests (so like us...)
I am also a first time boa owner so i totally feel your pain, i can tell you that this group has been amazing! The members here are so knowledgable and always willing to help and advise.
So keep an eye on your boa but i think it's probably fine, and welcome to the group!

[Souva]

Okay! Thank you so much.

He was being fed once a week because he was extremely underweight when obtained, and I had worked up to feeding him more often (the people he was from fed him a mouse once a month and he was a teeny little thing, no more than two years old, and had done that since he was a baby...) and was trying to gain some of that weight back. I will definitely change his feeding schedule to be better, though, thank you so much for alerting me.

Should I do this gradually, like how I built up to feeding him rats on a weekly basis? Or should I immediately switch?

[bcr229]

Should I do this gradually, like how I built up to feeding him rats on a weekly basis? Or should I immediately switch?

I would just switch him to an appropriately-sized feeder every two weeks for now. You don't want to push him to catch up to where he "should" be, given his age. He will get there in his own time, and it's safer and healthier if he's fed on a two to three week schedule.

Also you should read through the feeding info in this thread, it's very informative, especially if you're rehabilitating an underfed critter.
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...python-feeding