A Boa of my own!

Well, that's all it took for me to get worried!

Tonight when I get home, I'll take him out and snap a ton of pics of him.

When I got him on Sunday he seemed small but was definitely alert and wiggly. I placed him in his enclosure and he set right to exploring, but soon settled down and curled up into that one spot. And like I said, he'll move to another spot a few inches away only to curl up there. That seems about the limit of his movement.

That he didn't react to the mouse last night is what really got me sweating....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by JRLongton

Well, that's all it took for me to get worried!

Tonight when I get home, I'll take him out and snap a ton of pics of him.

When I got him on Sunday he seemed small but was definitely alert and wiggly. I placed him in his enclosure and he set right to exploring, but soon settled down and curled up into that one spot. And like I said, he'll move to another spot a few inches away only to curl up there. That seems about the limit of his movement.

That he didn't react to the mouse last night is what really got me sweating....

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Let me 1^st say that Sauzo is far more of an expert then me and I don’t want to in any way discount what he’s saying but I wanted to offer my 2 cents because I don’t want you to freak out if there’s not a reason to. Personally I wouldn't get too worried yet. I'm not sure I would even disturb him by getting him out unless you definitely thought there was a problem that needed to be addressed. I'd like to think my new Boa is doing well and as I've said at the beginning of this thread, the 1st couple of weeks he NEVER was in his hide and now he's in it constantly. As for the comment about being sluggish, I'm not sure what that even means. Yes, I hardly ever see my boa move when he's in his enclosure but when I get him out he's very attentive. He’s in separate quarantine room so I only see him when I enter the room (once a day) and he’s never out and about roaming; always in his hide.
As for the food rejection, maybe he just needs to settle in a little bit. I would wait another week until I offered again. I like to warm up the prey w. a hair dryer (I know this is mainly for BPs) but my guy has never refused so I’m going to keep doing it.

Good luck and keep us updated! Just don’t want you to freak out if there’s not a reason too….

I'm probably over thinking and stressing out. Its only been three days, previously he probably lived in a tiny tub with all his siblings, and now he's in this larger area all alone. Its a big and potentially stressful change.

For now, I'll let him settle, give him heat, humidity, darkness, and quiet. Come Sunday, I'll offer food again and see what happens.

Well like mentioned, I'm not sure what sluggish means to you. Like i said, a boa is not going to be like a corn snake but they should definitely be alert. All of my boas are more or less slugs unless they smell food or i open a cage door. Then they perk up and come over/out to investigate.

As far as eating, I wouldnt worry too much as the snake is new. All snakes will have their own personalities but as a general rule, boas dont turn down food. Even Louie who i labeled as my 'chicken snake' since he is very shy does a 180 when he smells food and will charge for said food lol. And once in feed mode, he will follow any movement like a hawk and strike first and sample second.

My biggest concern was this 'loose skin' you refer to. Boas should not have loose skin unless they are getting ready to shed and even then, it is generally just around the jowls or where the head meets the neck that will get wrinkly/loose.

As for using a hide, i wouldnt worry. Vicky was terrified of a hide when i got her as she was kept in a rack system and didnt know what hides were. It took her a few days of poking her head inside one and then looking around and backing back out before she accepted them. Even now though, 4 years later, she still spends 50/50 inside a hide or behind one. And Rosey my 7' girl is inside her cool hide probably 2 times a week, otherwise is just curled up outside or stretched out across the front of the cage.

But anyways, not trying to alarm you. Like i said, the 'loose skin' is the only part that concerns me. If he is getting ready to shed for the first time with you, i would bump the humidity up to around 70%. Sometimes stress from a new environment can cause snakes to have a fubared shed. Once they settle in, i dont even bother bumping humidity at all for anyone, even my GTPs. As long as the snakes stay hydrated, external hydration in the form of humidity isnt going to impact it that much.

Is the new snake properly quarantined?

If you are not sure what proper quarantine procedure is, please ask.

Neccesary, and if you think something might be up, even more so.

Also, have you asked the breeder what he was eating, what his enclosure was like, etc?

Well, I got home yesterday to a pleasant surprise. He had pooped! Strange things we snake keepers consider to be good news. Then this morning I went to check his temps, and I couldn't see him! So he's hiding. Plus I could see trails in the aspen bedding, meaning he's been moving about. Seems like progress to me.

I was told he was live fed hopper mice, but I don't do live feeding. The one I offered was frozen thawed, so perhaps that combined with the stress of a new environment is what put him off.

Maybe temps were too high, maybe stress, maybe a combination of things. My plan for now is to leave him be until Sunday night and carefully offer another thawed mouse.

Both snakes I picked up at the Expo last Sunday were live fed. The other I picked up is a BEL BP, (Russo/Mojave) she's doing well but reacted much the same way to the thawed rat pup I offered. She was rather active for a ball for the first few days but she found her hide and has not been seen since. I find that young balls tend to really like paper towel tubes, at least until they can't fit anymore!

I'll keep posting updates.

Sounds like your boa being a boa. And it should be no problem switching him over to FT. Just wait until he is good and hungry lol.

Congratulations on your Hog Island.

OK, I just got home to find him basking under the RHP. Got some good shots of him and definitely want opinions. You can see he has long folds down the sides of his body, and at the "hip", just before the tail, it looks bloated. Though that may be because his tail seems a bit thin.

He seems alert and moving. When I opened the enclosure he seemed aware and was looking around.

Opinions please! Am I going to the snake doctor tomorrow? Or just stressing?

Can't seem to insert pics so I linked to the gallery section.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery//sh...mageuser=68039

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery//sh...mageuser=68039

I touched the area near his "hips" just before the tail that looks bloated. It seems neither squishy soft nor firm.