Need help asap rescued boa please read

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Originally Posted by Daybreaker

I hope she/he(?) pulls through for you and I hope you can get her to a vet as soon as possible.

As to what she is, I'd say a normal Colombian.

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Me too, I've decided to let her be until tuesday to settle in some more, then try to feed a fresh killed rat. I'm starting to think she may have turned down the mice because they were too small.

Okay... So we finally found a rescue that said he would take her in. Great news, right?! Not so much.. I now have I guess you would say a moral dilemma. This guy claims that he has over 40 reptiles, and has dealt with all sorts of problems. I had been emailing back and forth with him for 3 days, talked to him on the phone twice for advice, he seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. That is, until I asked him if he knew about IBD or had any experience with it. His response was, "Yeah, Irritable Bowel Syndrome." I said "nooooo, it's a horrible extremely contagious disease that affects boas & BP's. There's no cure for it & the more I research it, the more I fear that's what the boa has." He says, "Oh well, if you don't know what to do with it or can't afford to take it to a vet, I'll take him/her off your hands. I have a few empty trays."

Did he not realize the extremely contagious part? I mean, I might be off here, But why would a legit rescue want to jeopardize their whole collection?? The whole thing seems completely strange to me... But I can't find any other rescues in my area. Closest I've found is in Cincinnati, which is 4 hours away....

Doesn't sound right, not sure how it works where your at, but you could try calling your local animal control, they might be able to put you in touch with registered animal rescues.
My guess is this is another novice using the disguise of a rescue to increase his personal collection.
Here, a real rescue is licensed and registered as a non-profit org.
Try looking up a local herp society or reptile club, the would have the best info for your area, they might also be a rescue.

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Originally Posted by BPNoobie

Okay... So we finally found a rescue that said he would take her in. Great news, right?! Not so much.. I now have I guess you would say a moral dilemma. This guy claims that he has over 40 reptiles, and has dealt with all sorts of problems. I had been emailing back and forth with him for 3 days, talked to him on the phone twice for advice, he seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. That is, until I asked him if he knew about IBD or had any experience with it. His response was, "Yeah, Irritable Bowel Syndrome." I said "nooooo, it's a horrible extremely contagious disease that affects boas & BP's. There's no cure for it & the more I research it, the more I fear that's what the boa has." He says, "Oh well, if you don't know what to do with it or can't afford to take it to a vet, I'll take him/her off your hands. I have a few empty trays."

Did he not realize the extremely contagious part? I mean, I might be off here, But why would a legit rescue want to jeopardize their whole collection?? The whole thing seems completely strange to me... But I can't find any other rescues in my area. Closest I've found is in Cincinnati, which is 4 hours away....

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I wouldn't be dealing with that guy at all. He may be legit, but I would think that anyone who has worked with boas or has done some research would have stumbled upon IBD in their research.

Me and my bf met up with another guy locally who takes in sick reptiles as well, and when we went there the animals (he had two normals, a king, some leopards, his own tortoise, a caiman, and two beardies: one on the verge of death (it was partially paralyzed). They were all kept in very crude enclosures and I didn't see any heating elements on the cages.

When I told him I was looking to get a Crestie in the future he asked what I was going to feed it (I believe he's "worked with" cresties before). I said Crested Gecko Diet to which he said, "Oh no, they need crickets - they can't live off of that". :rolleyes: After that I knew he really didn't know as much as what I supposed he came off to be. Not to mentioned he rescued a little boa a few months after and put it on Craigslist and couldn't even tell that it was a little hypo boa and not a normal.

Point being, I wouldn't trust that guy personally but if you are stuck I would ask to see how he cares for his animals, see his setups, and ask about quarantine and go from there.

She finally ventured out of her hide today, 2 days after we put it in there. Question though... Is this considered "stargazing"?

http://i41.tinypic.com/11w4njo.jpg

^ Was she unresponsive during her gazing (if you tapped the cage or her did she react)? Was she gazing only for a few moments or was she there for several minutes to an an hour? My boas will sometimes rest their heads upwards on the sides of their tubs so maybe she was doing that. I believe that most stargazing is when the snake looks straight up without leaning on anything.

Can she right herself if you put her on her back?

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Originally Posted by BPNoobie

Okay... So we finally found a rescue that said he would take her in. Great news, right?! Not so much.. I now have I guess you would say a moral dilemma. This guy claims that he has over 40 reptiles, and has dealt with all sorts of problems. I had been emailing back and forth with him for 3 days, talked to him on the phone twice for advice, he seemed to be pretty knowledgeable. That is, until I asked him if he knew about IBD or had any experience with it. His response was, "Yeah, Irritable Bowel Syndrome." I said "nooooo, it's a horrible extremely contagious disease that affects boas & BP's. There's no cure for it & the more I research it, the more I fear that's what the boa has." He says, "Oh well, if you don't know what to do with it or can't afford to take it to a vet, I'll take him/her off your hands. I have a few empty trays."

Did he not realize the extremely contagious part? I mean, I might be off here, But why would a legit rescue want to jeopardize their whole collection?? The whole thing seems completely strange to me... But I can't find any other rescues in my area. Closest I've found is in Cincinnati, which is 4 hours away....

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Wow. Yea I would write this guy off as someone trying to sound super experienced, but just wanting a free snake. I hope you are able to find a legit rescue or a vet that can even help you out. And I too, realize that my first post seemed harsh. That wasn't my intention and I do give you props for taking the snake in and doing what you possibly can for him/her.

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Originally Posted by BPNoobie

Did he not realize the extremely contagious part? I mean, I might be off here, But why would a legit rescue want to jeopardize their whole collection?? The whole thing seems completely strange to me... But I can't find any other rescues in my area. Closest I've found is in Cincinnati, which is 4 hours away....

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Yeah.. something doesn't sound right. You'd actually be surprised about some (but not all!) reptile rescues. Some take in animals regardless of sickness or not, then it causes an entire ordeal in their established animals. I saw this first hand with a rescue, and they lost some really great animals to a virus.

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Originally Posted by BPNoobie

She finally ventured out of her hide today, 2 days after we put it in there. Question though... Is this considered "stargazing"?

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I even have some snakes who will rest their head against the side of their tub like that. But since she was in the freezing cold, she could be doing that due to an RI to let the mucus drain down.

Star gazing is when they look straight up, whether leaning again the side of the enclosure or not. But when they lean against the side of the enclosure during a star gaze, their necks/heads will arch back a little (something I've noticed first hand at the rescue with multiple boas). When they don't lean again the side, it is pretty much straight up staring right at the ceiling.

Try out some of the things Angelica suggested and let us know what you observe.

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c.../th_trying.jpg

SHe seeem to be doing better, being active.
She looks responsive to feeding , did she eat?