My Boa's, and some general questions

Below are some youtube videos with some questions.

In the first video, you'll see footage of my large female Boa, and a lump about mid way down her body on her underbelly I need to find out about.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEE5ltDmXPE


In the second, it's just a little video of my smaller "wild" boa. And some questions about his size and breed at the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iYbCG7a-6k

Oh, and for those of you keeping track, my ball pythons found a new home quite a while back and I've had these guys ever since. And NO they will not be housed together....

I can post-whore some pics if people are interested? :rolleyes:

Thankfully.... some moderator/admin has my account preferences set so that I do NOT have the ability to edit or delete my own posts/threads. Which means I cannot delete this and post it in it's proper forum: ""General Boas"

Now that I have successfully achieved feeling like an idiot, would one of you kind mods please Move this thread and delete THIS particular post/reply? (Since I don't have the permission, capability, or understanding of how do so myself...)

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Originally Posted by JesseJames

Thankfully.... some moderator/admin has my account preferences set so that I do NOT have the ability to edit or delete my own posts/threads. Which means I cannot delete this and post it in it's proper forum: ""General Boas"

Now that I have successfully achieved feeling like an idiot, would one of you kind mods please Move this thread and delete THIS particular post/reply? (Since I don't have the permission, capability, or understanding of how do so myself...)

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Easy Jesse if thats your name welcome aboard nice red tail you got there. We do allow members to edit specific post content for 9 minutes, we do not delete threads or post's. Moved the thread for ya now its in the right place.

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Originally Posted by Emilio

Easy Jesse if thats your name welcome aboard nice red tail you got there. We do allow members to edit specific post content for 9 minutes, we do not delete threads or post's. Moved the thread for ya now its in the right place.

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Thanks. My name is James actually.

I'm accustomed to some different VB based forums. In that we have the freedom to edit our posts indefinitely.

Forgive my late-night frustration of trying to correct my own mistake.


So... hopefully someone will watch these videos and reply with some answers.

Hopefully I can answer a few of your questions...

Video #1 - That is a nice female boa. But she needs to see a qualified and experienced herp vet. I know you said there wasn't one in your area, but you need to find someone and take her there. That lump is most definitely not normal. If it's a tumor, she'll need care. I can tell you with a fair bit of certainty that it is not a rat bite. If it were, there would be visible scarring on the scales. This looks to be something going on under the skin - which makes it more worrisome to me. We are not vets here and even if we were, we could not make a diagnosis without actually putting our hands on the snake and examining her. Keep us posted on this - we'd all like to know what's up.

Video #2 - First off, that is a normal Columbian BCI. He is a nice snake and has a nice slightly reduced pattern, but he is what's referred to as a common central american or columbian boa. He is most likely that small because he probably didn't eat much at all while he was missing. Snakes don't need to subsist on much in order to survive. He probably never managed to come across more than a tiny mouse or two each month which means he just wouldn't grow fast at all. He'll catch up. You female is bigger because she's had larger and more consistent meals while growing, she's a female and they get bigger anyhow, and she is also a BCC or has BCC blood which means she'd be bigger anyway.

DO NOT POWERFEED your male!!! Boas do not do well with this and should never be powerfed. He WILL catch up - please just be patient.

Also, take off the gloves. I know he's a wild child, but I'd freak out too if those big scarey black things came reaching in and grabbed me. Young boas can often be pissy and he's not been handled for nearly 2 years. Give him a break - he's not gonna tame down over night. Be patient, slow, and gentle. Don't grab and yank him out and twist him around and manhandle him. I'm not being critical here - you needed to bring him out to show on the vid and that's fine, just slow down from now on and consider things from his point of view. Their bite doesn't hurt and he's too little to do much damage. Try to handle him for about 30min each day and slide your (ungloved) hand underneath him and gently scoop him up rather than grab and lift. If he does bite, don't jerk (easier said than done, lol) and just let him figure out that the bite doesn't get him anywhere. He's biteing from fear, not aggression.

Hope this helps you! Keep us posted on how things are going....

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Hopefully I can answer a few of your questions...

Video #1 - That is a nice female boa. But she needs to see a qualified and experienced herp vet. I know you said there wasn't one in your area, but you need to find someone and take her there. That lump is most definitely not normal. If it's a tumor, she'll need care. I can tell you with a fair bit of certainty that it is not a rat bite. If it were, there would be visible scarring on the scales. This looks to be something going on under the skin - which makes it more worrisome to me. We are not vets here and even if we were, we could not make a diagnosis without actually putting our hands on the snake and examining her. Keep us posted on this - we'd all like to know what's up.

Video #2 - First off, that is a normal Columbian BCI. He is a nice snake and has a nice slightly reduced pattern, but he is what's referred to as a common central american or columbian boa. He is most likely that small because he probably didn't eat much at all while he was missing. Snakes don't need to subsist on much in order to survive. He probably never managed to come across more than a tiny mouse or two each month which means he just wouldn't grow fast at all. He'll catch up. You female is bigger because she's had larger and more consistent meals while growing, she's a female and they get bigger anyhow, and she is also a BCC or has BCC blood which means she'd be bigger anyway.

DO NOT POWERFEED your male!!! Boas do not do well with this and should never be powerfed. He WILL catch up - please just be patient.

Also, take off the gloves. I know he's a wild child, but I'd freak out too if those big scarey black things came reaching in and grabbed me. Young boas can often be pissy and he's not been handled for nearly 2 years. Give him a break - he's not gonna tame down over night. Be patient, slow, and gentle. Don't grab and yank him out and twist him around and manhandle him. I'm not being critical here - you needed to bring him out to show on the vid and that's fine, just slow down from now on and consider things from his point of view. Their bite doesn't hurt and he's too little to do much damage. Try to handle him for about 30min each day and slide your (ungloved) hand underneath him and gently scoop him up rather than grab and lift. If he does bite, don't jerk (easier said than done, lol) and just let him figure out that the bite doesn't get him anywhere. He's biteing from fear, not aggression.

Hope this helps you! Keep us posted on how things are going....

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I am very concerned about the female and will do whatever I can to find a qualified vet. Ed from Wild Morphs is local to me, or rather somewhat local. I'll PM him & show him the video. Maybe he can guide me to someone. But she seems to be doing just fine in her movement and does not seem to be bothered by the mass, or bothered if it is touched, which leads me towards the direction of a tumor... :tears:


As for the male..... I respect your experience and knowledge, but let me tell you.... I have tried, and tried with this little guy. He is the single most aggressive animal I have ever had the luxury of taking care of.

The gloves are most certainly there for a reason. The day he was found/caught, the guy who found him was stuck & bitten. This turned into an instant staph infection, his finger was bigger around than his big toe. Without the ability to take him to a suited vet, I decided I would not risk it and would wear gloves when handling him. In regards to my movements with him... he is not a docile creature by any means. He will not be still for any amount of time. My movement is in response to his movement.

He spent two years or there about inside a pet store, whatever domestication he had from being captive born & raised, is gone. He often hisses at me as I walk around the room. Regardless of the gloves.

The only reason I have him is because no one wanted him, the store owner wouldn't/couldn't take him, and he scared the hell out of most the customers by constantly striking at the glass. They couldn't sell him, so I volunteered to give him a home. I truly hope to work with him & help him become more docile and friendly.

I've been bitten by boa's and python's both his size and larger, it comes with the territory of volunteering in a pet store. It's painless, but I'd rather not risk the possible infection that could follow.



In regards to species, I was told he was something other than just a standard Columbian. But there was controversy over his subspecies. Someone said he was an Argentine, someone said he was something else. No one really wants to handle him or look at him up close to examine & find out.

As far as the female goes. I'm assuming BCC means 'Boa Constrictor Constrictor' right?

He's definitely not an argentine. I agree that he looks like a typical Colombian.. They come in all colors and patterns. You can pick up a small snake hook to make it easier to handle him. Hook train him. Then get a larger hook once he's larger. I have a Retic that can only be removed from her enclosure with a hook but once she's out she's ok.

The female does look like a BCC. There is no way to know the specific locale though. She does need to be seen by a vet to have the lump checked out. They will probably either use a needle to try to get something out of it for testing or possibly lance it.

How long have you had her? Do you know how old she is? You say she's an adult but she will get much bigger than that. In my opinion she is rather small. While BCC should maintain a muscular and rectangular shape, she looks thin to me. I imagine the people who raised her may not have fed her very often at all. An every 2 week feeding schedule for adults is recommended (weekly for youngsters) but I bet she got less than that. I have a 3 year old female BCC that I raised this way and she is quite a bit larger and beefier than your female.

I guarantee if you take proper care of her she will more than double in size. Maybe not length, but she will get quite a bit thicker and being BCC, she could reach 8ft easily.

She appears to be having some shedding issues also. I've never seen a boa shed in pieces like that. Cover that screen and increase the humidity in her tank. Maybe changing the bedding would help also.

Definitely keep us updated on her.

As a secondary update, I recently re-arranged the room to make everything more accessible. Since doing this I've spent a lot more time at home & have been able to pay more attention to them.

This morning I decided to move around and change the lighting of the tanks. I also decided to insulate and humidify both tanks.


I didn't have any duct tape readily available when I decided to do this but I'll pick some up next time I'm out & about. I've added foil to the lid of her tank and used my Steamer to momentarily increase humidity and test the foil insulation. I also added a ceramic bowl of water and placed it directly over one of the two UTH's. This will hopefully raise the humidity.
http://a5.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...69297885_n.jpg

I also decided to backlight both tanks with black lights. I will probably move the 48" light further down the tank. Her behavior will determine this.

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...55298160_n.jpg

http://sphotos.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-...21860893_n.jpg

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphot...25968145_n.jpg

The daytime light's new home is on the front right corner of the tank, where that section of the lid is completely exposed to open air.

After all of this, the female has seemed to be much more active & interested in moving around her tank and exploring the new changes and additions. This is a big difference from her day to day docile state of laying around in one spot. She's very curious about the new black light behind her tank! :D

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

He's definitely not an argentine. I agree that he looks like a typical Colombian.. They come in all colors and patterns. You can pick up a small snake hook to make it easier to handle him. Hook train him. Then get a larger hook once he's larger. I have a Retic that can only be removed from her enclosure with a hook but once she's out she's ok.

The female does look like a BCC. There is no way to know the specific locale though. She does need to be seen by a vet to have the lump checked out. They will probably either use a needle to try to get something out of it for testing or possibly lance it.

How long have you had her? Do you know how old she is? You say she's an adult but she will get much bigger than that. In my opinion she is rather small. While BCC should maintain a muscular and rectangular shape, she looks thin to me. I imagine the people who raised her may not have fed her very often at all. An every 2 week feeding schedule for adults is recommended (weekly for youngsters) but I bet she got less than that. I have a 3 year old female BCC that I raised this way and she is quite a bit larger and beefier than your female.

I guarantee if you take proper care of her she will more than double in size. Maybe not length, but she will get quite a bit thicker and being BCC, she could reach 8ft easily.

She appears to be having some shedding issues also. I've never seen a boa shed in pieces like that. Cover that screen and increase the humidity in her tank. Maybe changing the bedding would help also.

Definitely keep us updated on her.

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Information regarding her age is vague. The original owners were absolutely crazy people. When the divorce happened she went to a girl named katelyn who worked at the earlier mentioned pet shop. Katelyn was working at pets mart at that time (she'd quit the first petstore after some bad decisions on her part, that's when I picked up full time work there until it closed in june-ish) and was feeding her one single pre-frozen/killed medium rat every two weeks from what she tells me. Katelyn ended up running off with a druggy guy and being gone for three months after she was incarcerated. It was at that point, around august of '11 that her mother called me and told me to come get the snake, it was now mine.

I bumped into Cady, who was the original owner (the crazy couple) at Waffle house & asked her how old she is. She told me "about two years or so". I asked her about feeding habits and she said "I fed her only after she (deificated)". She tried introducing me to her new fiance, and I ended the conversation as quickly as possible. That's about all the information I have on her.



As far as her shed cycles... the tank has been dry. I know, I'm bad. Believe me, I've been beating myself up over it for the last couple of days. Her last shed cycle was much smoother than this because I soaked her in a tub of warm water & towels for an hour or so two days before she actually shed.

I tried that this time around too, but it didn't help much. Almost all the old skin, except for around her head is gone. I cleaned what I could pick up out of the tank. It seems like every time you sift through the coconut husk there's another piece. I try to grab it when I see it.

I know more about Ball Pythons than Boas, I spent weeks online reading, and talking to people when I had my pair. I have not yet learned as much about Boa Constrictors. So I'll take your word in regards to her size and nutrition. They just ate about 9 to 11 days ago. I'll pick up some more feeders this weekend, or on monday.

It's funny you mentioned the foil insulation.. I took care of that this morning.

Ok thanks for more details on the male's behavior - I can surely understand the gloves now. Perhaps you can find smaller and less bulky gloves? It truly might help.

And I still say he's a normal columbian BCI. He's most definitely not an Argentine. I have an Argenting boa (plan on taking pics and introducing him tonight so watch for that post) and he is very dark and granite-y. BCOs look nothing like BCIs - the closest subspecies that ressemble BCOs are BCLs (Longicauda). Columbian boas can vary quite a lot in appearance. Some have more pink hues and some are more grey. Some have narrower saddles and some have lots of speckling, etc. Yours has a nice clean pattern and appears to have nice cream and pink blushing, but he's still a normal columbian - which is perfectly fine!

Yes, BCC means Boa Constrictor Constrictor. And I agree that your female should be much bigger. I missed where you though she was an adult or I would've mentioned that earlier. But don't overfeed her to try and get her up to weight in a hurry! Give her an apprpriate sized prey item only after each defecation. That could be once every 2-4 weeks. BCCs do better with less frequent meals and slightly cooler temps (76-78 ambient and 88 hotspot is good). Let us know what you find out with Ed from Wild Morphs. I hope he can help you!

Can I ask you why you started using black lights in their enclosures?? That isn't generally considered appropriate lighting for snakes so I wondered if you had a specific reason?

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Originally Posted by Evenstar

Ok thanks for more details on the male's behavior - I can surely understand the gloves now. Perhaps you can find smaller and less bulky gloves? It truly might help.

And I still say he's a normal columbian BCI. He's most definitely not an Argentine. I have an Argenting boa (plan on taking pics and introducing him tonight so watch for that post) and he is very dark and granite-y. BCOs look nothing like BCIs - the closest subspecies that ressemble BCOs are BCLs (Longicauda). Columbian boas can vary quite a lot in appearance. Some have more pink hues and some are more grey. Some have narrower saddles and some have lots of speckling, etc. Yours has a nice clean pattern and appears to have nice cream and pink blushing, but he's still a normal columbian - which is perfectly fine!

Yes, BCC means Boa Constrictor Constrictor. And I agree that your female should be much bigger. I missed where you though she was an adult or I would've mentioned that earlier. But don't overfeed her to try and get her up to weight in a hurry! Give her an apprpriate sized prey item only after each defecation. That could be once every 2-4 weeks. BCCs do better with less frequent meals and slightly cooler temps (76-78 ambient and 88 hotspot is good). Let us know what you find out with Ed from Wild Morphs. I hope he can help you!

Can I ask you why you started using black lights in their enclosures?? That isn't generally considered appropriate lighting for snakes so I wondered if you had a specific reason?

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The gloves are Class A dress gloves from when I was in the service, and are actually the most low-profile leather gloves I own. they're actually quite tight on my big ape hands.


I'm not overly-concerned about his subspecies, just as long as I know what he is so that I can continue to learn proper care & husbandry for them both!

Thanks for sharing that with me, I'll look into and try to learn as much as I can.

As far as the lighting goes? Eh.... I had free reign of the pet store I worked at and my payment was usually whatever supplies I needed. I've been kinda strapped for cash lately as I've been largely unemployed as far as "gainful employment" goes. The black lights & fixtures are things I have around. I'm a carpenter by trade and have many things like this available to me.

I've been meaning to buy some red bulbs for them both, but haven't had the cash that pets mart wants (has anyone else noticed their outrageous mark up?). Both tanks have UTH in them, but neither snake seems to be too interested in them.

There's another pet store I've been using, but it's a 45 minute drive one way and they seem to be competitively priced, so I'll try them.

I understand that lighting is more important for Bao's vs. BP's, and when I have the ability to get the right lighting I will do so.

For the most part it's just to give some lighting to them rather than being in the dark. I turn the female's day light bulb off at night, and she doesn't care to spend much time under or near it. That also probably comes down to the humidity in the atmosphere of her enclosure.

For the record, I've never "power-fed" anything I've ever owned or taken care of. I have heard the term thrown around, and assumed it means feeding the snake more frequently than one normally would. Although I know little about it and have never practiced it. I loosely understand that, as a rule, it is a bad idea.

I PM'd Ed last night, I'm still waiting for him to get back to me.

I think they will be fine. It sounds like you are doing what you need to for them. Just get that lump looked at and then start nursing her back to health. The male should eventually calm down. As for the female, I have heard of lumps like that forming due to malnutrition but it could also be a cyst or something else. You never know.

You mentioned soaking her prior to shed. This actually will cause a bad shed. Soaking when the snake is in blue will get rid of the natural oil between the old skin and new skin that is required to help the old skin come off. You should only soak after a bad shed. In order to help the snake shed once you see it's in blue just raise the humidity. Boas like the humidity a bit higher anyway.

If you look at this thread you'll see pics of my BCC. She just turned 3 this winter and it sounds like yours is about the same age or slightly younger. It won't be long before yours fills out like this and has the muscle ripples along her sides. There are pics further down showing her size. I feed her one prekilled large rat every 2-3 weeks depending on her actions. When she's hungry she comes to the door of the enclosure every time I walk by. Judging by the length of yours I'd say she's probably very close to being 3 years old if she isn't already.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=163196

You also need to get a secure cage for your large female. When she decides to break out, those weights aren't going to stop her. Just some friendly advice.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

I think they will be fine. It sounds like you are doing what you need to for them. Just get that lump looked at and then start nursing her back to health. The male should eventually calm down. As for the female, I have heard of lumps like that forming due to malnutrition but it could also be a cyst or something else. You never know.

You mentioned soaking her prior to shed. This actually will cause a bad shed. Soaking when the snake is in blue will get rid of the natural oil between the old skin and new skin that is required to help the old skin come off. You should only soak after a bad shed. In order to help the snake shed once you see it's in blue just raise the humidity. Boas like the humidity a bit higher anyway.

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Originally Posted by Foschi Exotic Serpents

If you look at this thread you'll see pics of my BCC. She just turned 3 this winter and it sounds like yours is about the same age or slightly younger. It won't be long before yours fills out like this and has the muscle ripples along her sides. There are pics further down showing her size. I feed her one prekilled large rat every 2-3 weeks depending on her actions. When she's hungry she comes to the door of the enclosure every time I walk by. Judging by the length of yours I'd say she's probably very close to being 3 years old if she isn't already.

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showthread.php?t=163196

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Thanks~! I had no idea I was doing more harm than good!!! I will remember than from here fourth.


I hope the lump is minor. I've been paying very close attention to this thread and have been waiting for Ed's reply. I don't worry about much, but I'll admit, this has me concerned.

Hopefully with 'more regular' feeding habits, she'll fill out. I'm aware the male will settle down after a while, but his behavior is dependent on my interaction with him. Which, admittedly hasn't been much over the last several months. I could ramble about what's been going on, but we'll just say I've been away from home and busy with other things in life. Sadly, those things have caused me to neglect the attention he needs to curve his aggression.

It's been a few days since I PM'd Ed... He still hasn't gotten back to me but has been active on the forum.

Not sure how to interpret that. I suppose I will attempt to contact other people.

Socializing with the little male tonight.... Figured I'd shoot some video of it.

Yeah, I know he took a little fall, but that was all him, sometimes he just does that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRzVlOMiXy8

He sure is fiesty. Might want to avoid poking near his head and mouth so much though - especially with the gloves on. I'm sure that doesn't help calm him down very much, hehe. Good luck. :gj:

I would try holding him rather then what you are trying there.

There is something about this that just doesn't seem right. My 2 hypo BCIs are the sweetest animals on the planet but even they would not appreciate being poked and prodded like that. Not all snakes like being stroked or scratched under the chin like that - in fact, most don't.

I agree with WinWizard - just hold him. Let him slide through your hands and wrap around your wrist and just hang out for a while without being poked. That big scarry hand coming from up above is freaking him out. That's fear and defensiveness I see there and not so much aggression. I'm not trying to be hard on you - often we don't realize just what it is we're doing unless someone outside the situation points it out to us. Watch the vid yourself and see this situation from your snake's eyes..... :gj:

James, here are a few vets in our area that handle reptiles(not sure if any are reptile specialist). I have not been to any of these since my snake has not gotten sick. But here is the information. Also if you have Ed's phone number text him he is normally quick to respond to those.


Dr. Rick Kirby, Hometown Veterinary Clinic, Hwy 471, Brandon, 601-825-1697 - Internets top recommended for Herps out of these.
Dr. Michael R. Randall, Randall Veterinary Hospital, 5919 Terry Rd., Byram, 601-371-0895
Dr. Rodney Walker, Huntcliff Veterinary Clinic, 451 E. Northside Drive, Clinton, 601-924-4549
Banfield Pet Hospital, 6333 I-55 N., Jackson, 601-977-8885

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Originally Posted by jdouglas

James, here are a few vets in our area that handle reptiles(not sure if any are reptile specialist). I have not been to any of these since my snake has not gotten sick. But here is the information. Also if you have Ed's phone number text him he is normally quick to respond to those.


Dr. Rick Kirby, Hometown Veterinary Clinic, Hwy 471, Brandon, 601-825-1697 - Internets top recommended for Herps out of these.
Dr. Michael R. Randall, Randall Veterinary Hospital, 5919 Terry Rd., Byram, 601-371-0895
Dr. Rodney Walker, Huntcliff Veterinary Clinic, 451 E. Northside Drive, Clinton, 601-924-4549
Banfield Pet Hospital, 6333 I-55 N., Jackson, 601-977-8885

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Thank you. Glad to see another local-yocal on the forum. Do you know anything about these "local" vets? I see you've put the one closest to you in Bold. Is there a particular reason, maybe to recommend that clinic above others?

Thanks for the info! I'll start calling around & seeing about an appointment for this week or next!

I actually do not know anything about any of the above vets. I just researched them before I got my Ball. The one I put in bold is highly recommended for Herp's.

Also if you are unable to reach Ed, Louis Kirkland is also in the Jackson area and is on these forums as well. I have not met or spoken with him but I am sure he would be willing to assist. I pulled the following from his signature.

Louis Kirkland
Cornerstone Reptiles
601.919.5681
louis_kirkland@bellsouth.net