My sandboa is acting funny..

My male sandboa seems to yawn more than necessary (cue the avatar), sometimes he just opens his mouth a little bit, and he seems almost to have an adam's apple. Sometimes it sounds like there's a little bubble popping in his throat. Kinda has me worried. He hasn't eaten the last two feeding either, though I think he's just not liking f/t. He's always eaten live before. He fed for me twice since I've had him, both live.

He's active though, and flicks his tongue like normal. Any ideas?

Ok, now he's not doing it?..! Is he just retarded? I thought at first maybe he was just going into shed and trying to loosen the skin on his head, but then he shed, and was doing it again after that. Perhaps he's thirsty? Too dry? hmm..

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Originally Posted by Shelby

. Sometimes it sounds like there's a little bubble popping in his throat. Kinda has me worried.

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thta sounds like a case of RI.someone else might tell you how to deal with it.Your best bet is to take him to the vet.

It could be RI or could be a different cause. Regardless, it's never a bad idea to take your animal to a qualified reptile vet when there's a question about its health.

Yeah.. I was kinda afraid you'd say that. I just spent $126 at the vet on Shelby..

But he's not doing it now?..

Oh.. and what is the cause of RI usually?

also, is it contagious? My sandboas live in the same tank (breeder said this was ok). I haven't noticed my female doing the same thing..

as far as RI's being contagious I have never heard that they are but when every any of my animals get sick i seperate them from the tank mates.

Well, I read up on RIs, and found that it's probably too cold in the large tank he's being kept in, that's probably what started it. So I've quarantined him, moved him to a 10 gallon with a human heat pad under it. If he doesn't look better in the next day or two, I'll call the vet up. I need to talk to her anyway, I accidently squirted one of Shelby's vaccines out inside the syringe cap. *sigh*

I feel like a bad snake mama.. two out of my four snakes are ill..

Geez.. one website says this of snakes with RIs:

'These snakes often never entirely rid themselves of the problem and relapses are common.'

Is this really true?

Hey Shelby, nothing is wrong with the vaccine you squirted into the cap, just cut the cap in half and suck it back out with the needle attached to the syringe. Not like it's dirty or anything. I've done that a couple times, no big deal, just suck it back out. I wouldn't want you wasting money and buying another shot for her. With the relapse thing, it's always possible, but it is preventable, unless his immune system is somehow deficient one day and he gets another. Just be sure to finish any medication if the vet gives you any for him. If you caught it early, usually they can just shake it. Hopefully it will be a good immune-builder if he shakes it on his own rather than with meds. Good luck to ya :)

Oh, I'm stupid. I should have thought to cut the cap in half. lol.. but I fooled with it awhile to try to suck it back up yesterday, and when I gave up and put the cap back on, some squirted out the cap, so I may have ruined it.

I'm hoping my poor sandboa can just shake it. I can't afford too many more of these vet bills. :shock:

I'd personally quarantine him and raise the temps for a couple days and if he's not better then see a vet. What were his temps at?

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Originally Posted by Tigergenesis

I'd personally quarantine him and raise the temps for a couple days and if he's not better then see a vet. What were his temps at?

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Yes, that's just what I've done.

The warm side temps were fine, it's just that with the onset of winter, the cool side got too cold, and that's probably the cause. Plus that, maybe housing them together was stressing him out, since he is the smaller of the two. I've also moved the female to a smaller cage.. humidity is way to high though, so I'm working on that now.

how big is ur sandboas tank?

They were both in a 20L. I moved the sick one to a 10, and the other one is in a sterilite bin of roughly the same size.

What are the temps on the sick snake?

K

Well I just put a heat lamp in addition to the UTH, and the highest temp I read with my temp gun (directly under the lamp) was 101.. the lowest was 76. He's actually looking better!

can your sand boas stay in that 20 gal for the rest of their life?

Neither is in the 20g now, but an adult male can be kept in a 10, and a female in a 20, so yes, they could.

ooo i think im goin to get some sandboas..... time to go do some research!

They are so awesome. They're burrowing snakes, so you need a deep substrate, other than that they're easy. Super sweet too, they'll just sit there in your hand, or may try burrowing in it. lol Mine never show any sign of aggression or fear. Super easy going.

I got mine from http://www.jasons-jungle.com/index.html Jason is very nice to work with. :)

and they are also pretty cheap! it looks like im goin to have a tough decision between these, a bci, or another bp.....decisions, decisions, i guess ill take them all! lol<j/k

lol.. I highly recommend sandboas. They're so cool.

My next snake is going to be a BCC.. can't wait until I can get one.

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Originally Posted by sk8er4life

and they are also pretty cheap! it looks like im goin to have a tough decision between these, a bci, or another bp.....decisions, decisions, i guess ill take them all! lol<j/k

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They are great snakes - and Jason is great to buy from!

My first snake was a bp and my second was a Kenyan Sand Boa (my 3rd and 4th were the other sand boas in my list). I'm glad I got a sand boa after my bp because it was a nice contrast.

Ok, so my sandboa looked better for a few days, but today he was acting sick again. The room did get colder, and he was on the cool side, perhaps it just made it worse again? He also refused to eat. Since he was showing symptoms again though I wasn't surprised. Should I give him a day or two to see if he gets better again? My poor baby..

He still is quite active though, not sluggish or anything.

Hmmmm. No fluid or bubbles from the mouth or anything right? I might wait a couple of days and watch to make sure the temps stay up and then go to a vet if no improvement. But that's just me. :) Shelby, I'd also email Jason and just get is input.

Yeah, no bubbles or anything. I think he looks better again today, I've kept his temps up, and better yet, I got him to eat last night!

I did e-mail Jason, but no reply yet. Perhaps it's because of the holiday.

On the other hand, my female sand boa is doing great! She's growing already and like a weed. Eats like a pro, she lets me watch and everything. (I suppose this is just normal, but hey, I'm used to ball pythons!)

That's good to hear. I'm sure it's because of the holidays - plus he had a show yesterday. Sounds like he's getting better. :)