Need help with this rescue, guys

Hey, all. I work in wildlife rehab and have 2 ball pythons of my own that I rescued a few years ago... A few days ago I got a message from a local Herp board member in my area who was offering her boa constrictor for sale with its tank for $100. She essentially said she was having "bad luck" and couldn't afford to keep the snake any longer. The picture she posted was that of this boa surrounded by its own feces and old shed. She was afraid to put her hand in the tank because it might "break her wrists," the snake belonged to her fiance who is now in jail, blah blah. Anyway after messaging her that I would take the snake no questions asked but not pay her one red cent, she agreed to let me come by.

This poor guy was in a large tank with NO heat, NO humidity, a filthy water bowl with slimy furry sludge on the bottom that had never been cleaned, no hides, it was just awful. So I took it with gritted teeth (I wanted to punch this b*%$%in the face) and left. Here's what she told me about the snake; how much of it is true, I don't know:

Unsexed red tail boa constrictor purchased one year ago from a pet store. Unknown when last shed was, has cloudy eye caps. Last ate allegedly 2 weeks ago, was only fed live rats and in its tank, no less. Poop in tank looked healthy for what it's worth. Is "aggressive" when tank lid open (durr, hence the live feeding).

I was unable to tell if the eye caps are cloudy from its last shed, or because it's about to shed again. I was unable to see any pieces sticking out around the eye to pull at. I put some olive oil on them yesterday. The snake is currently in a new tank, with a warm hide and a cool hide, a fresh bowl of water, and a mister giving humidity. For bedding as of now I'm using Dri-Dek with newspaper underneath.

Head with cloudy eye cap:
http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...cruit/boa1.jpg

Tummy with possible burns:

http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...cruit/boa3.jpg

http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...cruit/boa4.jpg

Top of body:

http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...cruit/boa5.jpg

http://i706.photobucket.com/albums/w...cruit/boa2.jpg

I need help with identification (boa constrictor constrictor or boa constrictor imperator), and advice to help with the burns/eyes/feeding. Thanks so much to everyone in advance for all your help!

Good husbandry and a vet check up should be all that is needed.

The live rats might have brought in parasites. Your vet can make sure the snake is healthy.

Make sure you observe a quarantine period.

David

Great, will do! Thanks David.

BCI

The body condition doesn't look bad at all; boas are very often overfed, which can lead to obesity and an early death. An adult like that should eat monthly with the feeder leaving a minimal lump. I'll bet it has no issues converting to f/t feeders.

Leave the eyes alone, correcting the humidity will let the boa deal with the eye caps - if in fact that's what they are. If it will take a f/t feeder you can offer it wet to help with rehydration.

I agree with a vet checkup with a fecal exam plus a 90-day quarantine period.

Glad he has a better future.
Good looking snake!
Congrats.

OK, now I've heard feeding every week or two is favorable to once a month, but maybe that's just for BPs that I'm thinking of (I have 2 :love:)? Can you clarify?

Pythons generally have a faster metabolism & digestion, so they can eat every 7-14 days.

Boas have a fairly slow metabolism, most adults do perfectly fine on 4-6 week feedings. Again, it's all too easy to overfeed them, which will cut decades off of their lifespan. Your rescue does not appear underfed, it has a very nice square body shape.

It looks in pretty good shape, not underweight to me. But def not a red tail. So glad you took this one in, how horrible a situation that was! not sure I would have kept my mouth shut.

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Originally Posted by Kokorobosoi

It looks in pretty good shape, not underweight to me. But def not a red tail. So glad you took this one in, how horrible a situation that was! not sure I would have kept my mouth shut.

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Hi, good job to rescue it![emoji106]🏻
But it doesn't look like a red tail for me too. Are you sure, that's burn injuries at his belly (especially if there was no heating in the cage)? The Honduras Boa for example has a red belly in a natural way.


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Originally Posted by bcr229

Pythons generally have a faster metabolism & digestion, so they can eat every 7-14 days.

Boas have a fairly slow metabolism, most adults do perfectly fine on 4-6 week feedings. Again, it's all too easy to overfeed them, which will cut decades off of their lifespan. Your rescue does not appear underfed, it has a very nice square body shape.

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Somebody who gets it!

Though I'm not surprised at all seeing as bcr229 keeps a wide variety of species.

I will say at times I will feed my boa a rather large prey item, but this is followed by AT LEAST one month with nothing, and usually preceded by a meal that would be considered undersized the month before.

My BC will not eat at all from November to April and I use seasonal temp drops and decreased lighting during the winter months.

As bcr229 stated boa constrictors are usually overfed. I'd bet 95% of all captive BCs see too much food.

I was certainly on that track myself early on.

Your snake, OP, looks to be in very good health at least by looking at the body.

I think after the vet check you'll be all set!

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Originally Posted by Gio

I'd bet 95% of all captive BCs see too much food.

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Actually, I think 95% of captive snakes see too much food.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

Actually, I think 95% of captive snakes see too much food.

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One thing about those "frustrating" royal pythons is that they will shut YOU down before you figure out they are getting too much.

They are the longest lived snake for a reason, and I think it a big part of it is they self regulate their metabolism.

But I agree, snakes DO NOT need a feeding schedule. The "feast of famine" approach works well with my group.

I can't thank you all enough for all your assistance and support. Here's an update!

SHE allowed me to sex her, and she shed!! Only had a small patch of shed stuck near her neck so I soaked her with a warm wet towel for about 45 minutes and then she let me gently rub off the stuck part of her shed. Her temperament is so sweet, and she ate a F/T rat about a week ago with no issues post-shed (whew!). I believe she is actually a Boa Constrictor Imperator, not an authentic red tail (you guys were right, imagine that!)

After her shed her belly remained the same color so I'm not entirely sure those are burns, burn scars, or simply her coloration. There were two pieces of old adhesive stuck to the bottom of the tank I got her in, leading me to believe she may have had poor UTH at some point. She also pooped yesterday and it appears perfectly healthy.

What a tremendous relief... I will probably still end up taking her to the vet just in case, but do you guys think it's even necessary at this point? I've heard from a few people that proper husbandry and care is usually all you need to fix problems, but I'm very protective and cautious of the critters in my care. We just don't have any herp specialists in the area so I'm wondering what good it will do?

Again, thank you all so much!!

then every new snake should be seen initially. Stool samples should be run as well. Snakes can be very cryptic about health problems, and a good vet can spot things you have missed.

Make sure you find a good exotic vet who knows about snakes. It is easy to get a vet who is less informed than you about reps.

Just my 2 cents. of course you could just wing it and there is at least a 90 % chance things will be fine. Of course there is always the chance it won't.

David

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nightrainfalls

then every new snake should be seen initially. Stool samples should be run as well. Snakes can be very cryptic about health problems, and a good vet can spot things you have missed.

Make sure you find a good exotic vet who knows about snakes. It is easy to get a vet who is less informed than you about reps.

Just my 2 cents. of course you could just wing it and there is at least a 90 % chance things will be fine. Of course there is always the chance it won't.

David

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Very, very true. I found a vet here in town who works with the wildlife rescue agency I volunteer with, and she just did some surgeries on water snakes that were injured. I'm going to take the BCI to her with some poopies. Better to be safe than sorry. Also is there a test the vet can do for IBD??

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Originally Posted by O'Mathghamhna

Also is there a test the vet can do for IBD??

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There is a blood test that can be done down at the University of Florida but if the boa isn't showing symptoms there's really no reason to do it, unless you know she came from a collection that had a snake diagnosed with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by bcr229

There is a blood test that can be done down at the University of Florida but if the boa isn't showing symptoms there's really no reason to do it, unless you know she came from a collection that had a snake diagnosed with it.

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Thank you!! I have already been in contact with the wonderful folks at UF about her. She isn't showing symptoms but the disease makes me paranoid. Also she came from a horrible home that did have a BP, although the snakes were not housed together. I will keep an eye on her and if I see symptoms I'll take her in for the blood test. Thanks again!:)