i might have a problem

i just got this boa last week. they said she was about 3-4 years old, shes probably around 5 1/2 long but i haven't been able to measure her yet

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f1...8cb81a7a8c.jpg

my problem is that when she exhales i can hear her make a squeeking noise. it lasts from about 10-20 seconds. any ideas on whats wrong with her? i've never had any thing like this happen with any of my other snakes so i'm not sure whats going on with her

actually, she might be more like 6 1/2 feet

She looks like she might be in shed... very dark. Is her belly pinkish? If she's in shed, I would wait until she's finished before you start worrying too much. Sometimes, when the shed starts peeling away inside their noses, they make a squeaking noise when they breathe.

It was brought up in another thread that boas seem to make loud exhales... my big girl does, as do some other big boas that people own on this site. Just seems to be something they do... maybe it's hauling those big boa butts around :)

The other possibility is, of course, an RI... respiratory infection. Kinda like a cold for a snake. The wheezing is caused by mucus build up---does she have any build-up in her mouth?

If you're worried, take her to the vet. Always the best option to alleviate your fears :gj:

thanks for the reply.. and yeah shes in shed. i thought it may have been an RI, thats why i'm so worried but i haven't noticed any mucus. i'll wait until she sheds, if shes still doing it after i will set up a vet appointment for her

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Originally Posted by ladywhipple02

She looks like she might be in shed... very dark. Is her belly pinkish? If she's in shed, I would wait until she's finished before you start worrying too much. Sometimes, when the shed starts peeling away inside their noses, they make a squeaking noise when they breathe.

It was brought up in another thread that boas seem to make loud exhales... my big girl does, as do some other big boas that people own on this site. Just seems to be something they do... maybe it's hauling those big boa butts around :)

The other possibility is, of course, an RI... respiratory infection. Kinda like a cold for a snake. The wheezing is caused by mucus build up---does she have any build-up in her mouth?

If you're worried, take her to the vet. Always the best option to alleviate your fears :gj:

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that looks just like the boa my cousin got stolen from him in arizona.

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

that looks just like the boa my cousin got stolen from him in arizona.

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i wouldn't know, they said they had her for 2 months

uh oh thats never good

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

that looks just like the boa my cousin got stolen from him in arizona.

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How did he manage to get a 6 ft boa stolen thats a feat in itself

no worries i dont even really like my cousin lol. and plus the one that was stolen, its tail was kinda messed up at the end. but it always breathed really heavey to the point where it sounded like it was hissing at you all the time, but wasnt

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Originally Posted by jdmls88

uh oh thats never good



How did he manage to get a 6 ft boa stolen thats a feat in itself

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yeah, i was kind of wondering the same thing..

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Originally Posted by patthesnakeman

no worries i dont even really like my cousin lol. and plus the one that was stolen, its tail was kinda messed up at the end. but it always breathed really heavey to the point where it sounded like it was hissing at you all the time, but wasnt

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i never noticed anything weird about her tail, i'll wait to see if the breathing thing clears up after the shed. is heavy breathing a common thing for snakes like this? it doesn't sound like hissing really, more like a really quiet dog toy

thats a nicaragin boa, i have a male and a female of them, trying to breed. but she might have RI and get her to the doctors right away

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Originally Posted by cutler07

thats a nicaragin boa, i have a male and a female of them, trying to breed. but she might have RI and get her to the doctors right away

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How can you judge that from the pic? No way to prove its a nic and looks nothing like the hundreds of farmed nics I dug through to pick out the one I have. Not starting an argument, just saying

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Originally Posted by Pork Chops N' Corn Bread

How can you judge that from the pic? No way to prove its a nic and looks nothing like the hundreds of farmed nics I dug through to pick out the one I have. Not starting an argument, just saying

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the people i got it from said it was a central radtail, i've been taking care of it according to the redtail caresheet and what i've read on this forum, does it matter if theres a correct id on it? or isn't it all the same care?

boas are diffrent,

diffrent speices of boas, some live in really hot humid dry areas while others live in mosit humid areas. so yea

and its a nic by the face, patterns. but yea some boas neeed diffrent care

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Originally Posted by cutler07

boas are diffrent,

diffrent speices of boas, some live in really hot humid dry areas while others live in mosit humid areas. so yea

and its a nic by the face, patterns. but yea some boas neeed diffrent care

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well, i have 2 people telling me its a differnt kind of snake, so i'm not sure what to do on this.. i'm still just following the reg. redtail care sheet i found, unless someone can clear this up for me. i'll take some close up pictures after she sheds, that might help, i hope.

tehre all basically the same, but some boas may neeed a llittle change in the enviroment

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Originally Posted by cutler07

tehre all basically the same, but some boas may neeed a llittle change in the enviroment

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oh i completely understand that, i just don't know what changes she needs though because i'm so confused on her id.. i'll be going to the vet soon to get her checked out and i'll see if the doctor can shed some light on what type of snake she is.. and once her skin clears up i'll take some pics outside and close ups of her face.. .that might help people on here try to help me id her

How did the possible RI turn out? Did the weezing go away after she shed? If she's still doing it you may want to turn her heat up a little bit. It may save you a trip to the vet...

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Originally Posted by BoaJones

How did the possible RI turn out? Did the weezing go away after she shed? If she's still doing it you may want to turn her heat up a little bit. It may save you a trip to the vet...

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hi.. her first vet appointment was the day after her shed, and the shed did not make the weezing go away.
she was on 2 weeks of injected antibiotics (one shot every other day) and then had a check up appoitment.. she still had weezing so she is now on another 2 weeks of injected antibiotics, and hopefully this will help.
but as of now she is still making some noise when she breathes, and she is still in a seperate room from my other snakes.

at the check up appointment the vet said that the snake was looking better though, and she still has a healthy weight.. and she ate for me last week.. so things are looking up.
i'll post another update after the next week and a half of antibiotics are over

Thanks for the update. We'll keep you in our thoughts.

Chris & Tracy.

Glad you had her seen and she's being treated. A boa I rescued was left untreated through at least one RI and ended up with pretty much permanent lung damage. She's now in Becky's good care and will be fine, she just must be managed properly. It's great you got on top of this quickly and hopefully she'll be just fine after treatment.

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Originally Posted by frankykeno

Glad you had her seen and she's being treated. A boa I rescued was left untreated through at least one RI and ended up with pretty much permanent lung damage. She's now in Becky's good care and will be fine, she just must be managed properly. It's great you got on top of this quickly and hopefully she'll be just fine after treatment.

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She seems to being doing well, she ate the past 2 weeks for me (which would be the first 2 times shes actually eaten since shes been here) And I finally got some PAM today, so tomorrow I'm going to get her cage taken care of.
I'm ordering her a new cage from RBI too so I can keep up better with her temps/humidity. She should have a very nice life with me, I love her so much already. Shes a very nice, docile snake considering what shes been through.

The only thing is that shes been on 3 weeks of antibiotics and she still makes some noises when she breathes, do you think this is just something she will do? I no longer notice any mucas coming out of her nose and the vet said she was looking A LOT better at her second appointment.