New Baby BCI Boa - Possible sickness

[FractalVision]

Hi everyone,

I was wanting to share this here, as I am very concerned.
I bought a baby male BCI boa today from the reptile store.
I got him home, set him up in his temporary RUB tub, hide, waterbowl. For substrate, I used paper towels, a little aspen bedding, and some sphagnum moss for humidity.
Hot side 33, cool side 24.

He went inside the hide, so I left him. I went to check his temps etc before bed, and noticed some bizarre behaviour. I am very concerned that this could be early stages of IBD or some neuro disease? What do you guys think? The head and neck are twitching back,
and he keeps opening/closing his mouth fast, every now and again. https://youtu.be/dN4x6jJmfcY

I have moved him to a different room on the other side of the house. I am afraid for my ball python.
I will call the reptile store first thing in the morning, and really hope that they help sort this out.

Any input is most appreciated. If I'm honest, it's just nice to post here, as it's 1am and there is nothing I can do about it right now.

[Jus1More]

Hmmm... maybe he got some of that moss in his mouth? Just a guess, but hopefully someone else will chime in soon with an answer. I hope your baby will be alright. Please keep us posted and hang in there!!

[AbsoluteApril]

Yeah that doesn't look good. He was laying kind of strangely as well, I would be concerned. Have you checked him for mites? Does he move around normally at all? I'd either take him back to the store or to the vet.
A random twitch or the mouth thing once, I wouldn't worry, could have woken up weird or got startled but the fact he keeps doing it is what has me worried.
Deff need to keep any new additions away from your established collection in quarantine.
I hope things turn out okay.

[FractalVision]

Another vid which highlights the issue.

https://youtu.be/8k7jneoYFeA

[FractalVision]

That was my first (and most hopeful) thought, that he may have got a bit of moss in his mouth, but combined with the repeated jerky twitches, I don't think this is the case unfortunately.

Thank you for your time, I will keep you posted.

[Sauzo]

Something is amiss. Check inside his mouth for a piece of aspen or moss. Also you can just hold the boa by the tail and let his body hang down. He should be able to double back on himself and climb back up to your hand no problem. Usually boas with IBD would corkscrew and not be able to climb back up.

But yeah, other than the mouth deal, his head movement and laying looks weird. I would probably take him back to the pet shop. Did he not do this stuff when you held him at the pet shop and examined him?

[FractalVision]

Thanks for the advice, I do agree with you. I don't think this is right at all.
I literally only got him this afternoon, so I have not even had time with him. I left him to get settled, he went in his hide. It was when I went to check on him tonight that I saw this.
I didn't see any mites, but I am not sure. As this is his first night here, I just want him to be as comfortable as possible, and not touch him.

Being that I only just got him, I will contact the store first thing in the morning.

[FractalVision]

No, I let the lady hold him infront of me, and to my eyes he looked fine. Admittedly I am not an expert, and this is something that I probably wouldn't have noticed in the shop.
This is my first boa, and I was a bit nervous of him at first.
Now, in the comfort of my own home I noticed the problem.

[Sauzo]

Well, like i said, did he do this stuff or move weird when you examined him at the pet shop? Also make sure you dont have it too hot in there as i assume you got heat tape on the floor of the tub under the hide? Too hot coupled with no other hiding spot can overheat the snake. Snakes arent exactly the sharpest tool in the shed sometimes and will sometimes sacrifice their welfare of being too cold or too hot in favor of a secure hiding spot.

[Sauzo]

No, I let the lady hold him infront of me, and to my eyes he looked fine. Admittedly I am not an expert, and this is something that I probably wouldn't have noticed in the shop.
This is my first boa, and I was a bit nervous of him at first.
Now, in the comfort of my own home I noticed the problem.

Ah, should have held him yourself and did a basic check like look for mites under the chin between the skin flap, around the eyes, around the cloaca. And hang him by the tail and see if he can climb back up to your hand with no problems. Also feel for any weird lumps/bumps, dry skin, stuck shed etc. A bite from a baby boa is nothing. I actually got tagged by my 6.5 foot girl for the first time in over 5 years and it didnt hurt. Was more of a shock as i stood there just staring at me arm as she latched on and then let go lol. Lots of blood and hurt feelings but that was it.