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  1. #1
    Registered User SnekNoodle's Avatar
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    Question BCI random death?

    Hey everyone, I had a Boa Imperator, got him as a baby and had him for probably 5ish months. He did so well, was sweet (never ever struck at anyone) very lively and always moving around. Never skipped a meal either. This morning when I left for work he was up and crawling around his tree limb and then I came back just now and he passed away. We had just fed him Saturday as well so I am not sure what we did wrong in this situation... humidity always around 70 percent, big water bowl always filled (could fit two of him inside of it), had a hide, climbing areas, and a temp of about 88 degrees on the warm side. I’m not sure what could have caused his passing, but I would love to know. I wanted a baby boa to watch grow up into a big adult so this is hard to see.

  2. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    I'm so sorry for the untimely loss of your boa...that's hard, to lose such a young & seemingly healthy snake.

    Unfortunately there's no way for us to know what caused this- the best information would come from having an experienced herp. vet do a necropsy to find out why he
    died. You'd want to keep his body cool (in the refrigerator, but NOT the freezer) if you decide to do this...& you'll need to make some fast arrangements. It may or may
    not give you exact answers, but it's nice to rule out some very serious & contagious ailments that might have caused this...especially if you plan to get another snake to
    replace him...you want to be sure he doesn't catch the same illness from the pet you just lost. No way to know if there were any signs that you might have missed, like
    is this your first snake? But you may have done absolutely nothing "wrong" & that would be reassuring to know also. How high were his branches? I suppose he could
    have fallen & landed wrong, but that's not a common thing at all. Also, since he was so young, it's possible that he had some invisible defect that caused this, just like
    some children are born with a "hole in their heart" that needs repair...that sort of thing can happen with snakes also, & they're so stoic! So, again...I hope you can get
    some answers, but either way, so sorry for your loss.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  3. #3
    Registered User SnekNoodle's Avatar
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    Re: BCI random death?

    Thank you for your quick response. We may not be able to get a necropsy done at this time. However I I can answer a few of your questions. This isn’t my first snake, me and my girlfriend keep all kinds of reptiles and she has had many snakes (mainly corn and balls). Currently we have two ball pythons (one 8 month old and one 2 year old) we also have a 5 year old Coastal x Jungle Carpet Python. We’ve never had a boa before but I thought I had everything right for him. His branches height from the ground were only about half the length of his body, so he could easily go in and out and move about them. What’s weird is that the only other animal we’ve ever had that died unexpectedly was our Peters Banded Skink (very new to the trade and nobody can seem to keep them alive for long or even breed them. Ours I believe was septic (his belly had red and pink scales that grew more numerous over time), but alas the vets couldn’t save him unfortunately. Thank you for your help.
    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    I'm so sorry for the untimely loss of your boa...that's hard, to lose such a young & seemingly healthy snake.

    Unfortunately there's no way for us to know what caused this- the best information would come from having an experienced herp. vet do a necropsy to find out why he
    died. You'd want to keep his body cool (in the refrigerator, but NOT the freezer) if you decide to do this...& you'll need to make some fast arrangements. It may or may
    not give you exact answers, but it's nice to rule out some very serious & contagious ailments that might have caused this...especially if you plan to get another snake to
    replace him...you want to be sure he doesn't catch the same illness from the pet you just lost. No way to know if there were any signs that you might have missed, like
    is this your first snake? But you may have done absolutely nothing "wrong" & that would be reassuring to know also. How high were his branches? I suppose he could
    have fallen & landed wrong, but that's not a common thing at all. Also, since he was so young, it's possible that he had some invisible defect that caused this, just like
    some children are born with a "hole in their heart" that needs repair...that sort of thing can happen with snakes also, & they're so stoic! So, again...I hope you can get
    some answers, but either way, so sorry for your loss.

  4. #4
    Registered User SnekNoodle's Avatar
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    Re: BCI random death?

    Also, to add on to my original reply, we had him for about 5 months and he was very alert and active, albeit a very weird acting snake. Another thing I just remembered, he never shed. Not once during this time. But I would think that having him for 5 months would allow for any illnesses to show. Also by weird acting, he loved to just sit on the glass halfway up (cool and warm side at random times), but he’d soak in his water, climb his tree, sunbathe on his hide, sleep in his hide or in the branch. Very alert when taken out of his enclosure as well.

  5. #5
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: BCI random death?

    Quote Originally Posted by SnekNoodle View Post
    Also, to add on to my original reply, we had him for about 5 months and he was very alert and active, albeit a very weird acting snake. Another thing I just remembered, he never shed. Not once during this time. But I would think that having him for 5 months would allow for any illnesses to show. Also by weird acting, he loved to just sit on the glass halfway up (cool and warm side at random times), but he’d soak in his water, climb his tree, sunbathe on his hide, sleep in his hide or in the branch. Very alert when taken out of his enclosure as well.
    A young snake that never shed in 5 mos. is pretty strange, unless underfed (& that's not an accusation of any kind); it really makes me think something odd was going on. No signs of un-coordination (neurological issues)? I'm wondering if his "sitting on the glass halfway up" could be classified as "stargazing"? I hope he was quarantined from all your others.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 12-11-2019 at 11:38 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  6. #6
    bcr229's Avatar
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    Sometimes baby snakes have a congenital defect that will kill them unexpectedly even though they thrive for a few months. It's rare, but it does happen.

  7. #7
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: BCI random death?

    Quote Originally Posted by bcr229 View Post
    Sometimes baby snakes have a congenital defect that will kill them unexpectedly even though they thrive for a few months. It's rare, but it does happen.
    That's more than likely what it was...one of the sad risks of starting with "baby" snakes, & one reason they're cheaper than older ones that are more established.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  8. #8
    BPnet Veteran Gocntry's Avatar
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    Re: BCI random death?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    I'm wondering if his "sitting on the glass halfway up" could be classified as "stargazing"? I hope he was quarantined from all your others.

    Sneknoodle, My Condolences on your Boa passing away


    Just to add a little info,

    My BCI Boa does this same thing every now and then (Glass terrarium) , don't know why, but don't believe it's stargazing. Maybe she is just looking out? She is 2+ years old as far as I know,maybe older, sheds like she's supposed to and is very gentle when she is out for handling. she also uses her hides, and is stable when she is roaming around.

  9. #9
    Bogertophis's Avatar
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    Re: BCI random death?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gocntry View Post
    ...

    My BCI Boa does this same thing every now and then (Glass terrarium) , don't know why, but don't believe it's stargazing. Maybe she is just looking out? She is 2+ years old as far as I know,maybe older, sheds like she's supposed to and is very gentle when she is out for handling. she also uses her hides, and is stable when she is roaming around.
    To be clear, most ALL snakes will ride up the glass now & then, & that is not "stargazing". What I meant though is that IN THIS CASE there is a lack of symptoms, so I'm trying to read into what little there was for some better indication of what may have gone wrong, especially since we do not all describe things the same way...and none of us (other than the OP) actually saw the snake.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

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    Gocntry (12-12-2019)

  11. #10
    Registered User SnekNoodle's Avatar
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    Re: BCI random death?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    To be clear, most ALL snakes will ride up the glass now & then, & that is not "stargazing". What I meant though is that IN THIS CASE there is a lack of symptoms, so I'm trying to read into what little there was for some better indication of what may have gone wrong, especially since we do not all describe things the same way...and none of us (other than the OP) actually saw the snake.
    He was fed pretty much every 7 days a small pinky. He loved them. Never grew (thought this was just as it was with Boa’s since I know they’re slow growers so I didn’t really think anything of the shedding either). But he did act really odd every few days or so. Most of the time he was crawling around his log and his branch or in his hide at night, but every so often he would bunch up at the glass and have his body and his head straight up on the glass about a third the length of his body and would stay there for a while. But other than that acted super normal and alert. Whenever we got him out he acted just like any other snake, would hold onto one of my fingers with his tail and crawl about my hand. Me and my girlfriend do not have the space for an adult boa right now which is why we chose to go with a baby from a reputable breeder. We will have the space in about a year or so which is again why we chose to go with a baby. Having a Tegu and an adult coastal x jungle carpet python takes up the majority of our reptile area just the enclosures alone haha.

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