New boa owner, and I've got some questions

[Shyanna]

Okay, I'll start by saying I have a BP and I wanted something that got a bit bigger. So I did my research for three months and I finally got my female BCI about a week ago. She is just a baby, maybe a month or two old. Now I took her to my local reptile vet first thing for a health check. She got a clean bill of health on Thursday. Now I took her out of her enclosure today and she seems to be making popping sounds. I checked her her mouth and no excess mucus. Ever since I first got her though she seems to hold her head up ALL the time unless she is resting in her enclosure. Is that normal? I'm thinking about taking her back to the vet tomorrow.

Side note I'm a huge worrier! I just need some help going in the right direction on this!!! Any advice would be super appreciated.

Cage temp on warm side is 82 ambient with 90-94 hot spot.
On the cool side it stays about 75f
Humidity is between 50-70% usually sits around 60%
She ate a pinky rat on Thursday.
Heat source is a 100 watt heat bulb on a tstat.

[Bogertophis]

BCI's prefer a little cooler than BPs...your temps seem OK as long as the options are roughly equal space (ie. she can get away from that hot spot as needed).

Is she nearing a shed? Any chance there's retained shed (or other grunge) in her nostrils? How about water in her nostrils? Many things can cause some popping
sounds, but you do want to pay close attention, especially since you mention she's holding her head up a lot also...possible RI but some things just resolve on their
own, & new snakes often hold their heads up just to look round ("dinner-time?") etc.

One concern I have: how are you measuring temps in her enclosure? If the only heat is an overhead light, what is the actual temp. of the cage floor? It might be
a lot cooler than you think. Where is she spending her time?

[Shyanna]

I have a temp gun and it's reading in the mid to high 90s on the hot spot and around the 80s elsewhere on the warm side. The cool side is in the 71-75 on the floor. She is very very young so she tends to like a little standing plant on the the warm side of the cage. If she is digesting she hides under a beach where the temp stays about 90-92. On the cool side she likes it in the very corner where it is the absolute coolest at about 71.

I've tried a UTH, but I could not get the ambient temps high enough. And I have a pretty thick layer of substrate (2-3 inches), don't know if that would adversely affect the UTH heat coming through or not.

I didn't notice anything in her nose. No stuck shed. I don't know when her last she'd was either so no idea if she is about to go into shed. If she has water in her nose then I can't see it.

Also have a digital hygrometer and thermometer on the hot side too.

I was told where I bought her that uth were bad for boas since they are so heavy bodied that they can burn them. I told them I had it on a tstat. They replied that they still were not good for them and told me I needed to keep her temps on her hot spot about 95 degrees and cool side in the eighties.

Side note: just had her out to check on her and she passed something really hard with her urates. I only know this because I had to clean it off the floor and the bed... Then she just kept trying to go, her vent was really swollen and inflamed. I'm I just overly worried?

[Bogertophis]

No, you're not overly worried, just paying attention, which is what caring pet-owners do.

I've kept all kinds of snakes for over 3 decades, but only one BCI in all that time, & never had any health problems with her, which was a miracle since she came to me
as a yearling, having changed hands many times in her first year. (she was very scared & bit everyone vigorously enough so they all gave up & gave her away) Anyway
I used both UTH and over-head heat in a large glass tank (insulated on sides, back & bottom). My house is thermostat controlled for minimum 70* (winter) & 80* in the
summer, so that helps too...I mean, if your house is really cold, it's harder to adequately heat your snake enclosures.

Any snake can get a little dehydrated & pass some hardened urates...hopefully she passed everything? (they can sometimes truly get stuck, I've helped snakes with that
before too, but DO see your vet if she still has an issue) Might want to use a bit of Vetericyn on her sore cloaca (it's made for snake-use, a water-based topical antiseptic
gel, found in pet stores & online).

Burns from excessive UTH heat is common in BPs, for sure, but only when they aren't regulated properly. Most snakes seem to like "belly heat" & I've been using UTH
for as long as I've kept snakes with no thermal burns ever. But you're correct that the heat will have trouble penetrating thru deep substrate, & if you cranked it up all
the way so the heat got thru, your snake could push the substrate away & get burned for sure. Suggest you always use a thermostat with heat sources. I preferred
using one layer of indoor-outdoor carpeting for my BCI, cut to fit her tank; no, it didn't "hold humidity" but it did everything I wanted it to, perfectly. It provided good
traction, allowed the UTH heat right thru, dried easily if water was spilled, & looked nice (comes in brown, green, tan, etc). Besides that, it saves alot of money on sub-
strate & avoids the mess, but alas, you have to hand-wash it. I cut several pieces so I always had a spare ready to change her cage. It's practically indestructible too,
you can disinfect with a bit of bleach (as long as you don't over-do it...ALL the fumes MUST be gone as they are toxic & irritating to snakes); it also dries fast- you can
even shake the water out of it & use it damp for added humidity (until it dries that is).

I'm guessing you bought her in a "pet store"? 95* is way too hot for a BCI, & pet stores are notorious for giving out bad information...just saying. Mine preferred upper
80's at the max (& mid 70's on the cool side) & all you have to do is read some professional sources to verify that.

[jmcrook]

https://www.amazon.com/The-More-Comp...3125150&sr=8-1



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[Bogertophis]

https://www.amazon.com/The-More-Comp...3125150&sr=8-1



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Yes, like that one! ^ ^ ^ ^ ^

[Shyanna]

Thank you so much for all the info. I did a ton of research before I got her and then they asked me some questions in store and told me that all I read was wrong. They started telling me that what I read was too cold. Said all I need is a heat bulb and just get her hot spot to 95. When I told them the problems I was experiencing they were helpful at first then told me I should just return her and that she wasn't having all these problems at the store.

I'm not saying they aren't trying to take care of their animals, but I don't want to return her like she is some product I'm dissatisfied with.

I'll pick up that book and I was wondering where do you get the indoor out door carpet from?

[Bogertophis]

Thank you so much for all the info. I did a ton of research before I got her and then they asked me some questions in store and told me that all I read was wrong. They started telling me that what I read was too cold. Said all I need is a heat bulb and just get her hot spot to 95. When I told them the problems I was experiencing they were helpful at first then told me I should just return her and that she wasn't having all these problems at the store.

I'm not saying they aren't trying to take care of their animals, but I don't want to return her like she is some product I'm dissatisfied with.

I'll pick up that book and I was wondering where do you get the indoor out door carpet from?

Indoor-outdoor carpet: you can buy that at Home Depot & Lowe's, places like that. It's actually pretty cheap, sold by the foot on 12' wide rolls usually, so plan ahead for exact measurements to get several carpets cut if you go this route. It's backless, btw, & you can cut it easily with scissors or sewing shears...it's about 1/4" thick & made of nylon or polyester fibers. And btw, most ppl with boas don't think to use carpet, & for sure, there's more than one way to achieve a proper environment, but I described what I liked about it & you can decide for yourself if you try it. It's definitely the cheapest & greenest way, since it's so re-usable, but ppl with many snakes would probably not want to wash many carpets. I have mostly colubrids now & use paper shreds & Carefresh, but for a heavy-bodied snake like the big BCI I had, I thought it was perfect- heavy snakes usually pushsubstrates around quite a lot, trying to get traction. When you measure your enclosure for carpet, add about 3" on all sides for best results: then cut a small square out of each corner to make it easier to fold up a couple inches on each side. (I hope that makes sense?) This is optional, but I liked how that worked the best: for one thing, it's abrasive enough that when your snake sheds, she can then slide against the sides effectively to remove her old skin. Most boas don't try to burrow under substrates but it deflects that behavior too, & also helps contain their feces (makes it neater)...it's fairly stiff, but will soften some with use (after some of the stiffening material washes off the back side).

Ppl that work in pet stores may mean well, but they are in business to make sales, so they either don't know enough, OR they try to make care sound easy enough & cheap enough so that they don't kill the sale. Light bulbs are not the best or most efficient way to heat...since they have to be outside on top, most of the heat rises into the roomrather than into the cage. UTH is much more efficient, since the warm is right where your snake needs it (tummy warmth to digest) & the heat rises right into the cage. And don't worry, all this gets much easier...just keep asking & reading. There's usually more than one way to achieve a good set-up, but those of us that have been doing this for many years have already tried things & try to save you some time & struggle.

[Shyanna]

I will look into that, thanks. I did my research for 3 months and thought I was prepared... I do have one more question though. I called my vet and my reptile vet will not be in till Wednesday morning. Is there anything I can do until then? I would take her to another vet but it's pretty cold out and it would be about a 3 hour drive to get her to someone, and that's if they even had and opening today.

[Moose84]

Okay, I'll start by saying I have a BP and I wanted something that got a bit bigger. So I did my research for three months and I finally got my female BCI about a week ago. She is just a baby, maybe a month or two old. Now I took her to my local reptile vet first thing for a health check. She got a clean bill of health on Thursday. Now I took her out of her enclosure today and she seems to be making popping sounds. I checked her her mouth and no excess mucus. Ever since I first got her though she seems to hold her head up ALL the time unless she is resting in her enclosure. Is that normal? I'm thinking about taking her back to the vet tomorrow.

Side note I'm a huge worrier! I just need some help going in the right direction on this!!! Any advice would be super appreciated.

Cage temp on warm side is 82 ambient with 90-94 hot spot.
On the cool side it stays about 75f
Humidity is between 50-70% usually sits around 60%
She ate a pinky rat on Thursday.
Heat source is a 100 watt heat bulb on a tstat.

I don't think you really have anything to worry about here. What you are describing sounds pretty normal. I have had boas make the popping noise before as well when they are exerting themselves during handling and nothing has ever came of it. The larger ones make quite a bit of noise during handling.

As far as the head up in the air.. I think what is going on here is you are comparing her to your ball python which is totally understandable. They are completely different from royals and are a LOT more curious about their surroundings. Ball pythons would rather hide their head and or go straight forward.

With all this being said, it will take some time to get used to. "Stargazing" in boas can be a sign/symptom of IBD..It is rather rare and if the animal was purchased from a reputable breeder then the chances of that are slim..

As long as your environment for the animal is ok I wouldn't worry too much. If they are on food, not throwing meals back up and otherwise acting normally you should be just fine..