Can someone help me please with a ibd question.

[4Dobermans]

Oh I didn’t get her until at least a 6 months later I believe and I had the cage out side for months in the cold, rain, and snow.I also washed the cage out with bleach or something. If it was outside in that weather, shouldn’t that have disinfected it in itself? I got them in 2018, it was a year or so because they died only a few months after.
Could the bent or raised scales be because of humidity, I have been keeping it pretty dry in there because I don’t want her to get colder with cold water.

[Bogertophis]

As long as she still can climb up things, eat and slither. Also what would be the reason for some of her scales to be bent or sticking out without any mites.

Love your lack of answers...

Bent scales happen, but could indicate dehydration.

[4Dobermans]

If you look up, you would see I gave the answers. 👍

[4Dobermans]

I am still trying to figure out how to work this but if you look at the answer above you.

[bcr229]

The IBD virus is relatively delicate and wouldn't persist for months outside in cold weather. It's not crypto.

You do need to fix your temps though.

[4Dobermans]

I have been trying but the blue light isn’t keeping it hot enough and the other bulb is 150 watt and my do
e only takes 100watt. It also gets too hot, and the ceramic heat emitter gets too hot. The red light gives her a persistent soft breeze of heat. I have 6 different bulbs. One blew up and the other blew out, one gets way too hot, one gets too hot and is too many watts. That leaves me with the blue light and red light, plus a repti sun uvb bulb.

if I did use the ceramic and it got a little hot under there, would she move on her own?

[GoingPostal]

Again, you need a dimmer or thermostat on any heating element to ensure it stays at a safe and stable temp. Do you have a picture of the setup? We can likely help you troubleshoot and figure out a better way to keep temps.

[4Dobermans]

I don’t even know how to put pictures on here. And what’s a good brand?

[WrongPython]

The easiest way to post photos here is to download the Tapatalk app on your smartphone. The base version of the app is free and allows you to upload photos from your phone to your posts.

Now on to your boa, OP: the other keepers on this thread have given some solid advice. First things first, I would make sure that you have a proper temperature gradient established and that your boa is properly hydrated. Overheating in boas (and a lot of other snakes, for that matter) can lead to neurological behaviors that resemble a symptomatic case of IBD. You mention the various heaters you've tried have gotten "too hot," so it sounds like overheating may be at play here. It also sounds like you aren't using a thermostat to regulate your heat sources. If that's the case, you should get one ASAP! Herpstat thermostats are the best out there, and while they're a bit expensive, they are totally worth the money.

In your case (what sounds like a cold house), you'll need to raise your boa's ambient temperatures and establish a proper basking spot. To do that, you'll need a Herpstat 2 (to control two heat sources), a ceramic heat emitter (CHE) to raise the ambient temps, and either a heat mat (UTH) or heat projector (DHP) to provide a focused basking spot. You can leave the UV-B light if you wish, but do not bother with any of the colored heat lights -- they aren't what you need here, and the even the red "night lights" give off enough light to disturb snakes' nature day/night cycles. Put both of the heaters on the warm side of the enclosure and hook them up to the Herpstat. Set the CHE to around 80F (a good warm side ambient) and the UTH/DHP to around 86-88F (boas' normally preferred basking spot range). This should keep you boas' setup properly warm -- just be sure to check your temps regularly and keep an eye on humidity.

Now, a bit about IBD: as Bogertophis said, a boa with symptomatic IBD is blatantly uncoordinated -- think active, constant, and pronounced corkscrewing versus a bit of incoordination. They may also be laying on their sides for no apparently reason, generally incapable of controlling their movements, flicking their tongue excessively, and mentally dull. There are videos on YouTube (some of which feature interviews with the researchers who first described IBD) that provide good examples of this. That being said, IBD may sometimes be "silent," in that some boas act as silent carriers of the disease for many years before succumbing to it. There's still debate over how prevalent IBD really is -- some say it's rare, others put the prevalence as high as 30% in common/morph boas -- but it's something that boa owners should be aware and cautious of. You can read about IBD (and other boa ailments that mimic it) in more detail in The Boa Constrictor Manual by Philippe de Vosjoli, Roger Klingenberg (DVM), and Jeff Ronne.

If you'd like to get your snake tested, the University of Florida's diagnostic lab is the place to go. Keep in mind that they only work directly with vets, so you will have to bring your boa in to one if you'd like to get them screened:

https://labs.vetmed.ufl.edu/availabl...ed-infections/

In general, if you snake is showing any sort of neurological symptoms that don't have an immediate answer (ie. overheating, genetic wobble), you'll want to enact quarantine procedures immediately. Don't bring any new snakes in, isolate the symptomatic snake from any other reptiles you have, and reach out to your vet if you can't find the cause. Again: it sounds like overheating is your issue here, but it wouldn't hurt to enact quarantine protocols and locate a good reptile vet in the event your boa doesn't improve (or gets worse).

Good luck!

[Bogertophis]

And for help finding a qualified herp vet near you:
https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661