Hey, all. I work in wildlife rehab and have 2 ball pythons of my own that I rescued a few years ago... A few days ago I got a message from a local Herp board member in my area who was offering her boa constrictor for sale with its tank for $100. She essentially said she was having "bad luck" and couldn't afford to keep the snake any longer. The picture she posted was that of this boa surrounded by its own feces and old shed. She was afraid to put her hand in the tank because it might "break her wrists," the snake belonged to her fiance who is now in jail, blah blah. Anyway after messaging her that I would take the snake no questions asked but not pay her one red cent, she agreed to let me come by.

This poor guy was in a large tank with NO heat, NO humidity, a filthy water bowl with slimy furry sludge on the bottom that had never been cleaned, no hides, it was just awful. So I took it with gritted teeth (I wanted to punch this b*%$%in the face) and left. Here's what she told me about the snake; how much of it is true, I don't know:

Unsexed red tail boa constrictor purchased one year ago from a pet store. Unknown when last shed was, has cloudy eye caps. Last ate allegedly 2 weeks ago, was only fed live rats and in its tank, no less. Poop in tank looked healthy for what it's worth. Is "aggressive" when tank lid open (durr, hence the live feeding).

I was unable to tell if the eye caps are cloudy from its last shed, or because it's about to shed again. I was unable to see any pieces sticking out around the eye to pull at. I put some olive oil on them yesterday. The snake is currently in a new tank, with a warm hide and a cool hide, a fresh bowl of water, and a mister giving humidity. For bedding as of now I'm using Dri-Dek with newspaper underneath.

Head with cloudy eye cap:


Tummy with possible burns:





Top of body:





I need help with identification (boa constrictor constrictor or boa constrictor imperator), and advice to help with the burns/eyes/feeding. Thanks so much to everyone in advance for all your help!