Is this considered dehydration? Poor husbandry? Etc?

[Rakshasi]

The new boa that my grandfather had purchased for me (after seeing how he ((snake)) was being kept and all the "battle wounds" from being fed live) is causing alot of concern to make itself comfortable in my mind.

I have not had him very long, and he has had these "symptoms (?)" since he was handed to me. Perhaps I'm being paranoid because I've not got to hold such a large snake, and have only seen them through glass or pictures. I'm hoping it is just paranoia setting in, but I'm growing more concerned every time I look at the poor baby.

For one, his skin seems to be very loose. It folds even if he turns his body in a slight coil, it looks even worse when he's tightly coiled. When holding him, you can feel his skin kind of squish, and you can see it make a few folds on your hand, arm, etc.

Also, he has many raised scales, and places that look like what happens to our skin when we lean on something like the side of a desk.
That line indention that looks like this: ______

I noticed, too, that the poor boy has stuck shed in his nostrils.

I'm not sure what I should do about the stuck shed, if anything. But, please, if anybody knows why his skin feels and looks the way it does, explain to me. I'm so worried about him, because I must say, I've grown quite attached and I only want him to be comfortable and healthy.

I DO have a vet appointment for him, but since we have to wait to get in, I figured I would ask.

If it is dehydration, should I be misting him? I have him on aspen...would it cause mold growth? His humidity is at 55%, hot spot at 85 degrees F, cool spot at 75 degrees F. Could he be underweight? Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just concerned.

Thank you in advance! Any help would be appreciated.

[Holbeird]

Obviously without being there to look at the snake, and not knowing everything I can't really help too much.

To me it sounds like it could be either that he's underfed and needs to put on some weight, or it can be dehydration. Maybe take a look at his eyes. If you see indents in his eyes, that's another sign of dehydration, but even if there isn't, it doesn't mean he 100% isn't dehydrated.

First thing's first though, you gotta bump those temps up! I would get the cool side to 80 and the hot side to 90.

Here is the link for the care sheet here on this site. Check that out for more about the temps and such.
http://www.ball-pythons.net/modules....warticle&id=13

Also I know plenty of people who use aspen and dont have problems with mold, just make sure the aspen isn't soaking wet!

Other then that I'd just say get the guy to the vet so they can do a fecal and check him out a bit more.

[Rakshasi]

Thank you for your quick response!

The vet appointment is on the 29th. I couldn't get in any sooner, unfortunately.

The reason his temps are a tad low is because I had ill effects upping the temps in my younger boa's enclosure. He was kept at 90 on the hot side, and between 78 and 80 on the cool, and he always stood glued to the cool side. He went to the hot side once after a meal, and regurgitated the next day (food size was not increased, nothing had changed before he ate, no handling, no stressful situations). After that, he went right back to hovering on the cool side. It was suggested to me to lower the temps, so I did. He is now kept at 85 hot, 75 cool, and is doing great. No more regurges (since september, that one incident), and a much calmer snake. He's more happy to be out and about and doesn't stick to the cool side as if he's too exhausted to move. Thank you for the suggestion...I'll do my best to slowly increase the temps in the big guy's home, and hopefully it'll go well.

Thanks for all of your suggestions! I'll begin misting the aspen tonight. How often should it be done?

[JimiSnakes]

What are you using to read your temps and humidity levels? I use digitals only.

No Bci or Bcc should ever regurg at 90 deg for a hot side.

The one that regurgs-- have you ever had a fecal done? My boas spend about 1/4 of their time on the hot side and the rest on the cool side, but the hot side is still there, and should be. I'd bring a fecal in for that one too.

The new one-- Take a pillow case and submerge in luke warm water. Squeeze out any excess water and then put the boa in it and tie it up. Place him/her over the hot side for about an hour. Let him/her out and repeat this twice a day for at least 3 days. This Will get rid of the stuck sheds and will eliminate any dehydration issues. I mist my enclosures twice to three times a day. Keep the humidity levels at about 60% or so.
One last thing to remember is to feed this new guy/gal smaller meals at first so as not to stress out his/her digestive system. I would not feed him/her till after he/she poops each time you feed him/her till he/she is more acclimated to his/her new surroundings.

[Holbeird]

Not to hijack the thread but thanks for that last comment Jimi! It let's me know what i've been doing is right. That new red tail we rescued (sammy) was getting 1 small rat once a month and as to not overload his system by switching him to what he should be on (medium to large rats once a week, or two every two weeks) I'm gonna try and get a couple small rats in him first

Glad to know I had the right idea

[Holbeird]

OH and raven, about the temps, I never heard of that! I dont know alot about red tails so someone else will have to help ya out a bit more there, does seem weird that he'd reguritate with only 90 though. Sammy, and both the little guys have been on 90 hot and 80 cool and no problems (well, the female reguritated once, but we think it's because we had moved her to a higher traffic area while re-arranging the house and it stressed her out. We moved her back to her old area and no problems since then!)

But yeah, you might wanna take in some of her poop and have the doc check her too (or him!) hehe just in case

better safe than sorry!

[Pork Chops N' Corn Bread]

Woops. Mistake

[Rakshasi]

Thank you, Jim! That was all very useful information. The one that regurged just that once had a whole vet check up, and checked out fine. I get all of my snakes checked as quickly as possible. I'd be devastated if I introduced any diseases to my current babies, just because I wanted another snake. I realize, though, the snake DID only regurge once. Perhaps something did stress him that I wasn't aware of? Nothing had changed, but I could always be wrong, because I am not the snake, so I do not know what he was feeling at the time. It could have had nothing to do with the temps, but I've been too afraid to up them.

For temps and humidity, I, too, use only digital guns, along with an indoor/outdoor digital gauge (those little ones from walmart that show temp & humidity) on either side of the tank, just to be sure.

Thanks a bunch for the tips on the new guy! I did feed him a smaller meal just 2 days ago, so I'll be sure to wait for that first poop. I only fed him a smaller meal because that was the size of rat I had readily available, but good to hear it was also a good thing! I was following rules I didn't even know about until now.

To Holbeird...I found it weird, too. I was very shocked to have seen that he had regurgitated. I was always under the impression they liked the higher temps. I mean, now that I think about it, it may not have had anything to do with the temps, but it surely does appear to me that he LIKES the cooler side. I've never experienced that before. Talk about paranoia setting in and feeling like the world's worst snake mom, ever! After that incident, I've been treating him like glass, as if any wrong move could shatter him completely. I know that isn't healthy for my mental state, but it means less stress for him. I don't bother him as much as my other snakes, I don't put him on display for people to touch when I have company, I just let him be. He is aggressive, so I work with him only once or twice a week on that, to ensure he doesn't refuse meals or get too stressed. I don't really bother my other snakes too much (the new one hasn't been bothered at all, only for water changes, 1 feeding so far, and now mistings, and what Jim suggested, which i'll do when i see the first poop), either, but I'm alot more confident working with them because they're great eaters and seem to like being out and about to explore.

[Lady Python]

Watch the raised scales as that can be a sign of mites. When a snake has mites these nasty little horrors go under the scales and raise them. If he is on Aspen, seeing mites would be quite difficult that's why I have all my snakes (except my Pueblan Milksnake who's on Aspen) on white kitchen paper towel. Anything nasty can be spotted immediately. If he does have mites, then they can lead to the snake being anaemic because they suck the snake's blood. It would also make him very uncomfortable. Mites are about the size of a full stop, about 3 times the size after they've had a feed of the snake's blood. Easily dealt with especially in the USA as you can get Provent-a-Mite. We can't get that here in the UK (yet).


Taking him to the vet is the best way and I hope he gets healthy soon which I'm sure he will with such a caring new owner.

[Rakshasi]

Lady Python -
I was worried I'd hear he may have mites. I've been taking as many precautions as possible to avoid spreading them to the rest of my collection. I have not actually SEEN them, but the raised scales are definitely keeping me on my toes. How could I know for sure if he has mites? Should I put him on paper towels instead? If he has them, will they show up on me if I handle him?

I am going to check my local pet store to see if they have Provent-a-Mite...could I use it just as a precaution thing? Or is it a product that is STRICTLY for herps known to have mites? I was thinking, since I have no idea how to tell for sure if he has anything, I could go ahead and switch him to paper towels and use the PaM and I'd know for sure than, as I would see any dead mites, right?

We still have a few days before the vet appointment. I'm not sure if I should try treating for mites, or just wait until the appointment.