saved a sick Argentine boa

[kuester]

I just picked up a Argentine boa today and he is making gurgling noises and opening his mouth his fork on his tongue is stuck together poor guy... I am bringing him to the vet two morrow almost positive it is upper respiratory infection. wish me luck!

[lady_bug87]

who would sell you such a sick snake?

[kuester]

I didnt know it was sick until i got there. Then he told me its been off and on sick like this for 3 years :( he said it because wisconsin has high humidty. Which personally i dont think it does. He also didnt have and hydrometer or thermometers in the enclosure. The enclosure was rank and putrid smelling. Covered in feces :( he obviously didnt know what he was doing. And yet he called it his baby...

[lady_bug87]

It sucks but I would have walked away.

[kuester]

I like to save reps lives if i can

[lady_bug87]

I respect that. I just have too many to risk it at this point. Good luck and keep updating!

[kuester]

I also have a bp, corn and kenyan sand boa but housed in different room and i always wash my hands before touching my other reptiles.

[Ballchris]

man keep up the good work, hope all turns out really good so you will have a new heathy addition to your collection

[kuester]

I know shes a beautiful snake and very sweet, not head shy at all! The guy that had her thought it was a male but i can obviously tell its a female. Also this guy fed her anything really, squirrels, rats, chipmunks, rabbits, he said anything he could catch. Wtf? But in my home she'll be getting fed only frozen/thaw rats! I really hope she'll be alright! I havent heard any noises from her breathing yet today. Do you think housing in a seperate room, washing hands with dish soap and changing sweatshirts between touching each snake is enough prevention?

[lady_bug87]

Personally? No. But it will minimize the risk. I'd invest in some latex gloves. Even separate equipment like hooks and forceps.

As another precaution i would increase the temps of your other animals. And stop touching everything. No handling at all

[prairiepanda]

How's her weight? Sounds like she's had a pretty unstable food source! Not to mention the possibility of parasites from wild caught prey...

Hope she pulls through for you.

[serpentgirl123]

I just wanted to say good luck with your new rescue! Personally, when possible, I would get a fecal test done, just in case there are any nasty buggies inside. Especially if it is true the previous owner fed the boa a variety of wild animals. :)

[bigsnakegirl785]

If she's a larger snake, you'd be better off feeding rabbits tbh. It's better than feeding jumbo rats, just buy rabbits from a reliable captive source. If she's eating large rats or smaller, rats should be fine, but if she's big enough for jumbos I'd make the move to rabbits. The wild caught animals have probably given her a good parasite load, so I'd take her to the vet and get her tested for parasites as well as treatment for the RI. If she's been sick from the RI for 3 years, then most likely she's going to have scarring in her lungs and will wheeze/sneeze for the rest of her life with or without the other RI symptoms.

Hopefully she'll start doing better with the treatment, and keep us updated! Any pics to show her off? Or are you going to wait until she's looking better?

[kuester]

She is of a healthy weight from whatbi can tell. I will let you all know how the vet visit goes today! I will mention everything to the v vet. All yo it advice and support is appreciated! :)

[kuester]

I personally think she looks fine. A few errors in her scales. I also have nowhere to buy frozen rabbits around here... and shes never eaten live. Ill upload some pics after work today. Since i got her to my house she has actually been flicking her tongue and her fork isnt as pasted together anymore, also she hasnt been breathing with her mouth open and i noticed that her gurgling noises have dimished significantly! And its only been a day :) im crossing my finges for the vet visit!

[serpentgirl123]

:) I also wouldn't be surprised if her eating is "off" for a while. I know when I had to give my adult male boa some medication (antibiotics and pain killers) after surgery due to a minor infection, he was off/on feeding for a few months. I just gave him smaller and infrequent meals until about 2 months after I stopped the medications and since then he has been perfectly fine. Some antibiotics tend to kill/lower the population of "gut" bacteria (good and bad) and takes a while to "replenish" them, which can in turn slow down digestion or proper nutrient uptake.

[kuester]

Okay thank you for making me aware of th at possibility. The guy i got her from said she eats like a horse.

[kuester]

The vet says at this point it could go either way. Life or death. She's got high hopes though. His white blood cell count is high but not as high as she thought it would be because the poor snake has been on/off sick for 3 years.... I got daily injections of baytril to do for 2 weeks then a check up after the doses are done. Wish us luck everyone! Also do you think i should try feeding while the medicine process is happening or wait until medicine is complete?

[kuester]

Here's a couple pics, one showing size and beauty the other slowing her at her worst... breathing with mouth open, struggling to get the phlegm out of her breathing tube.

http://imgur.com/2VMcIfm
http://imgur.com/TMb2InU

[kuester]

Imgur (http://imgur.com/2VMcIfm)
Imgur (http://imgur.com/TMb2InU)

[kuester]

Not sure why the images don't appear

[Ballchris]

hope all goes will with the injections

[kuester]

It's very difficult but its going good. The open mouth breathing really only seems to happen when she's colder than 80° so like bent at the vet really is the only time i saw it aside from at the guys house i got her from. Also the guy lived with 5 other people and when i walked into the house i couldn't see much because everyone was chain smoking cigarettes the vet thinks this was a contributing factor.

[serpentgirl123]

I wish you the best of luck! She is absolutely gorgeous :) As far as feeding goes, imo, she doesn't seem in bad shape in terms of weight, so I might hold off feeding for a while. I know if I am sick, especially fighting off a bad infection, food is usually the farthest thing on my mind. I know most boas are opportunistic feeders and will tend to eat even if they probably shouldn't. The last thing I think you would want is a regurge on top of her fighting off the RI. But that is just me.

Also if the previous owner is correct about her being a great eater, she should have no problem "gaining" back whatever weight she might loose from fighting off the RI.

My male lost about 2lbs while I was giving him the medication (over the course of about 3 months, 2 round of antibiotics and I then opted for surgery), and gained it back without a problem. (He is kind of a big boa --8+ft and was about 25lbs at the time).

[kuester]

Wow thank you for the encouragement :) i plan to wait to feed her. Do you think shes full grown? Or do they continue growing throughout their life? Shes about 6.5ft so on the short side

[kuester]

Also the snake seems very docile, calm and gentle. Do you think that is because it's so sick?

[serpentgirl123]

Not a problem ^_^ and it is possible she is full grown, but snakes continue to grow throughout their life. But when they reach their "adulthood" (different for each snake and species), that growth slows down dramatically.

6-7.5ft is quite typically for most "common" boas (BCIs) and without any background history on her parents, I wouldn't have any idea her "potential" size/length. It is all in the genetics combined with good healthy eating.

My male is on the bigger side, especially being a male, because his parents were big. His father was 8ft and his mother was 9.5-10ft (they were imports back in 1990 and I inquired him a month after he was born in 2000).

Needless to say, given his size and what he was sexed as a baby (popped, not probed), I thought he was a "she" lol.

In terms of your beautiful girls' temperament, she might just be a sweet heart. Hopefully she stays that way after the treatment ;) My male is still calm and laid back even after the 4 weeks of oral and injectable antibiotics daily and sometimes 2x a day. He got a bit "squirmy" after the treatment, so I left him alone for about 3 months (not handling, just cage and water cleaning, feeding). After that, he got back to his usual lazy self (sometimes I have to nudge him to get him to notice it is feeding time lol).

Definitely keep us posted :). I am confident she and you will make it through this just fine! ^_^

[kuester]

Thank you very much. I hope she stays sweet id like to use her for childrens education in the future. Maybe even this summer if she gets better quickly. But we'll see when i revisit the vet in like 2 weeks. I'm confident and hoping she'll be okay but ive never had such a sick snake before. I'm keeping the hot spot at 96 F right now and humidity at 55%. Any ideas how to properly sanitize the cage after she's done being sick? I was thinking isopropyl alcohol and then letting it dry but id rather get your guys's opinions.

[Eggplant]

She has beautiful speckled eyes and patterning! I'm glad she found a great home and I hope everything will turn out fine for you two :)

[kuester]

Shes a magnificent snake, truly a stunning beauty, I'm also glad i obtained her because i will put the time, money and effort into her that she deserves. Any idea, besides popping and probing, how to tell sex? He thought she was male but i dont see any spurs so that makes me think it's a female

[bigsnakegirl785]

People seem to think that snakes grow their entire life, but I'm really not convinced on that. There is no scientific proof, as much as personal experience is worth, my ball python hasn't grown even 1/3" in over 5 years. He's almost 9. Boa constrictors reach about full size when they're 5-6 years old.

She's too big to be popping, her muscles will be too strong for you to pop anything out. The only way to tell at her size is probing. Spurs do not tell you the sex of a snake, neither does tail size.

There's also no need to be gaining weight, she looks really good weight wise. Boa constrictors are supposed to be pure muscle, with a box-shaped body, not round.

Once she's up to shape, you should feed her either an appropriately-sized rat or a rabbit every 3-6 weeks. At her size, it's doubtful she's younger than 3 years old, so she should be put on an adult's schedule and fed no more often than every 3 weeks. Even if she's underweight, she'll gain weight even if you fed her every 6 weeks.

[kuester]

Day 5 of baytril injections. Snake seems to be getting more active in cage and more hissy. Has not struck yet.

[kuester]

How old do you think she is? The guy didn't know but he had her for 3 years

[bigsnakegirl785]

How old do you think she is? The guy didn't know but he had her for 3 years

At 6.5' I would guess anywhere from 4-6 years, or even older if she's full size. Mine reached 6' at 3 years old, but he grew super fast, they don't usually reach 6' until they're around 4 years old. How big was she when the previous owner got her?

[kuester]

The previous owner i believed was on drugs and couldnt recall a lot about the snake and was just kind of scary to be honest i had my taser, mace and pocket knife on my waist at his home because 7 big guys lived with him and the house smelled like a combination of drug use and a dumpster.

[Eggplant]

The previous owner i believed was on drugs and couldnt recall a lot about the snake and was just kind of scary to be honest i had my taser, mace and pocket knife on my waist at his home because 7 big guys lived with him and the house smelled like a combination of drug use and a dumpster.

You're a snake hero! That sounds so shady. I don't think I would've stepped foot in there. ;(

[kuester]

Yeah i was nervous. They were all chain smoking cigs i couldnt even see where the guy was leading me. Any ideas of how to santize the cage after shes not sick? I was thinking isopropyl alcohol and letting it dry.

[reptiledude987]

Alcohol or bleach will get it clean just rinse it well after.

[kuester]

Well alcohol evaporates with air

[reptiledude987]

you still want to rinse the residue. it does evaporate but you will see a white residue it leaves behind that needs to be washed away.

[Albert Clark]

Well, kudos to you for all you are doing and have done for the argentine boa. Dawn dishwashing liquid is a great sudsy cleaner for your enclosure along with whatever else you decide to go with. Try to buy the hypoallergenic dawn if you can. And just rinse well. No need to feed her while she is on meds she probably has lost her appetite anyway. She will be hissy bc she is starting to feel better and is annoyed at everything that is going on. Make sure she has a lot of fresh water to drink and soak. Baytril is hard on the kidneys and she needs to stay well hydrated. :blink: Good job!!!!!!!

[kuester]

Oh I've cleaned cages with it before and put a fan on it and never saw and residue left behind

[bigsnakegirl785]

I've used vinegar before. Highly acidic, so works for disinfecting. The smell was easy to clean from my tubs and tanks, not sure about wood, if you use it.

[kuester]

Do you have to rinse that as well. Id prefer something i can wipe the cage down with and not have to rinse. Hard to do that with a 180g tank...

[Albert Clark]

Then try Chlorhexidine 4% aka Hibiclens and really just requires wiping dry.

[kuester]

I will try to find it thank you

[Ballchris]

Hows the boa doing any updates?

[kuester]

Personally i think he/she is doing much better but won't know for sure until Monday when the 2 week check up is scheduled. He/she has eaten for me and is now going into shed.

[Snakesitter]

Good signs, and good luck -- please do keep us posted!

[kuester]

Thank you and i will

[kuester]

The vet thinks we're going to be a-okay! Only time will tell because he was thrashing too much to get blood drawn but the heart and lungs sound good and inside of mouth and throat are clear!

[bigsnakegirl785]

Good news! Maybe next time he'll cooperate better. :)

[Snakesitter]

Good news indeed! Again, congrats!

[kuester]

Thanks i just cleaned his cage with mostly water a tiny bit of bleach and isopropyl alcohol, rinsed then with 5% acidity white vinegar then wipe rinsed and dry. I have a fan blowing into the cage. Any idea when i can start setting it up?

[prairiepanda]

I usually leave mine for about an hour, but if they still smell like vinegar then I leave them until the smell goes away.

[kuester]

It smelled like bleach more than anything so i left it for a full 24 hours before putting FAUSTINO(decided on a name its a Spanish word that the Argentinians use it means lucky or good fortuned) back in his new enclosure. He seemed very intrigued i dont think hes ever had bedding in his life only carpet....

[SoPhilly]

Faustino! Fantastic name! He certainly is lucky :) glad to hear he's doing better!