View Full Version : Rescue, emergency vet visit, red tail boa
Here I go again, I was looking for another red tail boa on Craigslist and came across a disaster. She is a 7ft red tail with a bad shed, infection in her nose and no heat source/humidity for who knows how long. I'm currently at the vet (asap'd her here directly) so we will see how bad she is. I will post some pictures and updates later this evening. I hope I came soon enough to save her life.
You're doing the right thing. It's a shame how some people just don't care about their animals. Good luck and let us know the prognosis.
Alright, well it's been a long night, had a lot to do. The guy never told me a name, so I had her sexed and named her Janna. Vet visit ended up taking around 2.5 hours. They put her on(in?) a nebulizer and on oxygen to help try and clear the fluid out of her sinuses. She does have a severe sinus infection. Her left nostril is very swollen and he thinks it's probably an abscess. She is very dehydrated, under weight and has severe nose rub from being in a 55 gallon tank up until "about 2 weeks ago" said the guy I got her from. The vet said from what he could tell she has at least 2 if not 3 sheds still attached. She also has a large mass just after her vent. She's on antibiotic injections every 3 days, a bath soaking every day and a good heaping of real love and care. She has a long way to go in her recovery.
The display case (that's exactly what it is.......) that I got her in needs some TLC. For tonight I yanked the glass out of the top and built a quick cover so I can put some heat lamps, humidity and some good ventilation in the enclosure. The second I put a water dish in, she started drinking and drank for around 15-20 minutes. I have a 150w basking light and I'll be adding a UTH inside the enclosure tomorrow morning. The vet wants her to have standard day temps (90-95 basking, 85 ambient, 80 cool side) combined with 60-70% humidity. I'm going to utilize it for now as I'm currently in the process of building an enclosure that she will call home. It was going to be for another red tail I just acquired, but he will be fine in the 55g setup he's currently in for now.
I'm pretty exhausted and don't know what more to say atm. I'm very glad I got to her when I did as I'm not sure how much longer she could deal with her situation. Below are some pictures. I will continue to update this thread with her progress and my other thread with the enclosure construction. If you guys have any input, please feel free.
Enclosure
http://puu.sh/pFdc3/436bc501c9.jpg
My wife held her so I could get pictures (her first big snake and she LOVES HER)
http://puu.sh/pFddc/08733df6b7.jpg
You can see how bad her nose is in this pic, you can also see the shed :sad:
http://puu.sh/pFdfE/a90ae75acb.jpg
Sooo skinny!! She also sucks in because of how hard it is for her to breathe
http://puu.sh/pFdjv/1c35dd3f9e.jpg
SirHiss
06-25-16, 12:55 AM
That was a great thing to do, you stopped her from suffering have fun with her
Good Morning Janna!
http://puu.sh/pFs9u/809218c6bf.jpg
I forgot to include the picture of the mass near her vent.
http://puu.sh/pFtxv/6479e45956.jpg
Sylphie
06-25-16, 06:56 AM
Pooor, poor baby! You're amazing for taking her home, I hope that she'll recover with all the good care and vet visits, good luck for you both! <3
Albert Clark
06-25-16, 10:47 AM
Nice moves Wykyd! She really does look better already. Congrats.
Man, it's amazing how resilient these creatures are. I can only imagine what she has endured over the course of her lifetime. 24 hrs in my care and you can already notice tiny steps forward. She got her first bath this afternoon and a lot of her shed seems to have loosened up, a few pieces actually fell off. She even lost a good sized piece off the swollen part of her nose. She doesn't seem to like the water much, tho I'm not sure what the previous owner did when putting her in to soak. I half wonder if she's partially blind due to multiple eye caps needing to fall off yet. From what I can tell there's definitely 2 sheds on her head, I can see two distinct layers (she wasn't cooperating when trying to get pictures and didn't want to stress her out in the process). It also seems like she may be going into shed again, but I'm not 100% on that.
This morning when I turned her light on she came out of her hide and curled up under the light. After her bath she went right back to the same spot, makes me wonder how long it's been since she's felt any real heat. I've been keeping her humidity at 65-70%, but have been having a hard time keeping the enclosure around 80-85F. I scrounged up a Repti Temp thermostat from one of my older enclosures and am going to add a dual fixture with a 150W and a 100W bulb. I plan on setting the thermostat to the basking temp of 95F (currently the single 150W tops out around 91F never turning off over 12 hrs). I was planning on using some UTH pads on another thermostat to try and help the ambient temp (setting them to 80F) but I'm not sure on how to put them in the enclosure. The vet doesn't want me using any substrate for now so I guess I could cover them up with newspaper?
We're headed back to the vet tomorrow for her second dose of antibiotics. They're going to teach me how to give her the injections so I don't have to keep driving her an hour round trip. I really want to let her alone as much as I can. For now, baths and injections are the only main times I enter her enclosure. Hopefully in a few weeks we will be able to give some food a shot and hopefully bring her back up to a healthy weight.
As always, here are some more pictures.
BATH TIME!
http://puu.sh/pGa48/7077984b6f.jpg
Basking in some unfamiliar warmth, ahhhhhh.......
http://puu.sh/pG84C/94bf597637.jpg
One layer of shed off her swollen nose, 2 to go.
http://puu.sh/pG90j/5972ac4b2d.jpg
sirtalis
06-25-16, 09:56 PM
Kudos for rescuing it! Glad to see its being properly cared for :)
I'm sure she already appreciates everything you've done to bring her life back into a positive and more enjoyable status. I know it's going to be a lot of work, patients and persistence to get her back to normal health. She's definitely lucked out landing in your care.
Albert Clark
06-26-16, 07:22 AM
Fantastic work Wykyd! Keep up the great works.
macandchz
06-27-16, 11:13 AM
so glad you got her! i really hope she recovers nicely for you!
Snakesitter
06-27-16, 02:21 PM
Well done! I wish there were more people who did such a good job with rescues.
EL Ziggy
06-27-16, 03:08 PM
Nice save Wykyd.
Awesome job!
As far as not liking the soak...most boas don't really like being placed in water...they only really like it if they go in by themselves. :)
Thanks everyone! I honestly am just doing what needed to be done. After just wanting to make sure the snake wasn't in danger and finding out how bad it was, I would have never been able to walk away.
We had our second vet visit today. Ended up getting off a bit early today and came home to quite the mess. I can only assume that the amount of actual fluid instead of urates I found is because of the rush of humidity and fluids she has received over the past 72 hrs. I should have taken a picture, but it was such a big mess I boxed her, cleaned up the cage and prepared a bath immediately. There were a few large marble sized urates accompanied by a small pancake sized puddle of fluid like urate and a MASSIVE (when I say massive, I mean 1'x2' of the bottom of the enclosure) puddle of yellow urine. I said something to the nurse when they took her back to do the injection and they didn't seem worried. Is this something I should be paying attention to? Is this to be somewhat expected in her case? I know the vet wanted her soaked daily, but maybe that's too much? Or 7-10 min is too long?
As far as the infection, currently no real signs of it getting better yet. The vet wants to continue doing the injections so he can examine her during the visit. He would like to see some progress before he teaches me how to do the injections. Obviously he wants to make sure it's working first. I haven't noticed any of the swelling going down and the mass in her tail seems slightly larger. I'll be headed back Friday for her next appointment. For now we continue to let the antibiotics do their job.
Some good news is her shed is beginning to free up. I noticed a portion start to separate and lift just above the right corner of her mouth back to where it has already pealed just behind her head. I'm excited to see some progress in that department as I think that will help with things overall. She seems to be settling in to her new home fairly well. She was much more willing to allow me to remove her from her enclosure today. Also this evening is the first time she has moved from her basking spot into her hide after the lights go out. It's relieving to see her being somewhat active and at least moving around.
One thing I plan on asking the vet next visit is when I should begin trying to feed her. I know right now we are holding off on food until we can get this infection under control, but I want to be ready when she is able to start eating again. I'm also wondering what size item I should start out with. At her thickest point I would say she is probably 4" in diameter, about the size of a grapefruit. I intend on feeding her f/t right from the start (I was told she has always been on live food). From what I could gather, he was feeding her 2 rat pups or juveniles a week (he kept saying mice, and I hope he didn't mean mice :3). He had a breeding pair of jumbo rats and it looked like at least 12 pups.
For now we continue to let time do it's thing. I know she is feeling better in some fashion and am glad I was at least able to make her more comfortable. I do hope to see some sort of improvement over the course of the next few weeks, but I'm not expecting miracles. It's really rough to listen to her and feel her struggle to breathe. If all else I just want her to be able to breathe easier. Thank you for all your input and support. It is greatly appreciated.
Lots of fluid can be passed at the same time as urates, but it doesn't always happen. It's not uncommon for larger boas being kept on paper substrate to have most of the cage saturated when they "go". I think daily soaking is overdoing it a little bit...2 or 3 times a week would be enough. When you offer the first few feedings, offer her a small adult...it's much smaller than she can handle but you want to go on the smaller side of things so that she digests easily and remains on the rebound at this point. After those feedings, bump her up to large adults.
Snakesitter
06-29-16, 02:08 PM
^^ Great feeding advice.
Glad to hear she shows improvement in some areas already, and fingers crossed for the rest.
How many feedings should I do at the small adult size? Should I go small, med, large? As far as feeding frequency, I've read 3-4 weeks between meals, sound pretty good?
Vet tomorrow, so far things seem roughly the same. I have totally left her alone for the past few days to try and let her relax other than changing her water and dumping out the drip catch from the reptifogger. When I am in the cage however it does not sound like she is laboring to breathe as hard, so maybe things are on the up even tho visually they look the same if not a little worse. Will know a lot more tomorrow so til then, thanks again for everyone's support, we greatly appreciate it.
I would do 3 feedingd of smalls spaced 2 weeks apart since it's such a small meal. I also think jumping to larges right after would be fine but thats up to you.
Still keep it at 2 weeks after switching to full sized meals? Again, conflicting information from different care sheets. Some say 2 weeks, others say 6.... :3 I know it will be in that range, just looking for an educated offering time frame until I learn her eating habits.
Since the small adults are not a full meal I would offer those every 2 weeks. I would go every 2-3 weeks for mediums if you are going to give them to her. Every 3 to 4 weeks when you switch to larges/jumbos. The spacing out of the feedings has a lot to do with the meal size because of their slower metabolism rate. A smaller meal will metabolize a bit quicker simply because of less food in volume being broken down, so less time is required between feedings. Every 6 weeks would be fine if you were to do jumbos or small rabbits, and if she were in ideal condition, but that's not the case. Even on jumbos I would do once every 4 weeks.
Hopefully that helps.
As always, that helps immensely. A bit nervous about the vet today, have my fingers crossed. She moved into her hide again last night which is nice to see again. I like to see her moving around and being active. Updates to come this evening.
jpsteele80
06-30-16, 08:40 AM
Awesome job my friend, glad to see that she is doing good
Whelp, another good visit I guess. They showed me how to do the injections and let me do 3/4 of it at the vet. She ways a whopping 17.2 lbs (not entirely sure what a healthy weight would be). They were very happy with the state of her shed, it seems to be loosening up well. I'll be giving her a good soak tomorrow and we'll see what falls off over the next few days. This visit they decided to document the size of the mass in her tail. They took pictures and measured it's length and circumference. I do the next 2 injections on my own and see them again next Saturday. They didn't say anything about feeding yet so we'll hold off a little longer. All in all I think things are on the up.
Well, things seem to be moving in the right direction. I'm happy to hear the vet was pleased with the progress. Hopefully that mass in her tail will turn out to be nothing major and resolve over time and better care.
Snakesitter
07-05-16, 02:07 PM
^^ What SWDK said. Well done!
Gave her an injection on Sunday, didn't go as smooth as in the vets office, but my wife was pretty nervous when I told her to just keep the head away from me. She has really tough skin, so I had to try a few different places before the needle went in easy. Since then however she has been in her hide. I've checked on her a few times and all seems to be okay. Today I did notice a little fluid around her nose so I'm hoping that means the infection is on it's way out, I HOPE. I was a little concerned as to her not coming out to bask, but maybe she has had enough heat for a little while and is happy with the ambient temp. Next shot is Wednesday and I rescheduled the vet appointment for Thursday.
Snakesitter
07-06-16, 01:41 PM
Fingers crossed!
brandonh
07-06-16, 07:59 PM
Wykyd you are a very kind person ! , great save this poor boa was not gonna make it much longer if you had not gotten her. Now you have given her a fighting chance! fingers crossed!!
Shot went well again, man her skin is tough... the vet tech told me that should go away after a few good, healthy sheds. She has a blueish hue to her so I hope she may be shedding soon. I'm going to give her another good soak tomorrow. Her head is coming along, her eye caps are really coming along (going to try and get pics tomorrow). I know her vision is really impaired, I feel so bad for her :( Otherwise I think the skin on her head is slowly, but surely coming off.
She came out to bask again yesterday and hung out... until I gave her the shot and she went straight to her hide. Her breathing seems a lot less labored, but you still can audibly hear it... especially when I'm bothering her. It also seems like the mass in her tail is not as hard as it was 4-5 days ago (good signs hopefully) and I can't wait to hear what the vet has to say. Unfortunately, the vet called today and had to reschedule for Friday.
Construction on her enclosure will commence this weekend, I'm super excited. I've been looking over hundreds of custom enclosures trying to decided exactly what I want to do on the inside. No matter what style (rock, trees, earth) background I decide on, I'm pretty sure I have my heart set on running water. My main concern is designing the drain so there's no possible way she can block it and if she does having an overflow as backup.
Thanks again for all your support, it is immensely appreciated.
Ugh, my first post apparently didn't take. So here's round two! Good news to be had all around!
Went to the vet yesterday and he was extremely pleased with her progress. The shed on her head and eyes is coming along. The swollen nostril is showing signs of recession. It's not as hard or red anymore. He also said the mass in her tail is for sure not as hard as it was before. He is fairly confident that the mass is an infected scent gland. If it does not go away over the next few weeks he's going to stick it with a needle and see what is inside.
I had some great one on one time with the vet this visit and was able to cover a lot of topics of concern. I had brought up her concaved ribs and he is currently unsure if it is permanent damage or not. He said as long as the snake is not acting like something is bothering it, it's the least of his worries at this point in her recovery. You can see and hear her bones popping whenever she uses the top 1/3 of her body to wrap around something or try and maneuver. He also confirmed she is coming up on another shed in the next week or so.
The biggest topic we spoke about was feedings. He wants me to try and feed her some rat pups that I have for my Columbian boa. He said try one this weekend, if/when she eats try to feed her 2 a week later. If she continues to eat well he told me to try a jumbo rat a week after the 2nd feeding.
Well, she ATE! She is definitely almost completely blind. She didn't care about me toying the rat. It took her a second to get the scent, but then she couldn't find it until I put it against her nose. I had to help her swallow it in the beginning, but she did well after it was half way in.
Her left side, the eye caps are very obvious.
http://puu.sh/pVZMF/ad1fa623d7.jpg
Right side, eye caps less obvious, but you can still see the clouding.
http://puu.sh/pVZPP/94c66966ab.jpg
FOOD
http://puu.sh/pVZSg/fbfaaa347d.jpg
Ian of Oldham
07-09-16, 03:30 PM
Great to see her and she looks better already well done for al the work and hours you have put in.
So I'm guessing snakes will hold onto their food as long as their not eating regularly. I fed her Sat and she defecated sometime Sunday. You can see there was multiple small feedings, I counted at least 15 different feedings. I'll be feeding her again this weekend.
Boas have a very slow metabolism and they will definitely pass residual meals for a while after. Glad she appears to be on the mend.
Well, the poop test will have to wait til she goes again. They said it was $70 to have it cultured. Things are still looking good, she gets another shot today which leaves 4 to go. I'm giving her a good soak tomorrow and we'll see if more shed breaks free. It seems to be having a hard time coming loose around her nose. everything is very tough in that area and I think that's why she won't shed completely. That's the only part that has remained roughly the same since I've gotten her. The rest of her head is still coming along, but it won't shed without the part on her nose coming free. Just going to keep her humidity around 80% and keep up the soakings 2x a week and just hope for the best.
brandonh
07-15-16, 11:19 PM
Great I am glad she is doing a better! You are doing a wonderful job. Just keep working on that shed it will come off. You ever try shed ease by Zilla?
Wow... Way to go man... I don't know if I would have it in me... There is a guy out by me who takes on rescue snakes... Hes got about 40 now... Its a shame there is such a need for it... Thank god for people like you guys...
Albert Clark
07-16-16, 08:28 AM
Hey Wykyd! You are doing a amazing job, and your efforts have made a difference. I want to contribute to the health of Janna. Could you pm me your email address so I can make a monetary donation to you for her? I will do it via PayPal . Thx.
macandchz
07-16-16, 09:05 AM
it is so nice what you have done for that poor snake. i'm so glad there is good people like you out there!
Wow... Way to go man... I don't know if I would have it in me... There is a guy out by me who takes on rescue snakes... Hes got about 40 now... Its a shame there is such a need for it... Thank god for people like you guys...
Yeah, it's pretty sad how mistreated all creatures are. There are just too many people out there that have no respect. I've always just tried to do what needs to be done, there has to be someone that carries on that burden.
Hey Wykyd! You are doing a amazing job, and your efforts have made a difference. I want to contribute to the health of Janna. Could you pm me your email address so I can make a monetary donation to you for her? I will do it via PayPal . Thx.
Albert you are very generous. Thank you very much!
Update on Janna is a good one yet again. Gave her another shot yesterday (3 to go!) and it went very smooth. I think the soakings are helping a lot in softening up her skin and sheds. The lump in her tail is a lot less firm and actually bulges out the sides when she uses it or applies pressure from above. It feels very squishy in comparison to a few weeks ago.
The shed on her head is still there and is not loosening up any time soon. The portion of her nose that is in such bad shape is just too tough and damaged. I'm hoping it will separate from the back forward and I can just remove it when it's loose.
She ate again!!! I'm very proud of her today. She struck that this tiny rat pup and attempted a coil (obviously the rat put was entirely in her mouth xD). I sat the other pup down and fed Jack a while. When I came back she was pushing the rat pup across the bottom of the enclosure toward a rock. Once it touched the rock she opened her mouth and pushed under it. She used her body to position the rat and get a good grab on it to swallow. Both went down easy and I cannot wait to feed her a jumbo next weekend. I know it will be the largest meal she has had in who knows how long, a year or more maybe... I'm very excited.
All in all things are on the positive. Next vet visit is after her last shot (July 24th). I'm hoping by then the mass in her tail has reduced and the shed on her head is off, maybe even a complete shed from nose to tail as well. The enclosure is coming along nicely even tho it's so friggin hot. I'm doing some sanding today and prepping it to be sealed. I also got the piece of slate today that I'm putting under the RHP in her basking spot. I'm thinking 6-8 weeks before she is in the enclosure and finally in her forever home.
Ian of Oldham
07-16-16, 11:41 AM
Hope that all goes well for you and your snake, you are doing a great job
2 Royals 1Corn 1 Boa and a mad Cat.
Great I am glad she is doing a better! You are doing a wonderful job. Just keep working on that shed it will come off. You ever try shed ease by Zilla?
I didn't know such a thing existed.
drumcrush
07-16-16, 12:43 PM
I didn't know such a thing existed.
We use it at work sometimes. Sometimes we get animals in with stuck shed, works like a charm.
We use it at work sometimes. Sometimes we get animals in with stuck shed, works like a charm.
I see they sell them in 8floz bottles. How much would I use in the bath tub? I normally fill it with roughly 5-6" of water. It's probably 20 gallons or so lol.
drumcrush
07-16-16, 11:24 PM
I don't recall, it should say on the bottle though.
brandonh
07-17-16, 12:32 PM
I works very well i love it. My bottle says 10ml for every 16oz of water!
macandchz
07-17-16, 01:09 PM
i use shedding aid on mac before a shed. it's made by zilla. is shed ease something different?
Aaron_S
07-17-16, 01:13 PM
You definitely need to get the left over shed off the head now. Letting it happen on it's own isn't working and the longer it sits the worse a problem it can become.
Well folks, today was a great day all around. I made some good progress on her enclosure. Between painting the outside and sealing the inside I decided to give Janna a good soaking. This ended up being the soaking that everything finally came loose! I cleared 99% of the shed on her head including both eye caps. She can SEE!!! lol. I know I got one nostril scale, but I'm not 100% sure on the other one. Other than that I removed the entire old shed. She let me just keep wetting my thumb and rubbing her nose til it came loose. I was determined and she seemed to be more than ready and just let me do my thing. Her temperament is so docile, she's such a sweetheart. I'm relieved that I was able to successfully remove the shed before her next one started.
http://puu.sh/q5e4z/e48aeefb9f.jpg
http://puu.sh/q5e5e/51ef396527.jpg
http://puu.sh/q5e6J/aa923440ac.jpg
http://puu.sh/q5e7X/9ee7b2b481.jpg
Albert Clark
07-17-16, 07:14 PM
Bravo!!!! She is looking good. Remember, reptiles harbor illnesses for a long time so consequently they heal slowly.
Aye, the vet told me they're slow to get sick and even slower to get better. Overall I'm extremely happy with her progress and the last time she was at the vet he was very impressed with her progress. She is doing tremendously better, she has even started exploring her enclosure instead of just moving from bask to hide. She really likes to hang out on top of her hide.
What great news!!! I'm so happy to hear her shed is gone and she can see. She's so lucky to be under your care. You definitely have her a new lease on life.
I bet she's out exploring a bit because she can see what's going on now. That and the fact that she's getting healthier and feeling better.
daisymaisy
07-17-16, 10:21 PM
YAY! This thread has literally made my day. What a joy for her to be feeling better and to be able to see again. Wow! It makes me so happy that there are people who care for animals. :)
Ian of Oldham
07-17-16, 11:30 PM
Great news it good to see her getting better and has all the shed gone
2 Royals 1 Corn 1 Boa and now a new rescue 1 Carpet O and a mad Cat
Snakesitter
07-18-16, 02:22 PM
Excellent news!!!
If you use the shed product in the bath, let the snake soak in plain water for 20 minutes first...if thirsty,. that way they don't drink the treated water.
brandonh
07-21-16, 02:26 PM
Excellent news!!!
If you use the shed product in the bath, let the snake soak in plain water for 20 minutes first...if thirsty,. that way they don't drink the treated water.
i completely Agree ^
I'll keep that in mind if I ever use it. She hates the tub I'm not sure if she would calm down enough to drink.
She got another shot today and is so chill. I'm able to do it by myself once she relaxes. Only 1 more to go then I'll be making another vet appointment. I'm going to get her a jumbo rat tomorrow night, I can't wait to see her eat for real.
Let us know how she does with the jumbo rat.
Albert Clark
07-22-16, 08:37 AM
Great progression story.
So about the jumbo rat, just found out that the local pet store I use only carries up to large rats. What is a highly rated website for ordering them?
Going off the general census, roughly a 300g-400g rat.
Frozen Mice, Frozen Rats, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Chicks and Quail (http://Www.rodentpro.com) have a fantastic sizing system.
Frozen Mice, Frozen Rats, Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, Chicks and Quail (http://Www.rodentpro.com) have a fantastic sizing system.
You know I went to place an order from these guys and they wanted $69.oo for shipping, so I canceled the order... I can get a lot of meals for $69.oo at my local pet store... How do you guys get around the shipping?
I don't order from them. I'm in Canada so there' s NO way to do that. Just like the sizing system they have and it's what I have always gone by. :)
Ugh I feel ya on shipping fees. I think shipping for my first (and last :P ) feeder order of 200 mice was like... 100-150? Roughly? But the only place local to me that I could get mice was Petsmart and they were charging 20$ for 6 teeny things. I'm building a mouse rack this weekend and driving an hour and a half each way to grab mice to breed.
Really great job with the boa! Love the updates.
dannybgoode
07-23-16, 02:59 PM
Kudos for the rescue. To put your time and money into something like this is incredibly generous.
Lovely looking snake is Janna-she is a very lucky girl to have ended up with you.
Ian of Oldham
07-24-16, 12:58 AM
So about the jumbo rat, just found out that the local pet store I use only carries up to large rats. What is a highly rated website for ordering them?
Going off the general census, roughly a 300g-400g rat.
What about guinea pigs for her.
0.1.1 Royals 1.0Corn 1.0Boa 1.0Carpet and a mad Cat.
Albert Clark
07-24-16, 06:19 AM
So about the jumbo rat, just found out that the local pet store I use only carries up to large rats. What is a highly rated website for ordering them?
Going off the general census, roughly a 300g-400g rat.
One of the most safest websites to order clean, well packed rodents is Big Cheese Rodent Factory. They really have a superior product in all their rodents. The shipping is a flat rate of 29.00.
She did pretty good with her large rat. First shot she missed, grabbed the leg, then couldn't figure out where/what to eat. Once she left it alone, I grabbed, warmed up the head, dangled it in front of her again and this time she took it and devoured it. She's a VERY hungry girl. When I was bringing the rat down she struck at the glass. I feel so bad for her. I'm going to get some jumbos on order, next feeding in 2 weeks. :D
Here's some pictures of the video I took.
http://puu.sh/qdoBS/ddb2948a10.jpg
http://puu.sh/qdoEs/5174716faf.jpg
http://puu.sh/qdoR7/2ecf6ecc43.jpg
http://puu.sh/qdoU7/90156950ff.jpg
http://puu.sh/qdoVi/e390cf78c1.jpg
Glad she ate without any issues. She needed a good meal for sure.
Ian of Oldham
07-25-16, 12:30 AM
Good to see her eating
0.1.1 Royals 1.0 Corn 1.o Boa 1.o Carpet and a mad Cat.
Tsubaki
07-25-16, 07:04 AM
Glad she ate without issue, just read this topic in one go and i admire you for doing this! She looks so much better!
Big Cheese Rodents is pretty good. I'm going to order a year's worth of jumbo rats for Janna and weened rats for Jack. Only $107, pretty damn good price. I pay more than that at my local store.
Awesome to see this progression Wykyd. Be aware of shelf life when you order food in advance. A year at a time may be too much.
My freezer is pretty good, I plan on vacuum sealing them so I can maximize the freezer life. Going to split them up per month so I'm only exposing what will soon be eaten. The main reason is they only sell weened rats by a pack of 20 which is 4 short of a year supply.
Whelp, Janna is definitely in shed. Her eyes fogged up 2 days ago, she's been in her hide since. Turned up her humidity to around 75%. Got my fingers crossed, we'll see how it goes.
That's good! Don't be afraid to do some liberal misting of her enclosure in the days after her eyes clear up again. It will only help ensure she sheds properly in one nice piece. Doesn't have to be soaking wet, but nice and damp will do the trick.
That's good! Don't be afraid to do some liberal misting of her enclosure in the days after her eyes clear up again. It will only help ensure she sheds properly in one nice piece. Doesn't have to be soaking wet, but nice and damp will do the trick.
I use a reptifogger to control humidity, do you still recommend spraying the enclosure? Mind you there is currently still no substrate for much humidity to reside. I'm completely relying on the fogger to keep the humidity stable.
Whelp folks, she shed! It wasn't entirely one piece, but it all came off and completely on her own. I woke up in the morning and she had shed over night. 100% shed, I'm so happy. Going to try another feeding this weekend. All in all she seems to be doing very well. I'm unfortunately running into some tough things IRL dealing with my vehicle (our only vehicle and my wife uses it daily), so that has drawn attention away from building her enclosure. The vet has not returned my call yet, so no vet visit in the near future. Just going to continue working with her. Between feedings, baths and just generally being out of her enclosure, she has been doing fantastic. She absolutely loves being outside. I'm hoping to maybe get her out and about tomorrow if all works out.
http://puu.sh/qwEeE/b350f12b74.jpg
Very happy to hear she had a good shed on her own. She's definitely come a long way with your care.
brandonh
08-11-16, 11:23 PM
Very awesome! she is enjoying her new home !
It's been roughly 6 weeks since I acquired Janna and I was wondering if it was safe to put substrate in her enclosure yet. For some unfortunate reason, my vet will not return my calls (looks like I'm looking for a new vet......) I feel that it would help immensely with regulating her humidity. It would also be nice for when she urinates/defecates that it doesn't spread across the entire cage.
I don't see any issues with adding substrate at this point. She seems to be getting healthier and her skin issues are on the up side. I'd use cypress if you're looking to retain some humidity and its mold resistant.
bigsnakegirl785
08-15-16, 10:18 PM
She's coming along really good, I was afraid to open this thread, but I'm glad I did! Hopefully that infection clears up
As far as the food, I'd definitely jump down to larges for her regular meal. Jumbos should be fine for now while she's ill, to help her gain any weight, but after that I'd advise you either go to larges or feed jumbos only every other feeding and larges every other feeding. There's just too much fat in a jumbo rat for them to be eating them regularly. Boas don't process fat very well, so too much can cause liver failure, color loss, and death in extreme cases. I've seen 2 different cases of boas losing their color from jumbo or larger rats in the past month....best to steer clear or feed them sparingly. My boa isn't too much smaller than your's, he's 6.5', and he's getting large rats or 4-6 oz rabbits every 4-5 weeks.
What about guinea pigs for her.
0.1.1 Royals 1.0Corn 1.0Boa 1.0Carpet and a mad Cat.
See above on why that's not advised. GPs have 46.1% fat...that's insane. I personally would hesitate to feed one to my retic let alone my boa, but my boas 100% won't ever get one.
Aaron_S
08-16-16, 07:09 AM
... I've seen 2 different cases of boas losing their color from jumbo or larger rats in the past month......
Do you evidence of this? Like do you have pure, hard facts and test results that undeniably say "a large meal caused colour loss in this snake"? Or is this just from keepers using the only thing they can see in their face as the cause?
bigsnakegirl785
08-16-16, 05:25 PM
Do you evidence of this? Like do you have pure, hard facts and test results that undeniably say "a large meal caused colour loss in this snake"? Or is this just from keepers using the only thing they can see in their face as the cause?
Not a large meal, but a fatty meal. There's a few links on it, if you don't believe me it happens. Both snakes were fed retired breeder rats, which are extremely high in fat, and boas do not metabolize fat in the same way a python would. I did not follow the threads as I didn't catch them at a good time but I could try to dig them up again and see if any follow ups were done on the snakes.
Large meals in and of themselves don't cause it, large meals usually only result in regurgitation if they result in anything. Although cases of cannibalism also have resulted in the death of both snakes before, I think those are a bit different than a snake fed a large rat or similar.
Although these aren't exactly scientific, it does discuss the issue.
Boa Deaths Caused By Fat Rat / Toxic Rat Issue - Blogs - RedTailBoas Ultimate Reptile Community (http://www.redtailboas.com/blogs/boa-amarali/6-boa-deaths-caused-fat-rat-toxic-rat-issue.html)
*WTF!..Must see this* - Reptile Forums (http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/forums/snakes/782150-wtf-must-see.html)
Usually in these cases the snakes regain their color, but fatty prey items aren't always so benign.
My days are crazy, took this pic back on the 16th after putting the substrate in. She loves it. Seems to be much more active and exploring a lot more (aside from just sitting in basking or hide). Real meals seem to be doing work, she's starting to put on some weight and fill in. She's always hungry though, always thinks I'm coming to feed her when I get her out.
http://puu.sh/qGLp4/fb31169d49.jpg
Glad she likes the new substrate. She's looking good!
Rats on order for both Janna and Jack. Ended up going with Perfect Prey. Their prices are comparable and their shipping isn't bad. $138 for 24 jumbo rats and 20 weaned rats. Time to break out the vacuum sealer so I can break them down into individual months. At my local pet store I would have easily paid over $400 for the same amount.
One thing I forgot to mention was it seems she's on a regular bathroom schedule. Last 2 defecations were roughly 10 days after the feeding (+/- 2 days). Her urine is still very much like urine on top of the urates. I'm assuming that's from keeping the humidity high?
Albert Clark
08-19-16, 11:48 AM
Nice Wykyd! It all sounds good.
Man, I am VERY impressed with PerfectPrey.com... what amazing quality and the packaging was, again, amazing! The rats are so clean, packaged so nicely and they arrived a day late and still frozen solid. Feeding day is Saturday, I got one black rat so that will be the one Janna gets first. I highly recommend PerfectPrey.com to anyone looking to buy in bulk. Their prices were very competitive and the shipping was reasonable.
Side note, I'm probably going to be scheduling a vet checkup in a few weeks. The lump in her tail has remained the same as well as the deformity in her nose. I'm assuming the damage to her nose will dissipate with time, but I'm partially more worried about the lump behind her vent.
http://puu.sh/qOhAJ/36892bae1d.jpg
http://puu.sh/qOhFP/bbf22fe210.jpg
http://puu.sh/qOhCu/c0c03a908f.jpg
http://puu.sh/qOhEa/e19c8327bb.jpg
Tsubaki
08-25-16, 02:40 PM
Might be an abscess? curious to know what the vet will say.
The vet did say that if it didn't change in size he was going to "just stick a needle in it and see what comes out"... with the fact that he has failed to return my calls for roughly a month now I'm looking around for a new snake vet and I'll just have her history sent there. I hope it's nothing, it's not hard, very spongy. He thought it might be a scent gland problem.
Definitely in the right spot for an issue with the scent glands. Thanks as always for the update and all the best of luck finding another vet.
Damn, if you were in Cali I woulda recommended my vet. Very good with snakes and their husbandry and he would have DEFINITELY returned our call the same day if not the next. Probably would have poked the nose soon after she started eating to find out what it was. If it is an abscess, drainage is your best friend.
dannybgoode
08-26-16, 12:18 AM
Do keep us posted with what the lump is. You're doing a great job bringing her back to health and hopefully you'll be rewarded with a long time companion.
bigsnakegirl785
08-26-16, 01:37 PM
That lump is definitely worrisome, hopefully you find a better vet soon. :/
Janna took down her first jumbo rat and did quite well. One thing I'm a little concerned about is how aggressive she is. She will strike out at any movement she notices and will hit the glass. After a feeding, this behavior will last a few days. I'm forced to reach in and grab her tail to distract her. Eventually I can pull her out, but the whole time she is searching, bobbing and pulled back ready to strike. Is this possibly just how hungry she is? I just walked over to say Hi to her this morning and she hit the glass twice. Once when I stepped in front of her and another when I lifted my hand up to unlock the glass. For now, to protect my family, I'm the only one that deals with her inside her cage. Once I get her out she's fine. I still don't trust her around my youngest, but all in all she seems completely different once removed from her enclosure.
Look into hook/tap training. The striking you see is not uncommon for older boas and it is probably not a defensive strike. During feeding day most of mine would track me and hit the plexi glass while I was feeding the snakesnin neighbouring cages. Sounds like that's what is happening here
bigsnakegirl785
08-28-16, 12:45 PM
Yeah sounds like a hunger response, none of my snakes regularly strike the glass at me, but my ball python has done that a couple times when he came out of a fast. He'd track my movements and strike at me until he felt he had enough food and settled down. My adult boa has also struck at me once from inside his enclosure in the 5 years I had him after I fed him a larger meal than normal. I don't really notice a change in behavior on feeding day unless I open their enclosure (which I don't do unless I'm feeding them), excluding the retic who will get excited.
My adults had such a response that I would stick the key in the door to the pvc, open the flip down front with a 2 foot hook by grabbing the corner of the plexi, and used 40 inch tongs to offer prey. They weren't playing, all calmed down immediately after a tap, and certainly weren't starved. ; )
Yeah, I had a feeling it was because of the lack of food for so long, she just wants to bulk up and not be so skinny anymore. I will continue the tap training and if it comes down to it I will go out and get a hook. For now I feel pretty comfortable that once my scent is picked up she is no longer aggressive. I feel so bad for her when she hits the glass with her mouth open, it's gotta hurt. :3
I take extra precautions to not mix my scent and the rats. I handle the rats with rubber gloves and wash utensils after every feeding. The rats are individually packaged in vacuum bags so it's pretty easy to keep things sterile.
My grass is dead af, but she loves exploring outside. Here are some pictures of Janna. The last picture, I wanted a good "representation" of how long Janna is. I'm 6'6" tall, Janna is easily 1' or more longer than I am tall. I need to get a measuring tape to get an exact, but for now, this comparison will do. :P
http://puu.sh/qVpqp/cee68a88f5.jpg
http://puu.sh/qVpsW/39fa5fa56c.jpg
http://puu.sh/qVpwv/3fccbacd87.jpg
http://puu.sh/qVpGb/d262bc8235.jpg
She looks good. She'll continue to get healthier every day in your care. A few more nice meals and she'll bulk back up nicely. Sweet beard BTW!
Haha, thanks... I do get that comment a lot. Not often you see someone with a bright red beard.
She is definitely filling out. Next weekend is feeding weekend and I had planned to weigh her after that feeding. After I get this truck bought and what not I can turn my focus back to Janna and her enclosure. I'm working on a new vet now, but lack the available funds to get her a visit this week. The vet is planning on doing biopsies of both her nose and tail since neither swelling has gone down. I also noticed a bit of clear fluid coming out of her left nostril.
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