Boa needs help.....

[Eric & Ethan]

Interesting enough I joined today and already have a question. My son's boa has developed some eating issues. We have had her since November 23rd, and she has eaten fuzzies well for 3 feedings(every 7-9 days). After eating the 3rd mouse she regurgitated it along with what was in her belly. I chalked it up to nerves, or just not wanting to eat. Being as I had seen this years ago, I was not real concerned, since it had always resolved itself in the past. However, tonight upon coming home from being, out my son told me she did it again. Only this time it was white, almost looking like a sack or something. She's not closing her mouth all the wayeither. I noticed too, that there was some black substance around her mouth along with bubbly looking saliva. I am at a real loss, because I have been very lucky with my animals over the years being relatively healthy (with the exception of a couple rescues that I could not save). My son is worried and I am too.
Here is a full history on the snake that goes back to the previous owner who disclosed a few things to keep an eye on,
- It had not made a bowel movement to her knowledge
- until we had her it had only eaten frozen/thawed
- she only used lamp for heat, which was around 80 degrees
Since we have had her,
- she has taken to live mice nicely and without hesitation
- using heat pad with lamp cool side mid 70's, warm side mid 80's
- has had a two bowel movements
- since the first regurgitation, we offered her a mouse after waiting a few days but she shows no interest.
I know I'm new to the forum, but any suggestions would be appreciated, thank you.

[bigsnakegirl785]

How long was the boa with the previous owner? Although 2-4 weeks at a time without a BM is generally not something to worry about with boas, if they had it for months without a single BM it shouldn't have continued to be fed. It is promising that she's pooped in your care, but depending on how long the previous owners had her it could have harmed her.

How exactly are you measuring heat, what are you measuring it with, and at what points in the enclosure are you measuring certain temperatures? Is the lamp regulated?

If you are correct in saying your husbandry has a cool side in the mid 70's and warm side in the 80's you are keeping her far far too cold. Temperatures that low result in RIs and can impact their ability to properly digest their food. Ambients throughout the enclosure should be 80-85F with a hot side of 90F and a hot spot up to 95F (the hot spot is the surface directly below a heat lamp or directly above a heat pad, a hot side is the ambient temperatures).


When a snake regurges, you wait a minimum of 2-3 weeks before offering any more food. Then, you offer a meal half the size. If you are feeding mouse fuzzies, offer a mouse pinkie, a large should be fine day old probably isn't necessary. Then you very slowly work them back up to normal size. In your case, I'd do 3-5 feedings on pinkies and then try her on a small fuzzy mouse.

With the other symptoms in mind I highly encourage you to try to seek an experienced SNAKE vet, a lot of times when snakes display symptoms like that they either need immediate vet care or are already on death's door.

[Eric & Ethan]

Thank you for the quick response, to answer some of your questions I'll start regarding the previous owner. She owned the snake for about 2 months and believed it to be 1 month or so when she bought it from an exotic pet store in St.Louis. She was not very experienced (she wanted a dog, ended up buying a snake), she had to sell it due to not being able to keep it where she was moving to. I got it for a decent deal, in addition thinking we could provide a better home.
Secondly, to the question about the temps, the thermostat is about 2 inches from the floor in the center back of the enclosure. It measures around 80 degrees there. The cool side feels about the same, with the hot side definitely much warmer (probably 90 or so directly above the heat pad). I was not completely accurate with the earlier post, as I was trying to get something out there hoping for answers. Sorry for the inaccurate information.
The more I think about the worse I feel, this girl drove up with the snake in her hands, on a 40 degree day in November. If she did this once how often had she done it before ? As soon as she stepped out of her car I took it from her, and put in a travel container I had siiting on the floor of my heated truck. She was taken back a little at the way took it from her, but I explained to her that exposure to the cold like that was not good. I am hoping for my son's sake (and "Skittles" the snake), that this snake was not doomed from the start. Being tomorrow is Saturday I am going to stop by the local exotic pets store, to talk to a local breeder about vet options. Or if it is even a viable option. Again I appreciate your input, thank you.

[Eric & Ethan]

When I can figure it out I will post pictures.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Thank you for the quick response, to answer some of your questions I'll start regarding the previous owner. She owned the snake for about 2 months and believed it to be 1 month or so when she bought it from an exotic pet store in St.Louis. She was not very experienced (she wanted a dog, ended up buying a snake), she had to sell it due to not being able to keep it where she was moving to. I got it for a decent deal, in addition thinking we could provide a better home.
Secondly, to the question about the temps, the thermostat is about 2 inches from the floor in the center back of the enclosure. It measures around 80 degrees there. The cool side feels about the same, with the hot side definitely much warmer (probably 90 or so directly above the heat pad). I was not completely accurate with the earlier post, as I was trying to get something out there hoping for answers. Sorry for the inaccurate information.
The more I think about the worse I feel, this girl drove up with the snake in her hands, on a 40 degree day in November. If she did this once how often had she done it before ? As soon as she stepped out of her car I took it from her, and put in a travel container I had siiting on the floor of my heated truck. She was taken back a little at the way took it from her, but I explained to her that exposure to the cold like that was not good. I am hoping for my son's sake (and "Skittles" the snake), that this snake was not doomed from the start. Being tomorrow is Saturday I am going to stop by the local exotic pets store, to talk to a local breeder about vet options. Or if it is even a viable option. Again I appreciate your input, thank you.

2 months isn't bad, but still a long time for a boa to go without pooping on what I assume is a 7 day or more schedule, as that is the most common feeding schedule I see. Again, her pooping twice in the short time she's been with you is promising, so something had to have changed.

Having your thermostat probe positioned 2" above the substrate is ok for a lamp but dangerous with a heat pad. The thermostat probe should be outside of the enclosure, sandwiched in between the pad and the bottom of the enclosure. From there, you measure the surface of the inside with a temp gun. Push all bedding aside and measure the floor right above where the heat pad is, and adjust the thermostat settings until the floor underneath the bedding reaches 90F. If you're positioning the probe above the bedding, it is possible for the floor to reach 100F+ to meet the temps above the bedding, which could burn or injure your snake. If she needs heat, she can burrow or push the bedding aside no problem. On paper towels, heat transfers much easier when the snake is laying on it.

The rest of the enclosure will be room temp, so unless the room you have her in is 80-85F she's still too cold. If the room is colder than 80F I'd advise heating it with a space heater or getting a CHE for supplemental heat. CHEs are like heat lamps but without the light.

Driving with a snake in 40F weather is fine and should not hurt them, unless they were driving with the windows down or the heat off or something.

Please keep us updated with the vet's diagnosis! What you've been describing is very worrisome. :( Bubbles and open mouths are typical of an RI, but the black stuff you mentioned is really odd...