HELP!! Health concerns

[AnniesMom]

Jake the Snake is showing signs of some kind of illness. He's feeding well and pooping, and starting to shed right now, but there is a clear thick fluid that he blows bubbles with from the mouth and sometimes nose. Today, hubby called me and said that he couldn't open his mouth. I bathed his head in warm water and the stuff loosened up and now he can open his mouth. Any ideas what could be wrong? Also, for those of us in Victoria, any vet names that see snakes, mine is on mat leave.

[Clownfishie]

Sounds like he has an RI... definitely take him into the vet asap.

Try Glenview Animal Hospital (in Colwood/Langford)... Dr.Chis (something) there is supposed to be really good, and deals with reptiles :)

[AnniesMom]

Thanks, I'll try that. My vet's, Sassenos Vet in Sooke, has 2 that love herps, but they are both off tomarrow and I want him looked at ASAP.

Update: I have a 1040 am appt with Dr Chris Collis tomarrow . Yay!

[JaredAren]

Good luck with him.

[Jeff_Favelle]

What's your cage temperatures??

[althena]

Good luck! RIs are such a drag. :(

[AnniesMom]

Jeff : cage is at temp 25 and humidity 70% .

[Linds]

Humidity is fine, but that is waaaaaay too cold for a boa. Your snake needs a gradient of around 80-90 (let him tell you the specifics ;) ). 77 is the lowest I would allow the cool side to get, but he needs constant access to warmer temperatures.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Unless that is 25°C, which equals about 78°F. Adding a heat pad for him to thermoregulate would be a great idea. Heat should top out around 90° depending on what he likes. Even if it seems to hot, he will go back and forth as needed to keep his temps just right for his own personal needs. I have seen boas on pads at 100° settings, but I feel it is a bit to hot IMO. The overall cage temp should not dip below 75° for good measure.

[Jeff_Favelle]

Jeff : cage is at temp 25 and humidity 70% .

You're joking, right? I certainly hope so. And notice how I asked for "temperatures" (plural). That implies that ONE temperature throughout your cage will NOT suffice.

You need to get your husbandry and cage setup in order pronto. Taking that boa to the vet isn't going to do jack when you are keeping it like that. Its a band-aid. You need to concentrate on not letting your boa get "cut".

[AnniesMom]

Let me amend that statement. The ambient temp in the room is 20C, the warm side of the cage with the hide in it is 25C and the basking spot with spot light is 30-32C. Both boas seem to prefer to stay on the cooler side of the cage in the hide, although during the day they are aften hanging out around the warm side. Sorry to cause confusion. The vet has said that they have mouth rot, and as such, I am moving them out of the wood cage with gravel substrate and putting them in a HUGE aqaurium that will have a paper towel bottom and UTH. They will be in this until their new cages are finished. When they are in their new homes, they are seperate so that hopefully one can't infect the other again.

Regarding the new cage, how much flexwatt is recommended for a cage 4'long, 2'wide and 2'tall that is made of 3/4" plywood? I was thinking 11" flexwatt but should the tape be the full lenght of the cage?

[C.m.pyrrhus]

I only heat 1/4 to 1/3 of my cages and tanks. This gives a hot side, and a cool side. BTW, why are you using gravel as a substate for boas?

If your boas do have stomatitis, AKA mouth rot, you will need to up thier temps to the higher end of their needs. More than likely you will be given antibiotics to treat the problem and as such your boas will need to be as warm as possible to keep their body as efficient as possible. Making the substrate and caging as simple as you can will help them recovery better as well. Going with the paper towels is a good idea.

[AnniesMom]

I have just gone and upped the heater under the substrate to 34C, which will put it at about 28C on the cool side and 34-36C in the light. I put the gravel in the cage because I have a waterbed heater in the cage that needs something on top of it. They are going into the aqaurium tomarrow when I move it over here. I will then be putting the waterbed heater, and 2 heating pads under the tank for heat. Do you use flexwatt? Do you find that it provides enough ambient heat? What about a basking spot?