What's wrong with my baby?

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

I have a 5 ft. Columbian red tail and she's always been really really sweet, never tried to bite or anything. Anyhow, lately i havnt been able to handle her as much, so i tried to make it a point to take her out for at least 20 minutes a day, however for some reason she's been hissing and opening up her mouth at people. She hasnt tried to strike, just opened her mouth up which i thought was wierd, but as soon as she did that i grabbed the base of her head and put her back. She's also been hissing when she's in her tank, with nobody bothering her or anything, i took a closer look and realized she has mites. Could her bad behavior have something to do with them? I also noticed her belly's been getting really pink in some spots, could this be scale rot? Im not really sure what to do... i just dont trust her lately because she's been like this, and i think she can sense it or something.

[BOA68]

Mites will definatly make her irritable. However, the hissing and open mouth are tell tale signs of RI. And the pink on her belly isn't good either. I would take a trip to the vet. What are the tank conditions(temps. and humidity)??

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

What is RI? I thought she was opening her mouth up at people kuz she was like warning them to leave her alone... like i want to bite you but im gonna let you know that type deal.

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

I'm not sure about the humidity, but right now i dont think its warm enough in there, like about 78 at night and 82 during the day lately. I was thinking about getting her one of those heating pads that sticks to the underside of the aquarium, but its kind of expensive, so it'll have to wait a couple more weeks i think. I think i need to get her a bigger enclosure too.

[concept3]

well I know nothing of boa's but if you dont even know the temps its supposed to be at you better start researching now. If you waight a couple more weeks to get the temps right Im sure it will be dead, by the sounds of It, its diseased riddled. I dont keep boa's but I do keep other snakes, but I am under the impression that if you do not correct the husbandry ASAP and get it to the vet It wont live more than a couple weeks. A undertank heat is like 30 bucks? Thats not very expensive. Hearing this stuff makes me upset, I mean Its not like this information is hard to find. If its not humid enuff mist it once a day, It olny takes 30 seconds. Now you are gonna have to go to the vet and spend 100+ to save your snake. But i geuss If you wont buy it a UTH you probably wont take it the the vet jeeez.......

[reptiguy420]

what does the pink on her belly mean?

[concept3]

from what ive read probably scale rot, It cant be a burn because he aint giving the thing any heat.

[reptiguy420]

i thought scale rot was brown scales....

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

NO its warm enough right now but i'm worried about the winter and on occasional nights where its cold lately, which wont be around for at least a month, ive had her for more than a couple weeks and she's had no problems until the mites. and by the way i am planning on taking her to the vet, i'm looking for one near me as i type. besides that wasnt really the question i was asking it was more along the lines of behavior.

[BOA68]

Your snake needs an air temp. of 84-86 during the day with a basking area of 88-92. Anything cooler than this and you are asking for trouble. Night time temps should be 78-80. You need to figure out a way to get your temps right ASAP or your snake is in trouble. RI is respiratory infection. Open mouth breathing and hissing are classic signs of RI. I have never seen a boa open its mouth as a warning. This will kill your snake if not treated. If you have enough money to buy a boa you have enough to buy a heat pad. They don't cost that much. And also be sure that if you put a heat pad on the underside of the tank that you put something in the bottom of the inside of the tank so that your snake cannot lay directly on the glass because it will burn itself, those pads get pretty hot. Newspaper makes a good substrate to give a barrier from the intense hea of the pad. The low temps and added stress from the mites provided the perfect conditions for RI to develop. Get professional assistance or you won't have your snake much longer.

Just wondering how big is your enclosure??? I have a boa that is just over 5ft and i built her an enclosure that is 4 x 2.5 x 2.5.

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

Ok well i'm definately going to get that checked out by a vet. She's not breathing with her mouth open, but i have noticed that i can hear her breathing sometimes, i dont know if thats normal or not because she's been doing i think as long as i've had her and i never really thought much about it. I got her at 2 years old a couple months ago. She opened her mouth when she was being pissy so i'm pretty sure that's why. but im still going to take her in and get the heat pad.

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

She's 5 1/2 ft, and she's in a 55 gallon aquarium. i've been wanting to build her something bigger, but i've been having alot of money trouble lately. it seemed just fine for her a few months ago, but lately it seems like she's not able to stretch out all the way anymore. Thanks for the advice. I have my temp gage at the bottom and its usually a lil above 80, but she can get on top of her logs and be right under the heat.

[JonD]

If you can't afford to keep you snake in good health, I'd recommend you give it to someone who can. No reason it should suffer.:rolleyes:

[Artemis]

Vet sounds mandatory at this point, and you need to go ASAP. For all other info, read this link:

http://www.ssnakess.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=49220

Let us know how your snake is doing.

Artemis

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

I took out all of her stuff from her cage, like her wood and stuff, and put it in the freezer after i cleaned it out with peroxide. This will kill all the mites on there right? i did the same with her carpet. I put paper towls down and a cardboard box for her. i'm going today to get her the heatpad and make her a vet appt. What is the best way to keep her tank humid? and how would i monitor this? i just have one of those stick on temp gages, like the guy at the pet store said to get, but from what i've heard these are not so great, so is there another option thats not digital?

[LdyDrgn]

Sometimes the pink belly will indicate an upcoming shed. Our 7' female gets real hissy if she's disturbed while in blue.

Head to the local WalMart and get a human heating pad (without auto-shut-off) for under the cage, set on low and monitor the temps. Use a couple of pencils or chopsticks to raise the bootom a little to allow for airflow so the pad does not overheat. Pads are around $10-$12 usually, much cheaper than the 'reptile mats' that will need a rheostat as well. ;) Good luck.

[BOA68]

Have you ever kept a snake as a pet before. Why would you clean the tank with peroxide and then freeze the stuff. Use a 10% bleach solution to clean stuff, or go buy terrarium cleaner, which is made specifically for cleaning your terrarium and stuff inside it. I think you should read about boas and how to keep them.

[D J N]

Use NIX it's the best :)

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

Well we went to the vet and she's perfectly healthy, and actually she might be a he,.... but thats besides the case. Anyhow, I got a heating pad for the bottom and an extra spot light. I havnt seen any mites for at least a week now, and the vet couldnt find any either. She's back to being herself again now too. She hasnt been being agressive at all pretty much since the mites died down. So everything's peachy. :)

[BoidKeeper]

Pink belly, could she be in shed maybe. My suriname has a pink belly but he's about to shed.
Cheers,
Trevor

[FoxeyFourTwenty]

Thats what i think too, kuz i dont notice it anymore and she just shed a couple days ago.