found a friend

[Pueblo]

:Wow: Hello all
I have an interesting situation. and I need some help a friend of mine called me last night and said he had found his pet boa after five months and needed me to come over and pick it up.
Its a young boa about three feet in length and she escaped about two weeks before he moved. five months ago. he lived in a rooming house with other guys. he looked for the snake for two weeks but could not find it. he had no acess to the whole house and was not alowed to look for the snake. On moving day he emtyied the room and no boa to be found. untill last night he found her in a box that was taped shut for the whole five months. she had no food and no water but his new apartment is very warm so she had heat. I went over and brought her to my house for proper care as she kept trying to strike at him. she is dehidrated and probably hungry. I put her in a tank with a huge dish of water witch she slept in all night after an hour she was looking pretty good moving around and drinking every half hour or so. when should I try to feed her and what size food should I use at first. any advice would be greatly apreacitated I have never yet had an escape of my own that lasted more then a day. plus I only own corns and milks never had a boa to care for. Please help.

[Chu'Wuti]

Oh, wow--what a testimonial to the length of time these snakes can go without food!

As I've heard over and over that snakes can go for pretty long periods of time, my guess would be feed her the size she looks as if she can handle--which is probably going to be bigger than your corns & milks. I don't own boas myself, but the care sheets I've seen suggest feeding a prey animal no wider than the widest part of the snake's body; rat pups are probably appropriate, but I'm just guessing as I don't know just how wide she is.

What kind of boa is she? That would help, too. A red-tail starts on rat fuzzies as a hatchling, so a 3-footer would be moving up from the fuzzies.

Good luck!

[siz]

If you could post a picture with something to sze reference that would be helpful :)
...If you want to get rid of her, I'm nice 'n close ;) ;) just joking!

[Faequine]

As Chu said go by the thickest part of the snakes body. It the rule of thumb. lol. Sometimes if where ever you go is good enough and you bring your snake to show them if your not sure then they can help.

[Smilts]

I would give it a few days to make sure its not dehydrated before trying a feed if its drinking that often. Then I would feed it the proper sized food going by body thickness.

[Aaron_S]

Don't go with a large meal or even one the size of it's thickest part! I'm having a hard time believing that this snake lived five months without any water. Food yes, but water no.

Anyways, a picture of it with something in the picture for a size reference would be very useful. You want to keep the food small as to not shock the system with something huge since it's gone without food for so long.

[Pueblo]

Hello All
She seems to be doing well I hav e not fed her yet im going to give her one more day of relaxing. She has stoped drinking so much and seems very alert. this morning she was striking at everything that moved but this evening she has calmed down and even let me hold her gently. She seems fine however what i have learned about reptiles is sometimes by time you see a problem its often to late to fix. there was one strange thing she did though she had a poop of some little pellets about four of them. im not sure how she could poo if she has not eaten. I know this whole five month with no food or water thing is hard to believe but I swear its true. I am charging my atteries as we speak and tomorow i will post a photo of her Id love for you guys to see this miricle. i talked to my friend and he gave her to me so she is mine now. I have always wanted a boa but was never equiped to house one. I am just as shocked as you guys are about this miricle. but if God wants her to live then who am i to stop it . Ive been told female columbien red tail boas grow 10 to 12 feet . so what would be an apropreate sized house for her?? I am going to build it from scratch but I will only build it once so it will last her whole life . any ideas would be greatly welcomed.
thanks again guys for your help and i will keep you updated on her progress. and sorry to break hearts but i plan on keeping her.:sorry:

[Smilts]

If the pellets were yellow or white ish then they are urates from the drinking.

[Chu'Wuti]

OK, Pueblo, if Aaron says DON'T feed a full-sized meal, DON'T!

Aaron, what about a half-sized meal? Or do you think even smaller would be best? And how often should Pueblo feed her? I'm wondering about feeding her smaller meals more often for awhile--maybe a pinky or fuzzy every 3-4 days?

What a strange situation!

[never25]

i agree with arron s, start her of with somthing small to get her digestive system working again, you dont want to stress her out too much. good luck

[Faequine]

If shes striking that much ive say shes hunrgy, and well stressed considering what shes gone through. I'd feed her somieing small pronto, maybe a fuzzie? or to be super safe, listen to arron and chu and never, go with pinkies. if she wants more feed her more, though i think there should be a limit to exactly how many she eats.

[Pueblo]

Hello All
Well its been three days now and she is doing well I fed her yesterday 1 weenling wich is what she normally would eat. She ate it with no problems at all. and today I had to move her to a bigger tank and she didn't strike at me or anything she acted like shes my best friend and she looks great her muscle tone feels good she does not seem weak at all. So here is a picture of her for everybody to see. and ive named her missy.

[Chu'Wuti]

Pueblo, that is truly amazing. She looks great for a snake who lived in a box for months! Give her a few days to digest her first meal before trying another so you don't overwhelm her digestive system as it gets back into gear.

[Aaron_S]

Well it looks just like a normal colombian boa, and if it is female they usually get to 6 - 8 feet on average. The big 10 - 12 footers a fairly rare occurance with the common ones.

A weenling rat is good for now. I would do it maybe every 5 - 7 days right now to get the body back on track. As Chu said you don't want to overhwhelm the digestive system.

You said it's only been maybe a week since this animal has been living in a box? For five months? That snake has not lost an ounce of body mass to it in those five months so I'm sorry I don't believe the situation. Either way, good job on a "rescue".

[Pueblo]

Hello all
I know it sounds crazy and it is hard to believe . because I am still trying to wrap my mind around this whole thing. And im not upset if you can't believe it. but some things are true weather you beleive in them or not. And in this case its true.
any how i have been handling her everyday now and she seems alright to me. of course i will keep you informed. of her progress. and two days after her first meal she deficated. she also spends alot of time lying in her water dish. anyhow must go so talk to you again soon. thanks for your advice and support.

[Aaron_S]

Just a word of advice, try not to handle her too much after you feed her. It's always best to let the food digest for at least 24 hours (suggested 48 hours) before handling any snake.

[Pueblo]

Hello all
well just a quick update Missy is doing well seems to be completly fine gave her her second meal. two days ago and she had no problems with it. I am very releaved and happy with her progress I still think its a miracle. thanks for all your suport over te last two weeks.:)

[siz]

Glad to hear she's doing alright :)

[Faequine]

glad to hear shes doing fine, hope you two share a long and happy life together

[Chu'Wuti]

That's great, Pueblo! I hope she continues to do well.

[Pueblo]

hello all

even my fiance is starting to come around with the snakes she will even touch them now. All it took was some time and a little paitience on my part. but we are becvoming a happy family. Cheers All

[Chu'Wuti]

Hooray! The next thing you know, your fiancee is going to want a snake of her own! LOL

[Pueblo]

hello all
where not married yet but whats mine is hers so the pets are her babies as well as mine. exept in case we split then there mine. but im not worried about that.
LOL anyways gotta run