boa

[carolthomas]

I need some help please, I have what was sold to me as a dwarf boa, and the snake is small, maybe 18 inches. She last ate approx a month ago. =( . She has a hide, well actually two, one on the warm side one on the cool side. I have the warm side set at 94 degrees. Her water is on the cool side. her substrate is aspen. She hasn't eaten at all, I have offered 4 times, small mice. No interest whatsoever. She is tank aggressive, and when I say aggressive, this is seriously no joke, she hisses and actually strikes. Now she only does all this when the water bowl is in the tank, the thing is, she stays in the water bowl all the time. She NEVER comes out of it, unless I force her out. Which is scary in its own right due to her aggressive reaction, but I force it, and take the bowl out every other day for 24 hours. As soon as I put the water back in, she is up and in the water, only her snout is out. She is aware of everything around her, as she moves to see what is near her viv. I bought a thermostat to keep the warm end even.. I am at a loss. Does anyone have any ideas as to what to do? I have had her about a month. Now, the odd part is, when the water is not in there, she is the most agreeable snake.. I can reach in, take her out.. hold her, and do what I want with her. She shed last week. It was not a complete shed, just the tip of her face is not done, yet she doesn't soak that. Could it be possible she is in a kind of torpor? Please help.. I want to make sure she is all good.. and what do I do to help facilitate feeding.. I asked at school and no one seems to have any ideas..

I would post a picture but I am not sure how to post them here.

[infernalis]

I would post a picture but I am not sure how to post them here.

You can attach pictures by clicking the paper clip next to the smile face on top of the editor, or use photobucket and the standard [img] codes.

[carolthomas]

This is lAcRoIX

[KORBIN5895]

If she is in the water that much I would guess she has mites. Is the spot that looks like retained shed a white or gray color? If so it is probably mite poop. If it is mites I would recommend provent a mite or nix ( which is what I use because provent a mite is unavailable here)

[alessia55]

Have you checked to see if the water dish has mites? Sometimes snakes will soak in their water dish for long periods of time if they're trying to relieve themselves of mites. Look for little black dots in the water dish when you remove it. You'll also want to check your boa over for mites on the body.

Not sure about why she's being so territorial over the water dish :hmm: Maybe someone else on here has some ideas...

[KORBIN5895]

It could be because she is getting so much relief from soaking.

[Trent]

Could be trying to soak the rest of the shed off or could be just a nice tight place for her to feel secure.Boas love tight spaces!

[carolthomas]

I thought about this afternoon, and I looked, and I don't see anything, I removed the waterbowl today, nothing in the bowl, and nothing on her, I lowered the temp of her viv also to 91.5 and today actually no aggression when I prompted her to leave the water bowl, man was she COLD when I got her out. She seemed content to curl up tight in my hand and remain there, I moved her fav hide to the warm side of her viv, and put her under it, and she has stayed there. I am at such a loss here! I don't know where to go with this! I checked her and I don't see anything on her skin



Have you checked to see if the water dish has mites? Sometimes snakes will soak in their water dish for long periods of time if they're trying to relieve themselves of mites. Look for little black dots in the water dish when you remove it. You'll also want to check your boa over for mites on the body.

Not sure about why she's being so territorial over the water dish :hmm: Maybe someone else on here has some ideas...

[Gungirl]

Ok if you see no mites thats good. Can we see a picture of the set up you have her in?

[Hillsberry]

Yes please post some pictures of her setup. It's good to hear she has no mites. Mites are the biggest pain in the butt.

[Caylan]

What's the cool side temperature? Have you tried mice and rats, live and frozen now? What's the humidity in the cage? Has it ever eaten for you? What did it eat last?

[BarelyBreathing]

I second Caylan's questions. Also, you may want to keep the cat away from her. I've seen too many accidents that happen before people even have time to react.

[Skumbo]

I second Caylan's questions. Also, you may want to keep the cat away from her. I've seen too many accidents that happen before people even have time to react.

this was a huge thing I was thinking of. i hate when people keep their mammals and reptiles near each other and expect them to get along, it could be fine for years and one day you bring the snake out and next thing you know you have a dead snake or a dead cat or both. Not. Worth it.

I guarantee you the snake smells the cat as well, and isn't too happy being near it.

[carolthomas]

The cool side is 70, I have only tried frozen mice, frozen.. I don't feed live. I don't know the humidity inside, but I will find that out. It has not eaten for me, and it will be a month come this tuesday. I took the water bowl out last night, and it is due to go back in tonight. She is on the warm side in a small box this morning, hanging out. I double checked and she does not have mites, even checking the substrate. The man I bought her from said she is on mice, and was a great eater..
Normally my cats stay away, Spirit hopped up on the table to see what the camera is about, my husband is a soldier, and is away on a training mission, so I was doing it all one handed so to speak.. hence the cat.. I will take pics of her viv today and get them posted,,, its generic.. not much to it, aspen substrate, a cave type hide and then a small box hide on the warm side, with a bowl for water that she loves to stay in.
I would never ever expect my animals to all get along so to say as someone put it, I have quite a few different critters in and out of the house .. IE , chinchillas, chickens, cats, dogs..and my snakes, each has their own space and time with me. So I don't expect them to "get along" as it was put. That being said.. they cohabit the house .. ( chickens in the yard) fairly well.. it just so happened the cat hopped up on the table.. the snakes do not free roam the house, and are not out when the dogs are in and so on and so forth..
right now my main concern is for the welfare of lAcRoIX.. I wanted to make sure she is as content as she can be in a captive environment, and if I am doing something wrong, I need to learn from it and act asap, to correct it. I really appreciate everyone's time in trying to help me figure this out.


What's the cool side temperature? Have you tried mice and rats, live and frozen now? What's the humidity in the cage? Has it ever eaten for you? What did it eat last?

[Lankyrob]

How do you defrost and warm the mice that you feed - some snakes are particular about the temp of the prey they are being asked to eat.

[Skumbo]

The cool side is 70, I have only tried frozen mice, frozen.. I don't feed live. I don't know the humidity inside, but I will find that out. It has not eaten for me, and it will be a month come this tuesday. I took the water bowl out last night, and it is due to go back in tonight. She is on the warm side in a small box this morning, hanging out. I double checked and she does not have mites, even checking the substrate. The man I bought her from said she is on mice, and was a great eater..
Normally my cats stay away, Spirit hopped up on the table to see what the camera is about, my husband is a soldier, and is away on a training mission, so I was doing it all one handed so to speak.. hence the cat.. I will take pics of her viv today and get them posted,,, its generic.. not much to it, aspen substrate, a cave type hide and then a small box hide on the warm side, with a bowl for water that she loves to stay in.
I would never ever expect my animals to all get along so to say as someone put it, I have quite a few different critters in and out of the house .. IE , chinchillas, chickens, cats, dogs..and my snakes, each has their own space and time with me. So I don't expect them to "get along" as it was put. That being said.. they cohabit the house .. ( chickens in the yard) fairly well.. it just so happened the cat hopped up on the table.. the snakes do not free roam the house, and are not out when the dogs are in and so on and so forth..
right now my main concern is for the welfare of lAcRoIX.. I wanted to make sure she is as content as she can be in a captive environment, and if I am doing something wrong, I need to learn from it and act asap, to correct it. I really appreciate everyone's time in trying to help me figure this out.

soaking.. and you dont know the humidity..

ah.. hah!

Probably too low humidity. some snakes will soak if they're too dry or dehydrated because their enclosures are too dry.

find a good hygrometer (or two preferably) and salt test them to ensure accuracy. you can get a mister/sprayer and make sure the humidity is up meanwhile.

cypress mulch is great for keeping humidity up

im not sure how well aspen does in comparison, but i believe people use aspen and just spray it occasionally to keep humidity up fine.

if your tank is ventilated well, it will be losing a *lot* of humidity (like a screen top) and will need to be maintained much more than just whatever it is in your house, depending on where you are it could be extremely dry for your snake

[carolthomas]

I am in Colorado, so it is quite arid here.. I read your post on salt testing them.. Ill mist her this afternoon and see if that helps.. still doesn't solve the not eating part =(

[carolthomas]

I defrost in hot water.. then reheat with a blow dryer to give it that "appearance" of heat.. but still nothing.. I've even tried defrosting with hot water... drying it off and putting it in the viv, but nothing..

How do you defrost and warm the mice that you feed - some snakes are particular about the temp of the prey they are being asked to eat.

[alessia55]

I am in Colorado, so it is quite arid here.. I read your post on salt testing them.. Ill mist her this afternoon and see if that helps.. still doesn't solve the not eating part =(

Actually, any issues with your husbandry (i.e.: humidity) may lead him to refuse to eat. So I'd fix all of that first and see if it helps fix the problem with the water dish territorial behavior and the feeding issue.

[alessia55]

I defrost in hot water.. then reheat with a blow dryer to give it that "appearance" of heat.. but still nothing.. I've even tried defrosting with hot water... drying it off and putting it in the viv, but nothing..

Make sure the head and the hips are especially warm. Also, defrosting in water might wash some of the rat smell away. You might want to consider defrosting at room temperature in a container, and then warming up with the blow drier. Might be something worth trying to maintain more of that rat smell when you feed him.

[youngster]

Just wondering, how is his name pronouced?

[Skumbo]

I am in Colorado, so it is quite arid here.. I read your post on salt testing them.. Ill mist her this afternoon and see if that helps.. still doesn't solve the not eating part =(

it might actually, rather than being so focused on not dehydrating (much worse than not eating, especially for a snake which can go a long time without food) it will be able to "go into feed mode" and feel safe doing so, a snake wont feed unless it feels safe and that itll be able to sit and digest somewhere safe for a while.

[carolthomas]

La Cr Oi the X is silent.. it is french for the Cross... she has a perfect cross on her head..

Just wondering, how is his name pronouced?

[carolthomas]

I put her water bowl back in, and a damp sponge .. and fixed the cover, I am going to go get a few hygrometers, and some Cyprus mulch and change out her substrate and, grab a misting bottle, and try this .. see if it helps.. Thanks for all the help!

[BarelyBreathing]

Always measure humidity and temperatures digitally. Also, sorry if this has been covered, but what type of enclosure is she in? I'm in Colorado, too, and in fact, I'm in a much more arid region than Colorado Springs. I have no problem keeping enclosures at a stable 90% humidity, so that shouldn't be a problem as long as you're housing her properly. Sterilite type tubs are best for holding in humidity.

[Skumbo]

you can "shenanigan" a moist box (preferably use sphagnum moss)

do this to a plastic container of some kind, and fill it loosely with crumpled up wet paper towels:

http://www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com/images/Photo%20Gallery/Moss%20box%201.JPG

http://www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com/images/Photo%20Gallery/Moss%20box%202.JPG

make it just big enough for her to hide in snugly and make the holes easy for her to get in and out, if she spends time in there she can regulate her humidity between there and whatever the cage is at if she feels she needs more humidity without needing to soak

(this was taken from rainbows-r-us site, rainbow boas need very high humidity or they can dehydrate very easily, so this is a hide thats normally kept in a BRB enclosure)

[carolthomas]

17256 This is her viv, I changed her substrate to coconut, they didnt have the other, they didnt have any digital hydrometers so I will have to order one, so I got the one you can see in the picture, I built her the mini spa with sphagnum moss, and put some green in and added a new hide.. she is still in the water dish the humidity is up to 60, I also bought two new thermometers to monitor the temps on both sides.. the warm side is 93, the thermostat is set at 91, so that just shut off, and the cool side is at 72 right now.. so now I wait..

[carolthomas]

A better view.. now the humidity is up to 70

[BarelyBreathing]

You can get digital at Home Depot, or at Scales N Tails on Academy and Woodmen. Call first, because that store has gone way down hill since Chad left. :(

[BarelyBreathing]

Another thing you can do is cover your screen top. Screen is notorious for letting humidity escape. You can use aluminum foil or Visqueen, just be sure it doesn't come into contact with your heat source. Your set up looks good otherwise.

[carolthomas]

My screen top is covered with plastic wrap, and over the heat i have a towel.. right now its 90 degrees with 80% humidity she is still in the water bowl :wacky:

Another thing you can do is cover your screen top. Screen is notorious for letting humidity escape. You can use aluminum foil or Visqueen, just be sure it doesn't come into contact with your heat source. Your set up looks good otherwise.

[BarelyBreathing]

That's a bit concerning, as your humidity is great. Can you bring a fecal to a vet?

[carolthomas]

I dont have a sample.. I dont think the humidity was that good until I switched the set up today..Its at 90 now. But she is not completely submerged. I am wondering if I coax her out if she would stay out.

[Skumbo]

I dont have a sample.. I dont think the humidity was that good until I switched the set up today..Its at 90 now. But she is not completely submerged. I am wondering if I coax her out if she would stay out.

just leave her alone w/ proper husbandry now, and she should come around.

if youre bothering her a lot shes going to get a bit stressed out and wont want to eat (dont try to feed her every day or anything, try every 4-5 days or once a week)

she needs some time to adjust to "proper" humidity im sure

[carolthomas]

ive done nothing with her, she is in her bowl.. im just sitting her doing my thing.. she is in her water bowl, doing her thing as always... soaking :tired1_2: I hadn't planned on feeding until Thurs

just leave her alone w/ proper husbandry now, and she should come around.

if youre bothering her a lot shes going to get a bit stressed out and wont want to eat (dont try to feed her every day or anything, try every 4-5 days or once a week)

she needs some time to adjust to "proper" humidity im sure

[carolthomas]

Just a quick update before I head to work, she is out of her water this morning, and curled up in a corner.. warm side temp is at 89, and humidity is 55.. so we shall see!! Have a great day evryone!!
:bouncy:

[BarelyBreathing]

Woohoo!!!!!!!

[carolthomas]

Came home to her in her little spa, which is better than in the water bowl.. Thursday is feeding day.. I am excited to see what happens!!Woohoo!!!!!!!

[BarelyBreathing]

Cool. Keep us updated.