New Boa Doesn't Leave Water

promdom · 09-17-12, 01:55 AM

hi there, i'm new and this is my first thread. I picked up an 11' sunglow female boa yesterday at the CRBE in Toronto. She was in the bag for about 24 hours due too some issues getting her tank ready. I put her in today and she checked out everything and has been in her water dish for about 6 hours now. Ten months ago i had a snake do this and he ended up infesting my collection with mites. My initial mite check yesterday turned up good but i'm worried she could have picked up mites after being out of the bag at the expo as i showed a few herper friends. I'm new to boas so i'm wondering if anyone has ever had the same issue with a BCC staying in the water. She was pretty stressed out when entering the tank and seemed a bit dehydrated seeing as she spent about 10 minutes getting in a number of drinks. could dehydration or stress be the cause? just looking for some fellow boa owner opinions. Thanks.

Dan

mark24 · 09-17-12, 02:11 AM

I don't own boas but she could be going into shed, she could be dehydrated. How are you keeping her temps, humidity, substrate ect.

SnakeyJay · 09-17-12, 03:13 AM

My boa's soak often but not for too long... Could be dehydrated from the journey or just looking for a nice place to chill after all the stress. If the mite check went ok then double check temps n humidity, make sure there's plenty of hides and leave it to calm down for a week.

And I do believe a sunglow is a BCI, not a bcc.

Snickers · 09-17-12, 05:11 AM

If it is a BCI, 11' is extremely big for a BCI.

SnakeyJay · 09-17-12, 06:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snickers

If it is a BCI, 11' is extremely big for a BCI.

Haha I saw 11 inches.

.... Didn't realise there was sunglows in the bcc.

Lankyrob · 09-17-12, 05:26 AM

Good quarantine procedures will ensure that the rest of your collection is safe no matter what issues the new snake may have

shaunyboy · 09-17-12, 05:38 AM

re dehydration
there's usually tenting of the skin in dehydration cases,i can pm you a re hydration method,if you think dehydration may be the problem

re mites
once the snakes been in it's water bowl a few hours.....

lift the snake out,then swab the eyes and nostrils stright away,with a white cotton bud

during the snakes time in the water,mites accumulate around the snakes,eyes and nostrils,to avoid drowning

if you find mites,then imo the best treatment is PROVENT A MITE...

its always worked first time everytime for me

also theres no need for repeat treatments,as it remains active for 30 days,its a great product for preparing quarantine tanks,for new arrivals

cheers shaun

lumpbump · 09-17-12, 08:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by promdom

hi there, i'm new and this is my first thread. I picked up an 11' sunglow female boa yesterday at the CRBE in Toronto. She was in the bag for about 24 hours due too some issues getting her tank ready. I put her in today and she checked out everything and has been in her water dish for about 6 hours now. Ten months ago i had a snake do this and he ended up infesting my collection with mites. My initial mite check yesterday turned up good but i'm worried she could have picked up mites after being out of the bag at the expo as i showed a few herper friends. I'm new to boas so i'm wondering if anyone has ever had the same issue with a BCC staying in the water. She was pretty stressed out when entering the tank and seemed a bit dehydrated seeing as she spent about 10 minutes getting in a number of drinks. could dehydration or stress be the cause? just looking for some fellow boa owner opinions. Thanks.

Dan

Does she have adequate hides? Sometimes boa constrictors "hide" in their water dish to feel comfortable. Also 11' is tiny for a boa. I recently bought a 8 week old albino het anery BCI female and she was close to 20 inches. Sometimes they will also soak to help soften their poop before they drop it off for you to clean! I have a 6ft male ghost that would sit in his water dish for nearly 2 or 3 days before dropping huge turds and uriates. It seems to me that more than half of my snakes soak before going to the bathroom. They all have water dishes and adequate hides... Hope this helps

... Also it may be too hot for her in her cage. Check your husbandry against acceptable boa constrictor husbandry and get back in touch. Also avoid your desire to feed her right away. At the least give her a few days to destress or you may find yourself having to buy a pinky press and force feed her. Dont want her associating food with stress at a young age.

Snickers · 09-17-12, 08:16 AM

' = feet

" = inches

lumpbump · 09-17-12, 08:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Snickers

' = feet

" = inches

Yep.

I wanna see an 11 foot boa anything! Pics or it didnt happen

promdom · 09-17-12, 10:44 AM

to straighten everything out by saying 11' i meant a 2011. Sorry for the confusion ill make myself more clear next time. shes just over 2 feet. im also new to boas thats why i thought a sunglow was a bcc, but thanks for all the replies i really appreciate it. my temps are 88 hot side 78 cool side and a hide at both ends, water on the cool side. im about to swab for mites... ill update and post pictures of her later!!

Trollbie · 09-17-12, 11:27 AM

I just brought in a new ball python a week ago and she's been living in her water dish too. I check for mites every day, but didn't find any. If your temps and humidity are good, then the boa is either going into shed or likes water?

Let me know how things go, I'm still trying to figure out why my ball does it.

rmfsnakes32 · 09-17-12, 11:35 AM

If you just got her and ruled out mites sounds like maybe a little dehydration to me or she could be like my boa and just enjoy soaking do check the face and nostrills as suggested for mites