Clear Liquid out of boa mouth?

laceybailey · 08-18-10, 05:41 PM

Hey everyone, I'm new to this website and dont know if this is the proper place for this, but here we go anyway.

I fed my 3 foot long boa a small rat two days ago. He got it down with out a problem at all. The next morning half of him was burried under the Aspen so I poked his lower half to let him know i was going to get him out and he acted dead. I couldn't even see him breathing. He let me move his whole body back and forth and didn't even "flex" he was just limp. Right when i was going to prounce him dead he started moving.

Today I picked him up and he still has a buldge where the rat is like he can't get it digested. I read that handling them can help the digestion process so i did and then he looked at me and kind of twitched, which he did the day before as well, then opened his mouth and clear liquid like water started coming out and dripped all over me.

What is this?

ineedsoap16 · 08-18-10, 06:51 PM

Hi lacey,

Before we get anywhere, what are the conditions he is being kept at(temp humidity, etc)?

Ryan

laceybailey · 08-19-10, 12:15 AM

He is in a 30 Gallon with a water dish and one fake tree thingy with a 100 wat heat lamp sitting on top of the end with out the water. Bedded with aspen. I just went to the store and bought a heat gauge and it went up to 86 degrees which is the highest the heat gauge reads then it isn't showing what it is at now. Maybe it is too hot? I was talking to someone and he was saying that since i've only had it for a couple days maybe he is on the other end of the cage all the time because he is "nervous." but everyone says something different it seems like. I thought the heat would be okay since he just ate? idk..

I dont have a humidity gauge yet so i'm unsure of that.

I'm trying to upload some pictures so you can see him, and his cage.

Feebo · 08-19-10, 03:23 AM

Oh dear, that doesn`t sound good. When you say the heat lamp is " on top" It`s not just sat on a grid mesh top is it? I say that because unless you really know what you`re doing, I don`t consider that a suitable enclosure. If that`s the case, it may well be far too cold in there. When a snake has just eaten, it needs proper heating to be able to digest the food. If you havent got proper heating set up, the food will just ROT inside the snake potentially, probably even, killing it. What`s this about handling a snake will help it digest?! That`s the oposite of what you should do. When they`ve just eaten they should be left well alone for DAYS. Their stomachs are full of sharp teeth and claws, please PLEASE never handle your snake after feeding it! Also, if you`ve got a grid top, you just can`t keep ANY humidity in the tank. All that being said though and taking into consideration you`re in a hot country, I`m inclined to think that snake has other problems aswell as possibly poor heating. Snakes don`t generally have any problems just vomiting in an poorly heated tank. What was the consistancy of the clear fluid? Was it like water or more like a snotty type substance? The best advise I can give you mate is this :- Stop handling it ALTOGETHER. pray you haven`t ruptured it`s stomach by already doing so. Check the temperatures in your tank, put a thermometer at the warm AND cool ends and report back to us. You`ve got a choice here, I`d do the first thing I`m going to say here. Give him a day or two under PROPER heating and leave him well alone, check him many times a day VISUALLY, then think about getting it to a vet. Or get it to a vet now. The reason I`d wait is because moving it around at the moment MAY make things worse but as I say, that`s just what I`d do, and I haven`t actually seen your snake mind you. Has it got a moss hide full of nice damp moss? If not, he should have, get one in there asap, a nice high humidity place to go may help at the moment. I hope that helps at least a little. Try to answer everyones questions as much as you can, it`ll help us to help you.

shaunyboy · 08-19-10, 05:58 AM

hello and welcome

always give your snake at least 3 days to digest its food.during this time its not advisable to handle your snake as you may cause it to regurgate its meal.

most snakes after a meal will usually go somewhere hot and lye there until its meal has been digested.with my carpets its usually 2 to 4 days.

i have never come across your type of problem with any of my snakes so i'm afraid i cant help you other than suggesting a trip to the vets.

wasit all fluid that came up ?

no solid matter at all ?

cheers shaun

Will0W783 · 08-19-10, 09:00 AM

My first thought would be respiratory infection, since it sounds like mucus discharge, but usually with RIs they don't just drip copious amounts of fluid out. I would make a vet appointment for him for the next day or so. Make sure the vet appointment is at least 2 days after he ate, but get him in as quickly as possible. You may have to call around to a few vets before you find one that is good with reptiles. Best of luck; hope he pulls through ok.

laceybailey · 08-19-10, 04:30 PM

Okay, i have a temp in their and a humidity gauge now. It is at 90 degrees on the hot side and humidity is at about 42 percent. The lamp is just sitting on the mesh top, what should I do about that? The fluid wasn't thick, wasn't sappy, just looked and felt like water. I talked to someone at the pet store who does breeding with red tails and told me it was a lower RI. But then i talked to 3 other people and they told me it was just water and to wait it out. He won't go over into the heated side he keeps himself pinned between the other side of the cage and the water dish. I keep the "cold" end of the tank covered with a towell and spray water in their with a spray bottle to get it to about 50-60 percent humidity.
Please tell me what advice you guys have and I will take it into action. I'm new to snakes and want to learn!

Jenn_06 · 08-19-10, 04:42 PM

i never liked heat lamps all they dry out the air and lowers the humidity, get a heat pad that goes under the tank and cover most of that mesh top so the humidity cant get out too much.

laceybailey · 08-19-10, 04:46 PM

Well I just got the snake about 3-4 days ago now so i've just been using what he came with for now, then once i find out the best things people are doing i was going to "upgrade"

Freebody · 08-19-10, 05:32 PM

i use heat cord from zoo med 50 watt, its cosiderably cheeper that the heat pads and you can apply it in a design under the cage, or wrap it around stuff in the cage,i dont put it in my cage but people say they do with a thermostate attached, under the cage you can leave a cold spot as well as a hotter area, shows you a good design right on the back of the box. i like it better than heat lamps as well, i use ceramic heat dishes instead of bulbs well when i use heat lamps, it last way longer than bulbs but cost twice as much but still cheeper in the long run. try to post pics of what the liquide looks like so we can see, i would take it to the vet asap if it were my snake. could be a wasted $40 or it could be the snakes life saving visit, which is priceless,better safe than sorry.

laceybailey · 08-19-10, 05:47 PM

Well it only happend once, it's not like around his mouth or anything. I haven't picked him up since it's happend. I'm waiting to see if he can digest his food completly. I was just holding him and he looked at me, opened his mouth, and threw up this "water" then i put him back in his cage.

Freebody · 08-19-10, 06:04 PM

hmm could have been water he just drank and puked it up after just eating and being handled, sound probable, specially if you have not seen it since, keep us post, we'll cross are fingers that is what is was.

laceybailey · 08-19-10, 06:38 PM

Yeah that's what a few people have told me but i'm still worried about the buldge. He ate 2-3 days ago and the rat hasn't moved downward. It's still in the same place. Is that normal? and i haven't even seen him touch his water.

laceybailey · 08-19-10, 06:40 PM

Would it be possible the rat was too big for him? he is 3 feet and i fed him a small rat, even the guy at the pet store said that was okay, but the previous owner of him told me that he had just eaten a couple days before so maybe too much too quick? she just fed him a pup rat before i bought him.

Freebody · 08-19-10, 07:05 PM

if he got it down i wouldnt be worried if its to big, good room of thumb is, as long as your snake is not obease,feed it rats the same size as its fattest point, if the rat is mid way down its body it will not keep moving,it will start getting smaller of a bulge at that point.