New Addition, advice appreciated.

subsentient · 02-27-17, 02:08 PM

A little over a week ago I picked up this wonderful addition to my growing snake collection / addiction. He is a 2 year old Hypo het sharp. When I got home I put him into quarantine and started a regime of treatment for mites as he began soaking immediately. As you will see in the pictures I soon noticed he had a reasonable size lump on his nose in front of his eyes that i didn’t initially see due to how taken I was with the patterning on his head. I immediately booked an appointment with the best reptile vet I could find in my city. Long story short it has been lanced and found to be an empty of anything other than some scar tissue. He is also on a 3 week course of antibiotics just to be safe. While I had him at the vet she said that he appeared to be somewhat underweight for his length. The PO said he was feeding one small rat every week but it was sometimes refused. My initial reaction based on what I have learned was that it was probably over frequent and undersized, I could be wrong though. Either way the vet suggested that I work to put some weight on him, so my question is what is the best way to do this without power feeding him and putting his longevity at risk? I am nervous about this as I have become very aware of the health risks of over feeding, thanks to this forum.
The info I got from the PO is somewhat suspect as well (he told me several different prey sizes) so I am essentially starting from scratch. The PO was also very nervous with him and said that he had bitten him only a few moments before I arrived… very strange since after waiting a week to take him out the night before the vet visit he turned out to be one of the most calm and even tempered reptiles I have ever encountered. He was inquisitive but completely docile at the vet, allowing his head to be examined and worked on without any fuss at all. IMO you would have to work pretty darn hard to get struck by this guy so I am really uncertain of his prior care. In any case I feel extremely lucky to have him with me now!

PO's Pic from ad

**EL Ziggy** · 02-27-17, 02:30 PM

I don't keep boas so I'm not sure of the best feeding regiment but he's a beautiful critter. Good job on the rescue and best wishes with the new addition.

TRD · 02-27-17, 03:01 PM

I don't have boa's myself (except sand boa's) but the regimen most experienced keepers use for boas is "slim and muscular" ... boa is not a fat/heavy snake. He doesn't strike me as underweight tbh.

subsentient · 02-27-17, 03:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL Ziggy

I don't keep boas so I'm not sure of the best feeding regiment but he's a beautiful critter. Good job on the rescue and best wishes with the new addition.

Thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by TRD

I don't have boa's myself (except sand boa's) but the regimen most experienced keepers use for boas is "slim and muscular" ... boa is not a fat/heavy snake. He doesn't strike me as underweight tbh.

Ya he doesn't look bad in the pics and when he is curled up but when he is stretched out his sides are not very full. The vet said she would like him to regain some lost muscle mass, not so much fat I dont think, as he is very... squishy I guess you could say. He seems to have extra skin where you would expect him to be full. Im guessing he used to be in good shape at one point then lost a bunch.

**Andy_G** · 02-27-17, 04:03 PM

That boa is not underweight or doesn't seem to be in the pics. They are slim and squared off in shape rather than round. If the sides come out a lot then it's an overweight animal. I would be feeding that snake every 2 weeks instead of every week as well because they have a rather slow metabolism. He looks really good. Congrats on the new addition!