New Boa Owner

[BCChris]

Hello I recently got a boa and her throat is swollen after changing the bedding to pine shavings and feeding her a rat. I noticed some pine getting in her mouth and now her throat is swollen. I was wondering if anyone had any advise on what to do? Thank you very much

[Scubadiver59]

See your other post...get her out of that viv, remove the pine (it has oils that contain toxins harmful to snakes), don't use Cedar either. Clean the viv, put in Aspen, Cypress, paper towels, or newspapers. Supposedly "kiln dried" Pine is okay, but I'd avoid it anyway.

Kiln dried pine is NOT ok to use for Ball Pythons, especially not hatchlings. Pine and Cedar contain phenols which can cause significant health problems.