new boa dehydrated?

Kaity · 08-23-12, 03:16 PM

2 weeks ago i purchased a young (not quite 3 years) male bci. he appears dehydrated - i noticed folding skin when he curls up, which was not there when i purchased him - and seems to be having trouble shedding, despite adequate humidity and a couple of soakings. could it be that he is not drinking? he has easy access to clean water, but has not left his hide box since the beginning of his shed cycle. should i place a water bowl in his hide?

thanks so much!

snake man12 · 08-23-12, 03:19 PM

Mist him once a day.

Next feeding get a syringe and inject some fresh clean water in to the feeder. I have heard of a couple people doing this on the forum.

shaunyboy · 08-23-12, 03:35 PM

i pm'd you a great method for rehydrating snakes

cheers shaun

rmfsnakes32 · 08-23-12, 08:35 PM

I like to soak my snakes a day or 2 before they shed for 20 min or so it really helps when the air is dry inside

Wildside · 08-23-12, 09:06 PM

Hold up a sec... Let's see some pics of this boa that may be dehydrated and having trouble shedding.

Having trouble shedding is a sign of either parasites or inadequate humidity. But we need to know more about your set up and husbandry practices before being able to steer you in any direction.

CDN_Blood · 08-24-12, 04:53 AM

Large folds of skin can also indicate a bad case of underfeeding, which can lead to moulting problems and a host of other issues, so we really do need images before we can help much...

Lankyrob · 08-24-12, 06:22 AM

I agree - what would be great is a run down of your temps/humidity/feeding schedule and any pics you may have then we can try to help resolve any issues

shaunyboy · 08-24-12, 06:52 AM

my bad.....

i pm'd you a re hydration method,without reading your whole post (i assumed it was dehydrated)

as has been said pictures would help us decide what may be going on with your snake

there are many reasons that the skin could be tenting other than dehydration

please try and get some pictures mate

cheers shaun

Wildside · 08-24-12, 06:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shaunyboy

my bad.....

i pm'd you a re hydration method,without reading your whole post (i assumed it was dehydrated)

as has been said pictures would help us decide what may be going on with your snake

there are many reasons that the skin could be tenting other than dehydration

please try and get some pictures mate

cheers shaun

Of course Shaun's re-hydration method won't hurt

Kaity · 08-24-12, 10:17 AM

thanks for the replies, everyone.
happily, when i went in to mist him yesterday, i found that he'd shed in one perfect piece, eyecaps and all. here's a photo of all of him and a close-up on the folds i noticed. and concerning the re-hydration method: i will definitely try that in a couple days, but i don't want him to regurgitate the rat he ate yesterday. (which i'm almost positive was too big - can anyone tell from the size of that lump?)

snake man12 · 08-24-12, 10:19 AM

He is nice and clean. A wonderful boa.

CDN_Blood · 08-24-12, 10:21 AM

He's certainly looking good now, and we can throw the idea that he was underfed out the window, lol. Those folds you're seeing are perfectly natural. In fact, you'll notice some vertical 'bend lines' on the sides of most Boa constrictors - they love to pack themselves into tight spaces and that causes 'fold' lines on their sides. Again, that's perfectly normal, so overall I'd say you little guy is very healthy and you can relax and just enjoy him

I often call those vertical fold type lines 'pack marks' because they get them from packing into tight spots. I'm not sure if there is a proper name for them, but if there isn't, there ya go, lol.

Kaity · 08-24-12, 11:35 AM

Awesome! He's such a great little guy, I'm so happy he's healthy.

Thanks for helping out while I'm still figuring out what's normal for boas/Mocha.

shaunyboy · 08-24-12, 12:05 PM

as said he's a nice healthy looking boa

no need for worry

cheers shaun

Wildside · 08-24-12, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CDN_Blood

He's certainly looking good now, and we can throw the idea that he was underfed out the window, lol. Those folds you're seeing are perfectly natural. In fact, you'll notice some vertical 'bend lines' on the sides of most Boa constrictors - they love to pack themselves into tight spaces and that causes 'fold' lines on their sides. Again, that's perfectly normal, so overall I'd say you little guy is very healthy and you can relax and just enjoy him

I often call those vertical fold type lines 'pack marks' because they get them from packing into tight spots. I'm not sure if there is a proper name for them, but if there isn't, there ya go, lol.

I think I'll also adopt this terminology