Argentine Boa Help

hey everyone 3 days ago i went to a pet store and they had a over 5 foot Argentie Boa.

i got him pretty cheap but he has a eye cap which has probally over 3 layers i am wondering if i can get this off my self or if i will need to take him to a vet. i know vets sometimes charge a lot so thats whyi asked here.

Also he is making a little weezing sound. i think he might have a infection.
someone told me he would prob need a shot that would cost form 20 to 35 bucks.

here is a few pics i have of him i am wondering if the infection will just go away cause today i havent heard him gurgle or anything.

if you look in the first pic you can see his eye cap.

I'd take him to the vet. A retained eyecap you might be able to deal with at home, but that, plus the fact that he's wheezing, and you have NO idea how he's been kept would warrant a trip to the vet in my opinion. Plus, you can have him checked for parasites while your there.

There's no telling what kind of problems this guy might have, but if you take him to the vet now, you might be able to catch them early, and save yourself a lot of money down the road.

And no, RI's don't go away by themselves.

well i got him form a pet store which had other big snakes like a red tail boa and a burm,

they said he was fine but i can tell.

if i go to the vet and that want more than 50 buck i think i will take the snake back i only paid 60 for him though so i am going to try to get him the care he needs.

Unfortunately, taking proper care of an animal oftentime costs a lot more than the purchase price of the animal. It does sound like the snake has a respiratory infection.

What are you keeping the snake in (cage)? How are you heating the cage? What is the temperature you're keeping it at? Often sick snakes will do slightly better at a few degrees higher of a temperature than normal.

Typical treatment for eyecaps is soaking the snake in a shallow warm bath (like in the bathtub) several times a day, and after soaking for a few minutes, trying to gently rub the eyecap off with a wet washcloth. Some people use a little dab of mineral oil (baby oil) and a Q-tip.

But, if you don't think you'll be able to afford taking the snake to a vet if necessary (now, or later on in its life), you should return the snake or find a home for it with someone who can... reptiles don't get sick often, but when they do it can be expensive. You might try calling a few vets in your area to see if any will treat a boa, and if so, ask them how much treatment for a respiratory infection and retained eyecaps might cost, they should be able to give you an estimate, but every vet can name their own price, so no one here would be able to tell you how much it will cost.

ah i see wel yeah i have him in a 75 gallon tank with a heating pad on the bottom and a heat light on top altough i dont keep the heat light on all hours prob about 5 hours a day.

he still hasnt eaten he has hissed at the rat i put in there i got a rat from the pet store where i got him and they said that was the size for him,

i am going to do my best to keep him.

it looks like so many caps on his eye the other regular eye looks way bigger so i am thinking those caps have been on there since he was younger prob to risky for me to take off i wouldnt want his eye to fall out or anything,

as far as his breathing it is doing better seems like when i put him a slighter hot tempreture it went away so i hope one shot can help him out.

but i have a question about the rat i put in there it lkept hissing at the rat and opening his mouth but he would consrtict it. i was thinking he just didnt want the rat in there cause he wasnt hungry or isnt comfortable in his cage yet.
so i dont know they said he was there best eater they had and they had a burm and a few others in there.

i also tried to give him a nice bath today he didnt like it much the water wasnt cold and it wasnt hot like luke warm probally.

he put his head under the water a ferw times then he really just wanted out it seemed.

but thanks to the peole that have been responding.

seems like if my snake is sick the others are to maybe the peole just dont care or something i dont know.

I don't want to sound critical, but I just noticed that you said you only paid $60 for this Argentine. An animal like that should be in the $200+ range, which tells me A) the pet shop had no clue what they had, therefore no clue how to take care of it, or B) The pet shop did know what they had, and dumped it on you because they knew it had health problems. Either way, you're getting the short end of the stick.

The fact that he's hissing at, but not attempting to eat, the rat could be caused by several things. Stress being one. How long have you had this animal? And what are your temps? How are you measuring them? They should be 82-84 on the cold side, 88-90 on the hot side. I would recommend a digital thermometer with remote probe, or an infrared temp gun to measure with.

Also, I'm assuming you are feeding live, do not leave the rat in with the snake for any long period of time. There have been more than a few cases of constrictors getting chewed up by "prey" items.

I would absolutely take him to the vet though, considering what you've said. Odds are this guy has some real problems, and without proper care, they could quite possibly prove fatal. If you cannot afford a vet visit, I would contact your local Herpetological society to see if they can help with costs, or take the animal off your hands.

thanks for the info i do plan to take him in very soon i would say the temp in the cage is about 90 on one end and 80 on the other so it shouldnt be to bad.

i am in cleveland ohio i wonder where i can find a Herpetological society

i am thinking thats its just going to be a 20 or 30 dollar shot but i wasnt thinking they charge to just look at your pet.

but yeah i am going to make sure this snake is ok or else that pet shop i will never do buisness with again i called them they said if there was a problem they would refund me my money but i really like this snake so i hope it isnt going to be nothing crazy like 150 bucks because i dont have that much atm.

it doesnt sound like he is having any probs breathing or any gurgles seems a lot better i know they had there snakes in a lot of wood chip beeding so maybe that had something to do with it,

Cause this snake was in with 3 or 4 other huge snakes and if it was really sick i dont think the pet shop would of put them together.

but you never know.

Originally Posted by Psone

Cause this snake was in with 3 or 4 other huge snakes and if it was really sick i dont think the pet shop would of put them together.

but you never know.

That statement right there tells me that this pet shop has NO CLUE how to care for boas, or any other snake. Housing different species together is a very bad idea. Especially if they've come in on trade, there is no telling what disease they might be carrying.

As far as vet visits, you'll probably get charged $100 for a basic exam, including fecal check for parasites. Shots for antibiotics, etc, willl only go up from there. I have a Hogg Island boa that I got a "deal" on from a pet shop, I paid $100 for the snake, and so far have about $400 worth of vet bills invested in him. Vets are not cheap.

My advice would be to take this snake back, and get a refund. Save up your money, do some research into caring for that species, and find a reputable breeder. Neonate Argentines sell for about $150-200. Get yourself a nice healthy baby, and start fresh.

And here's a link to the Cincinnatti Herpetological Society, they're the closest to Cleveland I could find doing a quick search

http://www.cincyherps.com/

It does really depend on your vet... you should start calling around. My exotic vet charges $35 - $50 for a visit (plus any medication or other procedures) on top of that. So it is extremely variable. No way to tell for certain until you call. Don't speculate on your own as to how much it will cost - for one, it may not just be a respiratory infection.

Leave the snake alone for at least 4 days. Don't handle it right now (don't worry about the eyecaps for the moment). Don't try to feed it. Just let it get used to its new cage. Make sure there are a couple of hiding spots in the cage so it doesn't get stressed. After a 'rest' period like this for a few days, it may eat afterwards... any snake that is stressed will likely refuse food.

There are lots of herpetological societies out there. Here is another I found, in Cleveland. It looks like they used to have the website, but must have let the domain name lapse because there's just a garbage ad site there now.

Northern Ohio Association of Herpetologists
Dr. Martin Rosenberg
Dept. of Biology
Case Western Reserve Univ.
Cleveland, OH 44106

Martin Rosenberg
martin.rosenberg@case.edu
216-368-3558