Boa overheating question

I have a local friend of mine that has a very small collection and he called me up with a question that I unfortunately did not have an answer to. His question: what happens to a boa that is "overheated"? I have never had this problem so I had no idea. I did a google search and didn't find out much. To explain the situation a little, he has 3 adult boas, all running off the same t-stat in plastic caging with heat panels. A couple weeks ago his t-stat (Helix) went crazy and applied max heat to the panels and it happened at night. The next morning he said the cages felt like a sonna and there was an obvious difference in there behaviour, but shortly after all of them returned to normal but 1. All 3 were due for a feeding when this happened, so a few days after the temp was stabilized all 3 ate with no problems. It has been 2 weeks now and he fed them all 3 again with no issues. His concern is one of his boas now lays funny, sometimes on its side or kinda in a cork screw manner and it has odd movements when being held. What are the effects of overheating? Longterm? Vet visit needed?

Neurological damage from exposure to extreme heat spikes, even for less than ten minutes, are generally permanent and, in many cases, eventually fatal as the condition deteriorates further over time.

There is really not much a vet. can do for them except have your friend spend a bunch of money on tests to rule out everything but exposure to extreme heat.

Tell him to get a better thermostat or a secondary back up. Helix's have a history of this.

Originally Posted by ShadowAceD

Neurological damage from exposure to extreme heat spikes, even for less than ten minutes, are generally permanent and, in many cases, eventually fatal as the condition deteriorates further over time.

There is really not much a vet. can do for them except have your friend spend a bunch of money on tests to rule out everything but exposure to extreme heat.

Tell him to get a better thermostat or a secondary back up. Helix's have a history of this.

Temps were checked in the cage that morning and showed to be at 102. Since you mention your thoughts on the Helix, I have one as well and I have had to have it replaced 3 times now - not a fan anymore. To be honest I have a zoomed rheostat from 6 years ago that I trust more.

Well, this kid is still young and definitely still learning, I will let him know what you said and wish him luck. Got a specific t-stat you recommend he could switch to? Ranco or spyder would probably be my choice to recommend for him or if I ever got into snakes again.

Thanks Diem!

Herpstats.

Rancos are all right, bu they should be doubled up as well.

As of now, the only thermo I know of that fails in the off position is the Herpstat 4. It has an added relay to it. The other Herpstats are not guaranteed to fail in the off position, but they are much more likely to.

Over on BP.net one of the posters reported a few months ago that the exhaust for his portable AC unit had shifted and ended up heating his snake room to 130*F. While most of his collection perished, the few hatchling BP's that did survive ended up slowly improving during the following few days. You may want to contact him to see how those babies are doing.
Lost almost everything

Originally Posted by bcr229

Over on BP.net one of the posters reported a few months ago that the exhaust for his portable AC unit had shifted and ended up heating his snake room to 130*F. While most of his collection perished, the few hatchling BP's that did survive ended up slowly improving during the following few days. You may want to contact him to see how those babies are doing.
Lost almost everything

I did see that but I didn't know how a boa would compare to a BP.

This is an excellent advert for temp alarms. My entire facility is remotely monitored via computer with scans every few minutes, and will let me know via both e-mail and text if anything goes wrong...it cost me a ton, but well worth it!

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

This is an excellent advert for temp alarms. My entire facility is remotely monitored via computer with scans every few minutes, and will let me know via both e-mail and text if anything goes wrong...it cost me a ton, but well worth it!

Now that's fancy!

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

This is an excellent advert for temp alarms. My entire facility is remotely monitored via computer with scans every few minutes, and will let me know via both e-mail and text if anything goes wrong...it cost me a ton, but well worth it!

sorry to hijack thread but,
Curious what the system you use is called?
Id be interested in looking into it for the future.

Originally Posted by MurdocksReptiles

sorry to hijack thread but,
Curious what the system you use is called?
Id be interested in looking into it for the future.

You're not hijacking anything. This thread was to help a friend out. Ask away.