wobble head

Anybody know what would cause an otherwise healthy male boa to constantly
keep his head arched back and sway to either side . Refuses to eat for 3 weeks now and the female he is with is acting normal . I have had this boa for about 6 months .
Thanks for any help Scott

Have you checked inside the boas mouth for mucus buildup? Possible RI?

Rick

Those are neurological signs. Taking into consideration that the female is acting the first thing to do would be to isolate that male from all other animals in your collection. Second thing is taking him to the vet; don't rule out the possibility of IBD!

Good luck!

While I agree that isolation is warranted, I think throwing out the IBD bomb is a little premature based on a brief three sentence description of what may or may not be classified as symptoms.

Males will often go off feed this time of year as they are more interested in breeding then anything else.

Head swaying is not necessarily a sign of a neurological problem.
Males will often "dance" as they try and attract the attention of breedable females.

Have you checked out the male closely for any signs of injury?
What is the size difference between the male and the female he has been housed with? Large females have been known to injure males during courtship.

Have you tried placing him on his back and see if he is able to right himself?

As Dan said, isolate him and watch him closely for any unusual behavioral signs.

Originally Posted by Sledgehammer

While I agree that isolation is warranted, I think throwing out the IBD bomb is a little premature based on a brief three sentence description of what may or may not be classified as symptoms.

Males will often go off feed this time of year as they are more interested in breeding then anything else.

Head swaying is not necessarily a sign of a neurological problem.
Males will often "dance" as they try and attract the attention of breedable females.

Have you checked out the male closely for any signs of injury?
What is the size difference between the male and the female he has been housed with? Large females have been known to injure males during courtship.

Have you tried placing him on his back and see if he is able to right himself?

As Dan said, isolate him and watch him closely for any unusual behavioral signs.

Ok going to try that now . The female is close to the same size , looked the male over really close and i don't see any signs of injury or trauma . he only does it when out of the cage if left alone he looks fine and he just finished a complete shed monday.

While I agree that isolation is warranted, I think throwing out the IBD bomb is a little premature based on a brief three sentence description of what may or may not be classified as symptoms.

Ben,

We are in agreement and thus my statement: "Second thing is taking him to the vet; don't rule out the possibility of IBD!". In medical terms this is called a "differential diagnosis" or in other words, rule out any other possible ailments that show similar signs. Fumes are one other possibility, but taking into consideration that the female is not showing similar signs, it's not very likely that they are the cause. As we speaks we have a couple of pairs of mating boas. The males are lying almost motionless on top of the females, rubbing their chin on her backs, trying to place their tails under her's, and scratching them with their spurs. That's the courtship behavior we see consistently.

Regards.

Ok i just put him on his back and yes he rights himself quite quickly i might add .
anymore thoughts because my vet won't be back untill the 4th
thanks scott

Ok i just put him on his back and yes he rights himself quite quickly i might add .
anymore thoughts because my vet won't be back untill the 4th
thanks scott

Quarantine until your vet is back!

Regards.

Just incase it's an ri i'm starting him on a regime of tylen any thoughts on this

just 1...WHY?
what exactly are you treating him for?