boa question????!!!!

before i went to skool this mornin i looked at my red tail boa and he was actin kinda wierd turnin himself sideways in the sand almost upside down and i noticed his head had shed but not the rest of his body but it doesnt look like his body is yet and right now he is upside down against his water bowl.. im hoping this is just shedding because i fed him 2 mice this week instead of one hopefully hes not sick or anythin. can someone tell me what they think it is???

oo and he has also been more active goin to the area of the tank where he usually never is and he looks fine i didnt want to pick him up bc i heard u should let them be while shedding but he is breathng normal and he reacts the same when i pass th tank also..

Sand boa?

Yeah, what kind of Boa? If it is Boa Constrictor, than you have a humidity issue if it's shedding in pieces. They shouldn't have any problems shedding. Nothing wrong with assist shedding a snake if you do it right either.
Use a warm(not hot, and not too wet) damp towel, and let it slither through the thing for a while. You don't want to pick and pull at it though.

well, he said redtail...so there is at least a chance it is either BCC or BCI. But SAND???

And i read it twice.

ALL I KNOW IS WHEN I BOUGHT HIM I WAS TOLD HE WAS A COLUMBIAN RED TAIL BOA BUT HE IS SHEDDING IN PIECES AND WHOEVER SAID HUMIDITY COULD BE RIGHT BC THE LAMP BULB WENT OUT 3 DAYS AGO SO MAYBE ITS THAT... BUT I WAS CHECKIN HIM OUT AND HE IS SHEDDING IN DIFF AREAS AND MAYBE HE IS TURNIN UPSIDE DOWN BC HE IS TRYIN TO GET IT OFF NEAR HIS NECK WHERE IT APPEARS MOST NOTICABLE. AND I SAID THAT HIS HEAD WAS DONE SHEDDING BUT THAT WAS IT...

John, your posts aren't getting any easier to read
Just a couple of small points.
- Colombian, not Columbian...unless it is from South Carolina or Missouri (or any of the other states with a city named Columbia)
- Lamp bulb does not = humidity...if anything, having the lamp on would decrease humidity
- Sand??????

Sounds like you may have some husbandry issues you need to adjust. I'd start with ditching the light, and going with a belly heat option like flex watt. It's cheaper than bulbs, safer, and won't suck the humidity from the air.

Than I'd ditch the sand. It's just not the ideal substrate for the species. Aspen mulch, Cypress mulch, or even newsprint is a much better choice for the health of your Boa.

If you are certain it's a shed thing, try the towel trick for the next couple days, and mist down the enclosure in between. It should help.

I don't know if there is some other problem involved, but medically speaking, there are only a couple things that can cause Disecdysis. (shedding problems) The main one being dehydration. 99% of the time, it will be a humidity issue.


Good luck
Rick

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