Possibly sick boa....

I just picked up a pair of boas from a guy on CL. I knew something was up because he was selling both for 65 bucks including 40 gal breeder with slide lid. One (according to him) is a hypo het sunglow (F) and the other is a normal result from an albino/sunglow breeding (M)... Once again, according to him. Anyways.... To make a long story short, I'm sure he's full of it but for 65 bucks, the tank alone is worth that. First thing I noticed is the STRONG smell of cigarette smoke..... So it was a no brainer, I was getting them out of there. I got them into the car, and I can instantly hear the gurgling/ popping breathing coming from one of the bags. I find when I'm home that the hypo is making a popping/phlegmy sound.... I believe it's a RI. I use bleach dilution to scrub the cage and clean it up, clean all the tar off the glass from cigarettes, and out down new paper on bottom of tank. I have a heat pad under tank for now... Covered top with some wrap to bump humidity and hope that it helps a little. She's not opening mouth or have any bubbles around her mouth. Nostrils look clear.

My question is, is there anything else I should do to help straighten this out. I know I will take her to vet if this carries on.... Just want to see if it's easy to take care of as I try to stay away from injections if I can. Also figure maybe because of the apparently heavy smoking, it could have effected her as well.... any thoughts or advice appreciated.

Basic home treatment for respiratory infections involves keeping temperatures slightly elevated and decreasing humidity. If the problems persist, or if symptoms worsen, a veterinary visit may be necessary.

In "What's Wrong With My Snake" by John Rossi, specifically on page 70, a chart indicates that symptoms of a respiratory infection may potentially also indicate an allergic reaction to smoke exposure. I can't say that this is the issue, but based on the information from that chart it certainly seems possible.

That's about all the insight I can offer. Best of luck to you and your new boas.

Ok.... So lower humidity... I can do that. I'll most likely end up at vet, but wanted to give her a few days to settle in before I go that route.... I've seen worse RI in boas in the past, but want to rule out the smoking before starting her in unnecessary medications. Thanks for the info

Sorry that's the best I could do. I've only dealt with respiratory infections a couple of times, so it's certainly worth waiting for additional input from someone with more hands-on experience with that. We lowered humidity from 48% to 39%, and that seemed to help. Mostly it sounds like you've already taken the steps I would advise. Hopefully things clear up for them soon.

The problem with telling a person to lower humidity for respiratory symptoms is that it's only the right answer part of the time. It isn't an automatic response, like bumping up temps; adjusting humidity is situation dependent.
In this particular case, without knowing some important details, I would suggest that part of the approach is not reducing ventilation - if that results in lower humidity, so be it.

(If I've said it once, I've said it (at least) a hundred times - a snake showing respiratory symptoms should not automatically be assumed to have an infection. Generally, IMO, one should address husbandry issues first.)


Also, "normal result" from an albino x sunglow pairing is albinos and sunglows (normals shouldn't result, since both parents are homozygous albino)

Thanks Harald... That's what I thought about the sunglow/albino breeding.... I think he got it wrong, so I asked him once again and he said he will forward pictures of the parents..... Considering he advertised these both as hypos.... I'm sure his information is skewed.

As for the suspected RI.... I think it is more along the lines of the high smoke levels in the previous house. I wrote and asked if he knew about the snakes condition, and he said "she was hissing more than usual"..... As I said... Thankfully I got them out of the house as it seems as he really wasn't aware of what he is doing..... I'm in the process of re-learning about them because I haven't had boas in about 6 years.... So hopefully nobody gets annoyed with my questions as I fumble through the re-education process.... Thanks again.