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Albino Boa disorders

chevyjam2001

chevyjam2001

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I picked up an albino boa a week ago from another member on this site. I just found an old post of his in which he states the snake has a neurological disorder. When I asked about this since it wasn't disclosed up front I am being told that it is a common occurence in albinos and he has had it since birth. He has compared it to the wobble/spin in ball pythons (which I am not familiar with). My concern is that it will make his behavior/reactions unpredictable. (I have kids) Will it affect his ability to breed/do I even want to risk breeding him. I was told that it is not genetic because neither parent is affected but how can I know for sure? I guess my question is, are these type of neurological disorders really that common in albinos?
 
First of all what are the symptoms of his disorder. if a boa is or looks like he is star gazing it is probably IBD. albino boas to my knowledge do not express it like a spider ball. mostof the problems assosiated withalbinos are bug eyes smaller lower jaws than normal, kinking, ythere are a few others i have never seen an albino with a nerological problem, could it happen i suppose if there was a lot of inbreeding. i do not know where you bought it from but if they did not disclose that it had a problem that is not ok. any pics of said issue would be helpful also.
 
There really isn't anything that would show up in a pic. His behavior is just "off" a bit. I thought something was up when he missed the rat 4 times when I fed him on Monday. It was a f/t rat by the way. The best way I can describe it is he will not fully stretch out. He will turn to one side until he is completely turned 360 degrees then he will turn completely around to the other side. It is kind of hard to describe but that is the best way I can think of.
 
Yes, it happens with albinos, but it's not one of those things that every albino has. If that wasn't disclosed up front, your seller was incredibly dishonest with you.

I have several albinos from both boa strains, none of them display any issues.

Boas with issues shouldn't be added to the gene pool. Yet another reason why your seller should have told you that up front.

Are they offering any kind of compensation? Taking the snake back, etc?
 
I've never seen one with wobbles like the spider balls :shrug01:

I don't believe in breeding defective animals, why make more?

The question about it's temperament can't really be answered on a forum. We don't know enough about neurological disorders in snakes to make that call. It depends on the snake itself, your husbandry & handling practices.

It could well turn out to be an awesome pet only snake, I never heard of temperament problems in spider balls. I don't follow BP's like boas though either.

If you bought it as a 100% healthy breeder you got ripped though. Known issues should be disclosed before the sale, not when you open the box.
 
also i believe you are more apt to have problems when you breed albino to albino than het to het i would definatly be contacting the seller looking for a refund and ship it back at owners expense, if shipping is involved. good luck
 
I got the "I thought I had told you". So far no offer to take him back. I agree with magickal that a snake with "issues" shouldn't be bred and added to the gene pool. The seller says that it will not affect the offspring but no one can be 100% certain of that and I would rather not take the chance.
 
I agree with the others, you got ripped off. I would explain to the seller that you may be forced to take it to the BOI if some form of compensation is not done, even if it means returning the snake for a full refund. I have had a bunch of albinos and never seen this issue. Good luck.
 
I don't think I can bring it to the BOI as the ad I responded to when I purchased him was not on faunaclassifieds. I found the seller on here after putting my initial deposit down on it a couple of weeks ago. I was just going through the forum because I had a caging question when I stumbled upon his thread.
 
The BOI is here for all reptile/amphibian purchases, awesome or nightmares, from anywhere or anybody.

Think of it as the Better Business Bureau for herps run by actual customers.

Try to work it out with the seller first though, if they won't work with you read the rules and post it up & send them a link to your post.

Make sure you read & follow the rules though, they differ from the rest of the site & once you post it doesn't get deleted. It's there for good.
 
my $0.02 - I produced albinos in 2003, they were premature and the stillborns had kinks. I've seen litters my friends have produced over the last 10 years that had the missing eyes/lost their eyes and once I've seen where the lower jaw was not fully formed. In all those litters and all the litters I've heard about, I have never once heard of a neurlogical disorder being linked or associated with the albino genes. So I don't buy it when this person is saying "it is a common occurence in albinos".

Some things that can cause neurological problems besides IBD are too high temps, severe dehydration, viral or bacterial infection (my vet also mentioned a parasite on the brain causing inflamation as well as spinal meningitis).

So I trully believe there is something else going on with your boa and possibly the issues you are seeing are not related to the albino gene per-say but it could still be something else genetic.

I agree with the others that it should not be bred.

Did the person you buy it from produce it or get it from somewhere else? I would either decide if you like the boa enough to keep it as a pet only or return it for a refund.
Good luck
-April
 
i totaly agree with you April,There is something else going on never seen any or heard of any neurological problems in albino boas. Call and talk to the seller if they do not respond then bring it to the BOI. I wish you the best of luck.
 
AbsoluteApril said:
Some things that can cause neurological problems besides IBD are too high temps, severe dehydration, viral or bacterial infection (my vet also mentioned a parasite on the brain causing inflamation as well as spinal meningitis).
Click to expand...

...No Pest strips and chemicals used improperly.

To the OP...Are you describing a locomotion problem? I'm still trying to put your description into a vision if you will.
 
It isn't really a locomotion problem. He just seems off balance or uncoordinated. It took him 4 attempts to get the f/t rat I was feeding him. It is really difficult to describe. He just turns the first third of his body into a complete loop. On a brighter note though it seems like the seller is going to work with me and get me a different snake. Although it will be a year younger I will still wind up with a Kahl Albino. I am happy about the way things are progressing at the moment.
 
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