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Argentine Boa Help

P

Psone

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hey everyone 3 days ago i went to a pet store and they had a over 5 foot Argentie Boa.

i got him pretty cheap but he has a eye cap which has probally over 3 layers i am wondering if i can get this off my self or if i will need to take him to a vet. i know vets sometimes charge a lot so thats whyi asked here.

Also he is making a little weezing sound. i think he might have a infection.
someone told me he would prob need a shot that would cost form 20 to 35 bucks.

here is a few pics i have of him i am wondering if the infection will just go away cause today i havent heard him gurgle or anything.

if you look in the first pic you can see his eye cap.


71efee4850655e96fb0d11ab7e50e9e1.jpg




198fa0cdaf1cab8f25fc56b71e6ddb9b.jpg
 
I'd take him to the vet. A retained eyecap you might be able to deal with at home, but that, plus the fact that he's wheezing, and you have NO idea how he's been kept would warrant a trip to the vet in my opinion. Plus, you can have him checked for parasites while your there.

There's no telling what kind of problems this guy might have, but if you take him to the vet now, you might be able to catch them early, and save yourself a lot of money down the road.

And no, RI's don't go away by themselves.
 
well i got him form a pet store which had other big snakes like a red tail boa and a burm,

they said he was fine but i can tell.

if i go to the vet and that want more than 50 buck i think i will take the snake back i only paid 60 for him though so i am going to try to get him the care he needs.
 
Unfortunately, taking proper care of an animal oftentime costs a lot more than the purchase price of the animal. It does sound like the snake has a respiratory infection.

What are you keeping the snake in (cage)? How are you heating the cage? What is the temperature you're keeping it at? Often sick snakes will do slightly better at a few degrees higher of a temperature than normal.

Typical treatment for eyecaps is soaking the snake in a shallow warm bath (like in the bathtub) several times a day, and after soaking for a few minutes, trying to gently rub the eyecap off with a wet washcloth. Some people use a little dab of mineral oil (baby oil) and a Q-tip.

But, if you don't think you'll be able to afford taking the snake to a vet if necessary (now, or later on in its life), you should return the snake or find a home for it with someone who can... reptiles don't get sick often, but when they do it can be expensive. You might try calling a few vets in your area to see if any will treat a boa, and if so, ask them how much treatment for a respiratory infection and retained eyecaps might cost, they should be able to give you an estimate, but every vet can name their own price, so no one here would be able to tell you how much it will cost.
 
ah i see wel yeah i have him in a 75 gallon tank with a heating pad on the bottom and a heat light on top altough i dont keep the heat light on all hours prob about 5 hours a day.

he still hasnt eaten he has hissed at the rat i put in there i got a rat from the pet store where i got him and they said that was the size for him,

i am going to do my best to keep him.

it looks like so many caps on his eye the other regular eye looks way bigger so i am thinking those caps have been on there since he was younger prob to risky for me to take off i wouldnt want his eye to fall out or anything,

as far as his breathing it is doing better seems like when i put him a slighter hot tempreture it went away so i hope one shot can help him out.

but i have a question about the rat i put in there it lkept hissing at the rat and opening his mouth but he would consrtict it. i was thinking he just didnt want the rat in there cause he wasnt hungry or isnt comfortable in his cage yet.
so i dont know they said he was there best eater they had and they had a burm and a few others in there.

i also tried to give him a nice bath today he didnt like it much the water wasnt cold and it wasnt hot like luke warm probally.

he put his head under the water a ferw times then he really just wanted out it seemed.

but thanks to the peole that have been responding.

seems like if my snake is sick the others are to maybe the peole just dont care or something i dont know.
 
I don't want to sound critical, but I just noticed that you said you only paid $60 for this Argentine. An animal like that should be in the $200+ range, which tells me A) the pet shop had no clue what they had, therefore no clue how to take care of it, or B) The pet shop did know what they had, and dumped it on you because they knew it had health problems. Either way, you're getting the short end of the stick.

The fact that he's hissing at, but not attempting to eat, the rat could be caused by several things. Stress being one. How long have you had this animal? And what are your temps? How are you measuring them? They should be 82-84 on the cold side, 88-90 on the hot side. I would recommend a digital thermometer with remote probe, or an infrared temp gun to measure with.

Also, I'm assuming you are feeding live, do not leave the rat in with the snake for any long period of time. There have been more than a few cases of constrictors getting chewed up by "prey" items.

I would absolutely take him to the vet though, considering what you've said. Odds are this guy has some real problems, and without proper care, they could quite possibly prove fatal. If you cannot afford a vet visit, I would contact your local Herpetological society to see if they can help with costs, or take the animal off your hands.
 
thanks for the info i do plan to take him in very soon i would say the temp in the cage is about 90 on one end and 80 on the other so it shouldnt be to bad.

i am in cleveland ohio i wonder where i can find a Herpetological society

i am thinking thats its just going to be a 20 or 30 dollar shot but i wasnt thinking they charge to just look at your pet.

but yeah i am going to make sure this snake is ok or else that pet shop i will never do buisness with again i called them they said if there was a problem they would refund me my money but i really like this snake so i hope it isnt going to be nothing crazy like 150 bucks because i dont have that much atm.

it doesnt sound like he is having any probs breathing or any gurgles seems a lot better i know they had there snakes in a lot of wood chip beeding so maybe that had something to do with it,

Cause this snake was in with 3 or 4 other huge snakes and if it was really sick i dont think the pet shop would of put them together.

but you never know.
 
Psone said:
Cause this snake was in with 3 or 4 other huge snakes and if it was really sick i dont think the pet shop would of put them together.

but you never know.
Click to expand...


That statement right there tells me that this pet shop has NO CLUE how to care for boas, or any other snake. Housing different species together is a very bad idea. Especially if they've come in on trade, there is no telling what disease they might be carrying.

As far as vet visits, you'll probably get charged $100 for a basic exam, including fecal check for parasites. Shots for antibiotics, etc, willl only go up from there. I have a Hogg Island boa that I got a "deal" on from a pet shop, I paid $100 for the snake, and so far have about $400 worth of vet bills invested in him. Vets are not cheap.

My advice would be to take this snake back, and get a refund. Save up your money, do some research into caring for that species, and find a reputable breeder. Neonate Argentines sell for about $150-200. Get yourself a nice healthy baby, and start fresh.
 
It does really depend on your vet... you should start calling around. My exotic vet charges $35 - $50 for a visit (plus any medication or other procedures) on top of that. So it is extremely variable. No way to tell for certain until you call. Don't speculate on your own as to how much it will cost - for one, it may not just be a respiratory infection.

Leave the snake alone for at least 4 days. Don't handle it right now (don't worry about the eyecaps for the moment). Don't try to feed it. Just let it get used to its new cage. Make sure there are a couple of hiding spots in the cage so it doesn't get stressed. After a 'rest' period like this for a few days, it may eat afterwards... any snake that is stressed will likely refuse food.

There are lots of herpetological societies out there. Here is another I found, in Cleveland. It looks like they used to have the website, but must have let the domain name lapse because there's just a garbage ad site there now.

Northern Ohio Association of Herpetologists
Dr. Martin Rosenberg
Dept. of Biology
Case Western Reserve Univ.
Cleveland, OH 44106

Martin Rosenberg
[email protected]
216-368-3558
 
Just a stab in the dark, but if it has had shed problems, (evident by the eye cap) are you certain it's wheezing? And not just air catching on a flake of unshed skin at or in the nostrils, and whistling? I'd check into that first. Wheezing alone doesn't mandate an RI.
RI's if caught early enough most certainly CAN be treated successfully without medication. I've done it many times, but it has to be caught early. Once inflamed it will need AB's to help combat it.

As for the hissing. You've had it only 3 days. It's blind in one eye from the retained cap. Needs more time to settle in, and the eye should be dealt with, before offering food IMHO. You may be inadvertently causing more stress by not letting it settle in and relax to its new environment. I usually do not do anything but peek at them for the first week. Than I start to offer food.

As for the Vet. Well, Vet bills are part of the responsibility of pet ownership. That's just a fact of life. Some Vets will work out a payment situation though, if things are tight, and you are upfront with them from the start. But you can't put it off for fear of cost. It's just not right to the animal. (not saying you are going to, just pointing it out.)


Good luck
Rick
 
yeah the guy at the pet shop said he didnt thinkt he eye cap would ever come off,
but i hope it will i am going to start treating it today and soaking him but i think it is going to take a vet to get it off,

right now i am more worried about getting the RI taken care of all though he has no more weezing or anything,he has shed 100 percent can see out of one of his eyes,
if you guys want i get get a close up pic of that one bad eye and you could tell me what you think.

if caught early enough most certainly CAN be treated successfully without medication. I've done it many times, but it has to be caught early.

can you tell me how to treat it cause it doesnt seem he has any symptoms anymore,

also i dont want to take him to a vet and they lie to me because i have had that happen before i might get a couple opinions to be careful,

but thanks for everyones helpful information,
i really like these forums unlinke kingsnake forums where people are mean and rude most of the time.
 
Please do not bring that snake back to the pet store. They obviously know nothing. As was said before, mixing snakes is a big no no. AND.. if they think something as simple as an eye cap will NEVER come off?? .. um.. yeah, those are not difficult.. so.. they should not be selling animals they know nothing about.

That irks me. .. and a lot of others I am sure.. But I used to work at a pet store, in the reptile dept. once I quit.. the next person knew nothing .. frustrating.

I agree that you should make sure that there is no debris in his nostrils or mouth. The shed can also be retained there (like the eye cap) or even some of those wood chips.

At this point, you should call around, for a good, but affordable vet. If anything just to get a clean bill of health. Then go to the pet store, and try to get them to at least pay half the vet bill, (if he is sick)... If anything, you could threaten if the don't you would turn them in. lol.

A good store would pick up some of the costs. I have had it happen once (with a parrot) and they felt bad, and paid half of the vet bill.

Good luck, and I hope he does well.

sorry for the rant :p
 
I don't think the store would pay for part of the vet bills, if any - because they have already offered to refund the sale price and accept the snake back, so don't count on that as an option. They have no legal reason to pay vet bills if they did allow a return/refund.
 
Psone said:
can you tell me how to treat it cause it doesnt seem he has any symptoms anymore,
Click to expand...

Can't treat something that has NO symptoms. :) Well, you SHOULDN'T anyway. LOL Seriously, like I said before. A little wheeze, especially if it's gone away, does not mean it has an RI. Other things cause a similar sound at times. Supporting their weight in certain ways will cause it, a quick exhale sounds the same. Unshed skin around the nasals. Too dry a living environment. (I'm sure the pet store had it in optimum conditions, right. :rolleyes: )
This is an RI. AND mouth rot, AND retained eye caps... http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v660/crotalusadamanteus/Nick/Nic_3.jpg

You could raise the temps another 5 degrees and leave it for a while like that as a preventative measure if you still suspect an RI is starting. Keep humidity lower though. (double edge sword right there if he has shed issues.) BTW, tanks are not optimum environments, but you can make some adaptations to compensate. Covering the top with plastic helps to hold in heat, as well as humidity. Leave gaps at the 2 ends for circulation. That's important.

Speaking of eyes, lets see that pic if you don't mind. Maybe it's a damaged eye. ?? Is it discolored? Bluish? Can you see a pupil in the middle through the lens?


Rick
 
ok give me a few i am going to take the pics now and post them in a little bit so you can get a close up of his eye.

also he doesnt look bad off like that snake in the picture,
his mouth is pretty healthy even on the inside.

ok give me a bit
 
Really need a clearer pic if you can get one. It's hard to judge from those. Try getting one with him in the viv, just to steady the cam some if you know what I mean.

How long has it been that color? Is the other eye clear? It almost has that blind color to me, but the pics.....Hard to tell.
 
yeahthe other has shed and its fine he can see perfect out of it,
i will try again tommorow to get better pics of his eye.

to me it looks like it has about 3 or 4 caps on it with a little dent and is much smaller than his normal eye.

there may not be a way to get it off most likely it is a blind eye i am assumeing but only because the pet store didnt take the time to make sure the caps came off so the caps have been on for so long that he would probally be blind even if i got them off i dont know though i am just guessing until i get the money to take him to the vet.

but he seems in fairly good health so he should be ok for another week.
 
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