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boa question????!!!!

J

JohnG1122

JohnG1122
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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..
 
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???
 
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 :ack2:
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
 
:rolleyes: Please notice on your keyboard,you have keys A,S,D,F,
To the left of the A key is a CAPSLOCK key
Please push and release it before starting your next re:message. :rolleyes:

:ack2:
 
yes i do have sand in his tank. so i guess from what you guys are saying is to switch it does anyone know if a local pet store carries the mulchs (like petland, petsmart).
and about the humidity issues. i do have a heat pad placed under the tank for him but i didnt know that i should mist the snake. How should i do that just get a spray bottle and spray it in the tank every once and a while?

P.S sorry bout the caps lock.. but i really dont think it was that big of a deal..
 
Most Boa don't really care for direct misting, so mist the cage instead. I make exceptions from time to time. See how it reacts, if it don't mind, it won't hurt it. But be careful not to spray to heavy around the nasal openings.

Ideally you want the enclosure to maintain a relative humidity. I find 60% to be perfect for where I live. You don't want it so moist as to cause condensation inside, or you will invite other problems. I raise by extra misting (75% tops) from the time I notice them bluing over, until they shed, as an extra help. They all shed perfect.

The mulch helps you do this without having to mist the enclosure 5 times a day. Sometimes pet stores carry it, sometimes they don't. Homedepot or a garden center is another option for the cypress, but it should be treated for mites before using IMHO.

If you use those dial gauges to keep an eye on stuff, that's another thing you should toss out. Wally world has these fairly cheap, and I think they are way better...
http://smg.photobucket.com/albums/v...ers/Cages/?action=view&current=Cagedone11.jpg

Anymore questions, feel free to ask.
 
alright.. thankyou i am definitly gonna try the misting in the tank first and maybe in a week or so see how he does with the direct mist.
and i guess ill see if the pet store has the mulchs around theres plenty of pet stores by me so hopefully one does...
and he is completely shed now just about but im gonna do everything anyway if it is truely better for the snake. and ill look for that electronic gauge next week when i get payed..
if there is anything else u think i should do to better the snake just let me kno, most of u guys know alot more than i do.
 
JohnG1122 said:
if there is anything else u think i should do to better the snake just let me kno, most of u guys know alot more than i do.
Click to expand...


None of us were born with what we know, we'd be insects if we were. We all had to learn over time. And it takes lots of time to acquire knowledge. I'm still learning after 30 years.

Good luck.
 
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