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EMERGENCY ETB rescue help and advice needed!

S

SnakeMover

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I need help from any and all experienced boaphiles! Please???

I went to the Columbia, SC herp show this past weekend and found a sad sight. I've been looking to get an emerald tree boa and had asked some friends, who arrived at the show before me, to keep an eye out for some. They were approched by a guy who had an etb he wanted to sell privately. As he was not one of the vendors he could not bring the snake into the show. They told him I was interested and would be there shortly. When I arrived, I was introduced to the guy and we went out to see his boa.
Now keep in mind that it was probably in the upper 80's on Saturday. This fool had the snake in a tank, on the back seat, in a hot car with NO WATER. I couldn't believe it when he pulled the tank out. The first thing I asked him was "What the hell did you do to this snake???" I've never seen a live etb before, just pics. But I'm pretty sure they shouldn't be rail thin. The snake is about 3.5-4' long and weighed maybe 3-4 lbs. if that. I could feel the ribs and spine easily. When my friend went to open the snake's mouth, to check for rot or parasites, the snake spit up some fluid. I paid the guy $100 just to try and keep him from killing it through stupidity. He knew NOTHING about snakes! We put the snake in my car, in the shade and gave it some water. The poor thing started drinking as soon as it's head hit the bowl. I got it home safely and set it up in an arboreal cage. The snake seems to be outwardly free of parasites, just thin as hell and dehydrated. I don't know if it has any internal parasites. I'll get a stool sample to the vet if and when it poops.

I'm fairly new at keeping a lot of snakes and I've never had an arboreal boa before. I've been doing a lot of reading to prep myself, but I haven't found anything yet to bring such a sad specimen back to proper health. Can anyone give advice on the best course of action to take to ensure this poor snake survives and thrives???

Thanks for reading this and knowledgeable help would be greatly appreciated. I'll post a pic later.

Dennis
 
good news and bad news

Thanks to this site, I read some posts about how to get a good feeding response and I had some success. I waited until two hours after sunset and waved a live small mouse in front of the Emerald. He looked at it a minute and struck! The good news is I was able to get a feeding response. The bad news is that the mouse was sideways in the snakes mouth and the snake didn't let go and reorient it. I waited an hour and no change. I finally used some forceps to gently ease the mouse out and try to get it in head first, but the snake spit it out.
I then tried with another live mouse. This time I put the mouse in the enclosure and the snake struck on his own. Unfortunately, it was the same result and the snake couldn't swallow the mouse. Do all emeralds do this or do I just have a dumb one? Am I trying food that's too big?

Take a look at the pic below and you'll be able to make out how skinny this poor guy is.

Thanks for reading this and any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Dennis
 

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a close up

Here's a close up of my new rescue mission. Does anyone know if that dark smudge under it's chin is normal? That's the seam where the lower jaw can separate.

Thanks,
Dennis
 

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Yes! We have a winner!

After a few days of trying, I have finally succeeded in getting my ETB to take a mouse and actually swallow it. I had to try with four mice, but he took one and that's a start! Correct humidity and light levels seemed to be the thing.

I would still really appreciate any current advice that someone with more arboreal experience would be willing to impart. I'm great with colubrids, but arboreal boids are a whole new world for me. I've been reading a lot lately, but some real time advice would be very welcome.

Thanks,
Dennis
 
rescue etb

Hey man, it looks like your doing great. The snake doesnt look too bad in condition...ive seen worse. Some of mine take the mouse sideways, but then it takes them a little longer to find the end ro they wil just swallow sideways, just let them be, they usually figure something out, dont use the forceps. If you rehydrate the snake, and its eating now, it sounds like your gonna have a back to normal etb. Just make sure the food items arent too big or it will regurge, id start off really small, then find out what it can handle. Maybe it was regurging for the previous guy.
 
hey everyone, my names dan, your snake looks healthy or not to bad, nice snake
Dan, btw this is my newest snake, her name is nemesis
 

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Looks like you're going to do this little fella a world of good.
I personally would've given the guy a tongue lashing, he might have handed it over as a rescue. People shouldnt have to pay for animals in bad conditions.
Anyhow, you are doing a very good thing for this animal, keep up the good work!
 
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