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weird behavior

Armbars

Armbars

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I have a female pure Hogg Island Boa who has just grown to full adult at about 6 1/2 feet. She has been extremely active over the last month or so, refuses food and has made a large soar on her nose due to rubbing. This is very out of the ordinary for my usual well tempered snake that never turns down a meal. I thought it could have something to do with her mating cycle, but I would love any amount of education you have to offer.

It's the scab on her nose that I'm primarily worried about. I don't think it looks infected, but I might bring her to the vet anyway because it's not healing very quickly. She keeps irritating it. What do you guys think?
 
are you 100% sure it's a female? My male hog island will get very active, pacing his cage and rubbing the top during breeding season.

As far as the rubbing, yes, it can get bad if the snake doesn't stop, vet check is a great idea. I had a boa that got a bad nose rub, ended up getting an infected tooth and required surgery and anti-biotics, if I had taken him in right away that would have been avoided. Sometimes adding climbing branches or extra hides will help stop a rubbing snake but not always, especially if it's breeding season related. sometimes you just need to find another type of set up (ie, move from a tub into a top opening cage; move from a top-opening cage to a front-opening cage, etc).

Good luck
 
Understand also, they aren't the fastest healers in the animal kingdom. Typically when they have an injury to their dermis, it requires many sheds to go away. Keep it extra moist during shed cycle, so the scab comes off with the shed.

I agree, a vet visit is never a bad idea. But if there is no swelling in the sinus area, a vet may not be needed. If it's just a raw spot that remains localized, it will usually heal just fine with a proper environment, provided they don't keep making it worse.

Who sexed the snake? I've had a couple females get active this time of year in the past, but it usually is the males that start the looking for fun.
 
Thank you for your helpful input. I had her probed at a local store who only sells reptiles. She is a pet and it tears me up to see her so distressed. I made a vet apt for Monday and have my fingers crossed that the doc will say there's nothing to worry about.

I switched her cage when I first noticed the soar from a wooden enclosure to a plastic one with round edges a few weeks ago to prevent her from rubbing on the wood corners next to the sliding glass doors. I will look into getting her more sturdy climbing material.
 
Update

Turns out the scab was infected. It's a good thing I took her to the vet. He gave me some anti-biotics for her drinking water and some ointment to put on the wound. It seems to be healing up nicely so far. Thanks for the good advice, guys!
 
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