At
Home Emergency Treatments BOA
CONSTRICTOR IMPERATOR
The
following boa care information is intended to be
a general,
down to earth
approach
to some things we can do to properly maintain our
boa constrictors. There are many, many other publications
that detail the treatments available, and cover
them in detail. These are quick, do it yourself,
treatments that can help until you are able to visit
your veterinarian.
There
is NO substitute for your Veterinarian.
These are emergency steps to take before you
have
a chance to visit your local Veterinarian.
Welcome
to my At Home Emergency Treatments Care Guide.
Here
are some everyday items you should have in
your possession for emergency treatment of
your snakes. These are all available
at your local Pharmacy. You may even
have some of these already. Many people have
used one or more of these remedies, so find
the one that works best for you.
POLYSPORIN
® / NEOSPORIN ®
Polysporin
and Neosporin are the most popular home treatments
for snakes, and are antibiotic ointments used
as first aid to help prevent infection in
minor cuts, scrapes, and burns. Polysporin
seems to be recommended over Neosporin because
Polysporin does not contain Neomycin Sulfate,
whereas Neosporin does.
I
have heard to NOT use Neosporin Plus
(a relatively new producton the market) because
they have added a pain killer to it. This pain
killer would be harmful to the boas.
BETADINE
® Ointment or Solution
BETADINE
Ointment is a Brand name
product that contains 10% Povidone-Iodine,
so you could use other iodine products as well.
For the prevention of infection in minor burns,
cuts and abrasions. Promptly kills bacteria and
viruses.
HYDROGEN
PEROXIDE
When using Hydrogen
Peroxide,
you should dilute it with water in a 50/50 solution
Mainly used as a first step treatment to clean
the area before applying the antibiotic ointment.
There
are certainly other remedies, and I will be happy
to add them to this list if people will share them
with me, and include exact remedies.
Burns
Burns
can be the result of coming into contact with a
"high-heat" device such as any light bulb, CHE,
or spot light. The first sign of a burn is
that the skin looks hard and stiff in the area of
the burn. The skin will remain this way for
several days. Then the skin will completely
come off the burnt area, either with a shed or by
movement of the boa. This will leave a RAW
exposed area that often will bleed.
You
should treat the burn area immediately with
Polysporin, even before the skin comes off.
Clean
burned area with a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water
solution. Use a swab to clean the area.
Apply
Polysporin or Neosporin to the affected
area twice a day.
This
is a boa that I rescued when a friend from a pet
store called me. This boa had suffered a severe
burn and was brought in to him.
These pictures are after the damaged skin had come
off with a shed. Even though it is a bad burn, this
boa should recover completely.
Bites
and Cuts
Clean
cuts and gashes with a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water
solution. Use a swab to clean the area.
Apply
Polysporin or Neosporin to the affected
area twice a day.
Consult
your veterinarian as soon as possible.
Bites
by rats can be severe, and sometimes fatal. Here
are examples of severe rat bites.
Mites
Mites
are one of the hardest things to control in our
snakes environment. They appear as tiny black
dots on the snake, around the eyes and head, under
scales, around the vent area. They are blood sucking
pests, that leave small white droppings on your
snakes skin. A bad infestation can seriously diminish
your snakes appetite, and overall health. They can
also spread diseases from one snake to another.
Because of the life cycle of the mite, they are
sometimes very hard to kill. Study this chart to
understand this cycle.
New
Technology has brought with it a lot of new mite
treatments. But none have received as much
acclaim as Provent-a-Mite.
Provent-a-MiteTM
is the only patented, Federally approved product
that has undergone more than 12 years of research
and clinical testing to insure that it will
effectively eradicate mites and ticks that feed
on reptiles and will not harm the host being
treated when used as directed. No
other product can make these claims!
Provent-a-MiteTM
is also the only product that can be used preventatively.
Simply treat substrate, racks, enclosure openings,
etc. once a month as directed to kill any disease
carrying mites or ticks before they can become
a problem.
Follow
these links to some very detailed discussions
into the mite's life cycle and alternative treatments.
Visit
Vidapreciosa.net for the best description of treating
mites that I have ever seen.
It
is an awesome description of the War
Against Mites.
Some
people use NO-PEST strips.
No-Peststrips or Vapona
® Strips are available at Garden
Centers, Wal-Mart, on line and many other places.
These strips contain d.2-Dichlorovinyl dimethyl
phosphate...18.6%(DDVP or VAPONA).
It is a bright yellow strip of a plastic substance
approximately six inches long, 3 inches wide
and 1/4 inch thick. It is important that
you follow the links at the bottom of this section
to understand the life cycle of the mite.
As
with any pesticide there are dangers involved.
Overuse and prolonged exposure has been determined
to cause nervous disorders in some snakes. Use
this method at your own risk!!!
Mouth
Rot (Infectious Ulcerative Stomatitis) is
a bacterial infection that invades the mouth area.
It can prevent the mouth from closing properly and
cause difficulty in breathing. Signs of mouth rot
include salivation and bleeding, pus pockets, and
distortion of the mouth. The oral lining becomes
inflamed and pus can appear
in the mouth. Bad cases left untreated can rot the
gums, teeth, and jawbone, and eventually
cause
death. Dirty enclosures, screen tops, rough
substrate and other objects
act as irritants
to the mouth rot and should be removed.
Immediately
raise the ambient temperature of the enclosure
to 88 to 90 degrees
Clean
mouth area with a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water
solution or a diluted Betadine Solution.
Repeat
this process twice a day. You may
also treat the external mouth area
with
Polysporin
or Neosporin to the affected area
twice a day.
Respiratory
Infections (RI) are caused by a bacterial infection
in the lungs. The general causes of RI are
due to inadequate and improper environmental
conditions. Stress, low temperatures,
dirty enclosures, mistreatment, lack of food
and water can all cause RI. These conditions
will surely prolong any RI condition.
Symptoms
include breathing problems including wheezing,
whistling, clicking sounds, gaping
open mouth,
even
an audible noise during exhalations.
You will notice bubbles and mucous around
the mouth and nostrils. The position
of the head may be held in a raised
position to make breathing easier. Overall
lethargy,
possible weight loss, and even a swollen
or bloated body can be noticed.
Immediately
raise the ambient temperature of
the enclosure to 88 to 90 degrees.
Lowering the humidity will also
aid in RI recovery. Consult your
veterinarian as soon as possible.
Antibiotic medication may be needed
to combat bad cases.
Scale
Rot (Neocrotic Dermatitis) appears as enlarged,
discolored (rust or reddish-brown), fluid filled
scales.
Possible
ulceration and breakdown of the skin and underlying
tissue. Generally appears on the ventral
scales (belly), and can be in one long continuous
area or in separate spots. This is a bacterial
infection that can be caused by damp substrate,
inadequate temperatures, and dirty enclosures.
Bad cases will also have blisters, and will
require draining by your vet. Serious
cases are life-threatening.
Immediately
clean the enclosure thoroughly. Raise ambient
temperature to 88-90 degrees.
You must keep your boa warm and dry during
the recovery process. If your boa tends
to soak in the water bowl, it may be necessary
to remove the larger bowl and replace
it with a very small dish that would
not allow soaking but still provide
drinking water.
Clean
the entire affected area by swabbing
with a 50/50 hydrogen peroxide/water
solution.
Must
be thorough to treat the entire
area because the damaged tissue
could be in multiple places.
Apply
Polysporin or Neosporin to the
affected areas twice a day and
work it in and under the scales.
Consult
your veterinarian as soon
as possible, antibiotic injections
may be required.
Regurgitation
in boas can be a serious problem. It is one of the
most common problems experienced by new boa owners.
Most often in juvenile boas, regurgitation is often
caused by overfeeding, or inadequate heat. Boas
require a heat range to be maintained for the proper
digestion of food. Temperatures consistently
lower than 80 degrees will not allow proper digestion
of food, and may cause the food item to "spoil"
and then be regurgitated. If the environmental conditions
are not improved, regurgitation syndrome may jeopardize
the health of the smaller boas. Adult boas
that regurgitate, will most likely be because of
another problem, such as infection or disease. Serious
cases are life-threatening.
Immediately
raise ambient temperature to 82-84 degrees,
and provide a "hot-spot" of up to 90 degrees.
Feed smaller food items. Only small items
should be offered and only one at a feeding.
This concludes the Boa Constrictor Care Guide.
I would appreciate any comments, suggestions,
corrections, etc etc.
Please let me know how I can make this care guide
STAY the ULTIMATE CARE GUIDE.
Other
Resources I
also recommend the following books for extended
reading.
The Boa Constrictor Manual
***** Philippe
de Vosjoli Herpetocultural
library
Boas, A Complete Pet Owners Manual
**** Doug
Wagner
Barron's
The Guide to Owning a Red-Tailed Boa
*** Glen
Drewnowski TFH
Publications
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