Boa Jawbone

[Lorie]

Can anyone expain to me the bone structure of the jawbone. I ask this as i have just purchased two female 2 month old BCI's, one of which seems to have a droopy jaw. (try and say 'droopy jaw' ten times!) .
When i look at her face on, her lower right jaw hangs down a little. I know oviously know about snakes jaws unhinging when feeding and hope its just something to do with this. Is it possibe she could have broken it at some point? Does she need to see a vet? Please note: she doesnt seem in any pain but has been reluctant to eat.

Any help would be great. Many thanks.

Also, they are both striped from their head down to the middle part of their body. Is this common among BCI. I didnt pay any extra for them or anything but i just thought they were unusual compaired with the rest of the batch i picked them from.

[JUGGALOFWB]

Re: Boa Jawbone

Hello Lorie, do you have any pics of the droopy jaw? Is it always like this, or only sometimes, like she is trying to breath out of her mouth? if you feel comfortable with it I would open up her mouth (if you've never done this, or seen it done, I would wait for the vet to show you how ) I would take her to a good reptile vet. most vets out there know squat about herps and cause more damage than good. Talk to all the vets in your area, see who knows their herps.

Striping isn't totally uncommon in BCI, but it's semi-rare. I have 1.1 striped BCI myself . there's a couple reasons why they come out striped, one is incubation temps. if the mother was kept at incorrect temp while gravid the babies will sometimes come out striped. a lot of the babies will also come out slugs/kinked, or just generally messed up. there are also genetically striped BCI. genetically striped BCI are usually striped in the tail more than the body. Yes, striped BCI are usually quite a bit more expensive than normals. usually in the $250-$700 range depending on how much striping is there. if you don't mind me asking, where did you get them, how much did you pay? any pics? -Juggalo

[Doug]

Re: Boa Jawbone

hi,
Remember many vets donot know reptiles and will not tell you
so I try to find one reccomended by pet stores i trust or fellow herpers.
Here's a link by state of reptuable vets, or vets who have positive outcomes that impress a herper enough to post or reccomend them
[ftp]http://www.herpvetconnection.com/[/ftp]
good luck doug

Re: Boa Jawbone

I would suggest asking a good local pet shop were a good vet is. But I would definitly take it to the vet. It could be an infection of some sort, so a vet visit is a really good idea.