# Red tail boa hunger strike??



## burton12387 (Jun 17, 2004)

I have had my red tail boa for 5 years now, and she is about 7 feet long. She has been on a feeding schedule of getting 1 jumbo rat (size of guinie pigs) every 2 weeks. However i left for school this year and she is still at home. My dad changes her water and cleans up her messes she makes but he does not feed her, i have been feeding her on a new schedule of every 3 weeks (I go home to do this) I figure this is ok as she as 5 years old, and fairly close to adult hood. It seems as the semester has gone on i have been having more trouble getting her to eat, She doesnt seem as eager to eat as she did before. I warm up the rat like i always have, place it in her cage in the middle, shake it a little to get her attention, and she will come smell it, but then just keep looking around the cage. Everything else in her cage has been the exact same, and the style that i have been feeding her has been the exact same except for time inbetween feedings. Something else i noticed upon examining her last time i was home (for thanksgiving) is that her jaw looks a little funny, it sits a little higher on one side (picture below). Could this be the reason shes not eager to eat? Also how long can she go without food before i should worry? i am going to try and hand feed her (hold the rat by the tail and make it dance infront over and see if i can get her to hit it) when i go home for christmas on the 12/13. Any ideas or thoughts would be greatly appreciated! thanks a lot guys

A.J.

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## CrocKeeper (Dec 26, 2003)

I suspect that upon closer examination you will find that she has ulcerative infectious stomatitus (mouth rot).....gently grabbing her behind the head use your cleaned drivers license to slide into and open her mouth...with a q-tip and some listerine you should be able to clean away the "cheesy" infectious material that you will find in her jaw line.

keep her cage immaculate and bump her temps up about 5 degrees and try to get home to clean her mouth once a week.....the listerine and the bumped temps should get you back to normal.


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## burton12387 (Jun 17, 2004)

What would have caused her to get mouth rot? shes always been in a clean cage? would that explain why she hasnt been eating? I may not be able to go home till the 13th, or is it a much better situation if i go ahead and go home this weekend to do it? and will she fight me when i grab her behind the head and slip a drivers license in her mouth, im assuming shes going to get pissed?
THANKS!!


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## Mettle (Dec 29, 2003)

burton12387 said:


> What would have caused her to get mouth rot? shes always been in a clean cage? would that explain why she hasnt been eating? I may not be able to go home till the 13th, or is it a much better situation if i go ahead and go home this weekend to do it? and *will she fight me when i grab her behind the head and slip a drivers license in her mouth, im assuming shes going to get pissed?*
> THANKS!!


Yeah. She's going to fight you most likely. If you're worried get another person to help you out a bit... Generally snakes don't like being messed with like that. But you have to be firm and have a good grip and not let up. It's MUCH easier to do it on your first pass than a second.

If you're really unsure do some research into exotic vets in your area. My city only has one, so it may be hard to find. Check out their reptuation though to make sure they know what they're doing.


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## burton12387 (Jun 17, 2004)

I called and made an appt. with a veternary office in my area that was one of the few that would see my boa. The earliest date i could get was Dec. 15!?!?! is that something to is to far away that i should be concerned with? should i just wait till then to do anything? or Crockeeper, should i def. go home this weekend to clean her mouth out myself?? thanks for the help
AJ


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## killarbee (Jan 23, 2004)

Get her to the vet asap. waiting wil only make it worse. So getting home this weekend and atleast try to clean it wouldn't hurt a bit.


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

The sooner you handle this the better for your snake.


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## CrocKeeper (Dec 26, 2003)

Although i answered your PM....I thought that this subject deserved a public response again as well in case anyone comes across this themselves in the future...

Yes...this is a time sensitive issue.......it only gets worse, and does so rapidly.

You are capable of this yourself...but yes she will fight this, and the recomendation of someone helping you is a perfect and needed one. I find myself working alone on most of my snakes, and in case you find your parents unwilling to help I suggest you find a two or three foot section of pvc pipe that she can fit into...get herthrough it until you can firmly grasp her neck and that will help keep her off of you while you work.....

use LOTS of clean q-tips.....every single pass in the mouth requires a new one.....listerine does a FANTASTIC job, and make sure you clean it all, she will definately not like this, but it is nessecary for your snake.......obviously your vet is not a herp vet.....so look for another qualified herp vet or tackle this yourself....do you have a local herp society? they may have a preferredvet or an experienced long time herper they turn to for help.....


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## Atlanta Braves Baby! (Mar 12, 2003)

Thanks for posting that here Riley. Good info to know.


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## burton12387 (Jun 17, 2004)

Thanks for the help guys, im going home this weekend to clean her mouth out...then i guess just taking it from there.
AJ


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