amazon tree boa help

[lovespeaks]

I'm worried about my girl, liberty. I hope someone can help me out here.

a little background first. last january I rescued her from a person who was being evicted for having (breeding) too many snakes. I could not find a good home for her or three local reptile stores would take her in due to 'disease' she may carry. she's not for handling, and expert handlers only which is hard on me.

for almost two months now, she has been trying to get out of her shed. I tried to fed her the other day, two months without food is too long. she would not eat. I also found a quite several pea-sized pieces of her 'shell' all over the log hideout below her recently and am beginning to worry about her. I don't know if that is normal for amazon tree boas.

can someone please tell me what I should do about her at this moment, thanks.

[kittycats_delight]

I'll email my brother and ask him. He is a snake 'expert'. I do know snakes will not eat during shed though.

Is there enough humidity in her tank. If the tank is too dry they usually have difficulty shedding. Make sure she has a tub of water inside as well large enough to soak in. The water will help will the shed too. I will find out more from my brother. Off to email him. Will let you know as soon as I hear from him.

Michelle

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Wet a bunch of newspaper with water and put it in a good sized rubbermaid. Then put her in the rubbermaid with the wet newspaper. Put the lid (be sure to drill some holes in the top beforehand) on and let her sit in there for a while, a couple hours even. Be sure to secure the lid so she can't get out (duct tape or something heavy on top of the lid should work). We do that with our ball python when he has a hard time shedding, it works every time.

Hopefully she'll eat after she sheds. Have you been feeding her frozen/thawed, fresh pre-killed or live? Mice or rats? You may want to try something different than what you've been trying. We have some picky snakes, our ball python is our pickiest. He's plenty large enough to eat rats, but he refuses them, he only wants mice. He also won't eat frozen/thawed and for a long time he'd eat fresh pre-killed. Less than a year ago he started on a hunger strike and my husband gave in and tried feeding him live, he went right for it (minutes after refusing a fresh pre-killed mouse). Sadly now that's all he'll take. My husband is always very careful though to stay with him and watch him. My husband also always removes the mouse right away if our snake isn't showing interest in it. Also if you feed live food please feed mice and not rats, if your snake got bit a rat would cause a lot more damage than a mouse. I hope you're able to feed frozen/thawed or fresh pre-killed though, it's so much safer for your snake. Luckily our other 4 snakes all eat frozen/thawed.

[lovespeaks]

I feed all my four frozen/thawed too. they all are great eaters. no rats.

I'll try the rubbermaid/water thing today, would it get her out of her shed today? hopefully so.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

I feed all my four frozen/thawed too. they all are great eaters. no rats.

I'll try the rubbermaid/water thing today, would it get her out of her shed today? hopefully so.

Our ball python always sheds while in the wet newspaper. I also should have mentioned that you should crumple the newspaper into "balls", don't just leave it flat. Try to keep it warmer too so she'll hopefully move around some while she's in there.

Good luck, let us know how you make out.

[lovespeaks]

I just had put a bunch of wet newspaper clumps (one level) in old twenty-gallon glass tank with screen lid, lit up red heat lamp (she needs over 75 degree) to keep her thrive and warm. the tank is a bit foggy now. should I leave in some 'gaps' in between newspapers or am I doing this right?

she's downright mad at me. she keeps striking the sides and I am not even a few feet near her enclourse. :( I don't think she can see anything well right now.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

The moisture and humidity is what will help her shed, so I'd say the fog is a good sign. We always loosely "pack" the rubbermaid about half full with newspaper. (I say we, but my husband's always the one to do it, I've watched him many many times though.)

I hope it's not stressing her out too much. I'm sure she'll be feeling better if she can finally get that shed off though. Between the need to shed and the fog she probably isn't seeing too well, poor girl.

[lovespeaks]

it has been almost three days now, little accomplishment.

I keep newspapers moisture every 6 hours with spray before they dry up and added some moss in to last 'humidity' longer (thanks to delightkitty's brother and you too). although she looks pretty terrible, I think she's looking a little better. I have a big meal waiting for her...

having her stay in there for a couple of days concerns me, would she be OK for a couple more days? see pictures attached below, tell me what do you think.

[kittycats_delight]

Poor Libby looks like she has been through a war. She is really having a rough time with this shed. How large is the exclosure she is being held in now with her moss and newspaper?

[kittycats_delight]

OK..I just had my brother take a look at the pics you posted and he said Libby needs to go to the vet. The shed it not the worse of her issues. He said by looking at the first picture she has a very SEVERE case of mouth rot. And seeing you are not a really experienced handler of amazons then he couldn't really walk you through how to clean it up a bit on your own so he said to get her to a herp (reptile) vet asap. Sorry for the bad news.

[lovespeaks]

oh dear. :( what am I going to do. poor my libby. I tried.

I'll search for herp vet first thing in the morning, thank you.

[kittycats_delight]

How is Libby doing? Did she ever get out of the shed? And how bad did the vet say was the mouth rot? Curable I hope!!! Let us know please. Thanks

Michelle

[lovespeaks]

sorry for not replying right away, I was out of town whole weekend.

I took her to herp vet on the 30th, she is okay and was in pretty good shape. her mouth wasn't rotten, just all the "corn" beddings that got stuck in her pits. because she was shedding, she was unable to open her mouth wide and lung them out. while being there, the vet was able to peel some dry skins off.

after I explained the vet about her situation, she offered a spot for libby that cost me more. so I took her home with me to be sure she gets a good home. I would hate not knowing she went to a good home. two days later, she finally had all pieces off and wolfed down her big meal. you don't know how proud I was. I fed her again four days later just in case she's still hungry. she had no problem swallowing it down.

last thursday she has gone to one of our local ZOOs. I'm sure she's in so much better place. I'm so happy for her. :) I never had thought of it, thank you delight kitty. you're a dear. for all of your help too. sometimes an overwhelmed mind needs another.

that would be all for now, I hope to get updates on her and visit her once in a while. bye for now.

[kittycats_delight]

I am very glad to know she didn't have mouth rot. What a relief. And it is amazing that she has gone to a place where she will get the best of care. I know that the zoos here have a special pavillion for the reptiles from each place and their environment is perfect for them. You almost die from the humidity inside the south american pavillion as that is what the animals need. So it is great that she has a good place with experienced people to look after her. You did a good job with rescuing her and finding her a good home. You were much more a mommy to her than the moron that was just going to release her into the wild. Good Job!!!

Michelle

[ramanth]

I'm glad Libby is well. You were so nice to help her. :) I hope she gets lots of love and attention at the zoo.