Death with No warning...IBD??

[thegoose42]

Hi every one,

I never posted here before but im not a newbie either. I have....had a red tail boa. She was 4 and a half yrs old. She was about 7 feet long and about 25 or so lbs. I had her since she was a couple weeks old. I always fed her frozen rats but 3 ago switch to rats that would I would kill myself. She was healthy and happy as far as I knew. I took her out about once a week (a lot more when I was in college and had time.) She was well tempered and only bit me about 4 times all in the last yr because I wasn’t handling her as much because of work etc. Well today I came home from work at about 8pm and my girlfriend tells me the snake is acting weird and she opened the cage to let her out ( we have a small screened in porch and I would let her roam around it weather permitting I live in S. Florida.) My gf told me she was rolling around and going in circles. She also was trying to bite the glass (maybe regurgitate? but she has never done that). Vanessa (my gf) said she looked like she was contracting her body like she was trying to push crap out.
When I got out there to look at her she was lying their with her mouth half way open and her head on the ground but still breathing... She also looked like she was starting to take a crap. So I ran to the internet to see if I could look up something to find out what’s going on. About 2 minutes late I go out to check on her and she was laying there limp and dead. I am very upset and confused, because it came out of nowhere, no warning.
Oh Yeah It just dawned on me I had suspected she might have IBD about 4 months ago because she used to stare straight up (star gazing). Her head would be about a foot off the ground and she would stare like that for about an hour or so every couple days. But she didn’t have any of the other symptoms, like not being able to right her self if put on her back, or tremors... So I just figured she liked to look up, and didnt worry about it because besde that she was fine. She never had any mites or anything like that either. Do you think it was IBD??? PLease help me out I dont know, and would like some closure and figure out what happened. How long once the first sign of IBD is noticed do boas have to live? (4 months?)
ANy info you could give me would be greatly appreciated.
thank you in advance.
-Dan

	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[unluckyseventeen]

I'm very, very sorry about your loss. That really sucks.

At this point it's all estimation. You should get any poop that you've got, or if you can get some and take it to a vet for a fecal exam. My guess is that it was a parasite, or some kind of mechanical problem. IBD is usually a slowly degrading disease, wherein the nervous system is shut down slowly and the snake slowly dies.

I'm sure more experienced people will be along to offer additional advice and expertise, but this is what I think happened. Check the fecal matter for parasites, even get some kind of autopsy done (I forget what it's called for snakes).

Again, I'm very, very sorry about your loss. I hope you are doing okay.

	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[HisssssyFit]

I'm sorry for your loss. H ere's a link that may help you http://www.anapsid.org/ibd.html

[unluckyseventeen]

Nobody else has any idea what happened?

[thegoose42]

Ok so i was looking through some of her scat when was cleaning out the cage and i did notice some small exoskeltons from some type of dead insect/mite/parasite. It was a light brown color and about as big as the tip of a ball point pen. Does this shin light on anything. Also i should mention she has never been in contact with any other snake. My girlfriend said she looked like she was really suffering when she was dying, this is why i am so distraught about this. Any other ideas any one? Thank you to all that posted so far, i appreciate you kind words and opinions.

[Bangswitch]

What kind of heat you using? Could it have been cooked? Like a short in the heat pad made it spike or something? Just an idea. Sorry for your loss!!!!!!!

[snakebitten69]

dang we loss a boa a week on this site! it seem like! sorry for your losses!

the only think is if she was 4 years old she should be no where close to 25lbs! how much did you feed her? how often?

[thegoose42]

I used ceramic heaters and red bulbs.
I fed her about once every week and a half (once a week when she was younger) She has been putting down frozen jumbos for almost a yr now.

[bbalderas]

I know this is an old thread, but maybe my info will be of some use: A good friend of mine had a pet boa that started to star gaze. She took it to the vet and he took "x-rays" of it. Turned out that the boa had a cancerous tumor.