help..sick boa can anyone help...

[truckman0620]

I have a sick boa.She was doing fine and then 2 days later she cant control her head.Its like she is haveing a hard time keeping up in the up direction.Only the head and 4in of her neck.She tilts her head to the left a little when she get her head up right.She tried to eat (pkft)struck and wraped but let go and never tried to eat.Vet has no clue as to what this could be. Has me putting 1/4 pill of (baytril 68mg) down her neck a day for 3 days and then every other day...this has had no effect. None of my other snakes are showing any signs of being sick all are eating good and show full control over ther body. Can anyone please tell me what could be causing het to lose her equilibrium .Shes a good snake and i really dont want to lose her.

Thank you for any help you can offer..

	Heterozygous Heterozygous - the animal carries the gene for a genetic trait but does not outwardly demonstrate the trait. Example: A boa that is het for albino looks normal but carries the albino gene. When it is bred to another het for albino boa or an albino boa, a percentage of the offspring will be albino.

[pathfinder36]

Sounds similar to IBD to me... AKA star gazing. I'd find a different vet quickly. If it isn't IBD then you need to know what it is. IBD would be a mute point, as there is no known cure, but please don't freak out yet. With such a small description, it could be any number of things. I would try to find a good herp vet ASAP.

	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[muzixman]

What kind of boa, the age and how long you had it? what are the temps (cool side warm side) and humidity and how do you measure temps & humidity

[pathfinder36]

Some symptoms of IBD to look for would be:
Anorexia, dehydration, pupils of different sizes, erratic head\body movement, loss of strength, starring at the cieling for extended periods of time, ect.

It my be something as simple as a respritory infection, but the Vet should know what it is... especially before having you administer medication to it. Switch vets and do tell what the specifics are regarding your husbandry.

	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[louise]

what you need to know is if it is IBD it can wipe out all your snakes. get that snake in quarantine and as far away from your others as possible.

	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[lethargiic]

if it's star gazing it's a tall tell sign that something is wrong...whether it's neurological or IBD. our baby boa that we had showed signs of IBD but it wasnt it was something neurological... so definately get your boa away from the other and find a herp experienced vet pronto. if you don't know where one is located let us know where you live and im sure someone here can help

	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[JuliusSqueezer]

It is definatly neurological...but Neuroligical problems are also a main symptom of IBD (Inclusion Body Disease) so it's not an either/or thing. Unfortunatly, your vet cannot diagnose IBD with any current testing until your snake is dead and tissue samples can be examined under an electron microscope. This test is extremely expensive because electron microscopes are not something a vet will have access to personally unless your vet is at a major university or happens to have a multimillion dollar lab setup. Also unfortunatly, IBD is 100% fatal and extremely contageous. If you have any other reptiles...QUARANTINE! Baytril is an antibiotic. It won't help and the dosage he is giving is likely toxic. It takes 48 hours for a snake to metabolize baytril and giving it 3 days in a row if it is full dosage of 10mg/kg (I don't know what your snake weighs) the baytril alone will probably cause renal kidney failure. Also, the fact that your Vet can't recognize a neurological disorder bothers me. Please find another vet for future use. Sadly, this snake has very little hope of recovery. Even if something like overheating or injury caused this neurological disorder, it's not something they can ever recover from.

Try this....Roll the snake over on her back and see if she has dificulty righting herself. Wave your hand infront of her face and see if she flicks her tongue or responds at all to the movement. If she can't right herself and/or she doesn't respond to movement, please consider euthanasia as every moment she has left is pure torture. If the cage is made from wood, burn it or otherwise destroy and get rid of it. If it's glass or plastic, bleach it thoroughly several times before considering reusing it.

	Inclusion Body Disease IBD

[truckman0620]

thank you everyone for your quick reply. she is about 3 1/2 years old 6 puonds. i kep the heat around 85 day with a 78 to 80 night 70 to 80% humidity. she was housed with 2 other red's a lil older than she is but thay seem fine. i have pulled them all into diffrent areas and i am checking them frequently to se if there is any change. she will respond to movement and rights herelf just fine she just cant control the head.keeps flipping the head up side down then she gets it right after a min or so.the vet has her on 1/4 pill of the baytril at 68mg tabs 1 a day for 3 days and then once every other day. is this not a good idea?? im in the north west atlanta ga area .city of dallas....feeding every 2 weeks pkft w/supplement. no signs of a respritory infection.that i could see.the vet wants to try steroids in the morning and mentioned off label meds.