dehydration

froggystyle34 · #1 (**permalink**) 10-13-2002, 05:38 PM

how do i know if my snake is dehydrated. he has sking folds but i see him drink all the time. should i soak him for a couple of hours or what.

froggy
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telefrag · #2 (**permalink**) 10-13-2002, 05:43 PM

what type of snake is it?
How long have you had it?
Is it w/c or captive born/bred?

Even if you see the snake drink on a regular basis, it could still be dehydrated.

Also, loose skin folds dont always mean that the snake is dehydrated.

If you have any real doubts or concerns, its best to take the snake to a vet, and you may have to do a gatorade, or pedialyte soak for a few hours.

can you post a picture of it?
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cb76 · #3 (**permalink**) 10-13-2002, 08:25 PM

thats true.

there can also be other reasons- like tele said,maybe post a pic with some back round ifno on the fella.

not saying you do it, but a lot of people feed their boas lees than normal. the boa eats, but not enough. this can also leave extra skin around.

i personally would make sure all the husbandry issues are met- including humidity. give the snake pedialite and see if he'll drink it.

a lil humid box will also aid in this- if you dont do the entire tank. just fill it with moss and keep it moist.

good luck and let us know how it turns out.
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MajorLunitik · #4 (**permalink**) 10-14-2002, 02:53 AM

Another good thing to do is to when thawing out your F/T prey items, offer them soaking wet. This way he will ingest moisture with his meal. That is providing you are feeding F/T prey [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_wink.gif[/img]
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cb76 · #5 (**permalink**) 10-14-2002, 05:09 AM

i do this too!

i think it works.
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froggystyle34 · #6 (**permalink**) 10-14-2002, 06:06 AM

for me she is almost two weeks old. so she is around a month or so old. it is a central american boa. she not big at all, probably about 12 to 16 inched long. she drinks all the time, and i am waiting to feed her again on sunday (she regurged and next sunday will be two weeks) i see her drink all the time, she is very active, and she soetimes sleeps in her water bowl. i will try and post one of the pictures i got of her on here and see if you all can see. the vet said she was fine, i just noticed the skinn folds. and got curiuos. well i will see if a pic posts or not. thanks in advance

froggy

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froggystyle34 · #7 (**permalink**) 10-14-2002, 06:09 AM

here try this one of her

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cb76 · #8 (**permalink**) 10-14-2002, 08:39 PM

very pretty snake

she looks small to me- that boa should be on 1 rat pink or 1 hopper mouse until it gets large enough to take more.

i have some ca's and they are smaller. from what i have noticed- they can easily dehydrate while babies.

if you start to see some fold, or the skin starting to look funny- dont worry- just keep her feeding (by her size she should be eating 1 rat pink or 1 hopper mouse)(7-10 days apart)
and warm. i would also reomend a humidity of 60 or higher. i personally stay at 70%.

as for the hiding in the water bowl a lot- rule out mites and humidity problems first- the give her a hide or a substrate you can burrow in. a stressed snake will stay in the water a lot "hiding" from a threat.

beautiful snake!

good luck

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froggystyle34 · #9 (**permalink**) 10-15-2002, 12:04 AM

she doesnt have mites, but what can i do to keep the humidity up around 70 percent??? i mist her cage like 5 ro 6 times a day, and that keeps it around 60 percent. well i am going to try a rat pink cause i tried a mouse fuzzie and she regurged. well thanks for the info.

froggy
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