handeling my new snake

[clayton]

hello everyone i just got my first two bci 1.1.0 both are 5'7'' the guy i got them from said he had them a year and a half and there both a little over 3. he had them both caged together and fed them two medium rats every two weeks . the female was bread 08 and the male has never been bread. the guy i got them from said he used the female for educational teachings he also said the female was a lap snake and the male is active.
now for some questions since the snakes came from some one who handled them regularly should i still give them a couple weeks to settle in before handleing or should i treat them like my other pets and hold them as i please. i held them when i first got home and all was good no agression the female hisses really quiet and short kind of like a sigh she did it quite a bit but it didnt seem threatning.
ok another thing that worries me is the male yesterday i gave him a bath and he drank alot alot of water then i held him again after bathing the female (which she did not like at all) and he puked up just water well i reseached it and it seamed i just held him wrong and he couldent hold down the water well today i go to hold the female and she pukes water
so did i hold them both wrong or is there an underlining issue. there gonna eat tommorow and i figuered some food might help hold down the water
what do you think any input would help

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

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	1.1 One Male and One Female

[Jess]

You need to give them settle in time, a move is stressful on any animal. now, are you sure she was hissing? or did it seem like she had some problems breathing? because it is possible she could have an RI if she was making a wheezing or huffing sound. Not trying to scare you, she may very well have just been hissing. I don't know about the water thing, I've never experienced that, maybe someone else can give you a little more insight.

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	Respiratory Infection Respiratory Infection

[boaman786]

Let them settle in for a week but after that handle them as you will but make sure you keep them housed in different enclosures The puking never had that problem

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[Sakara]

let them settle in for at least a week...

house them in separate enclosures...

don't feed them 2 rats at a time... Feed one appropriate sized rat every 2-3 weeks...

5' 7" is quite small to breed if it is a BCI... At least for the female...

How old are they?

Pics?

	Boa Constrictor Imperator Boa Constrictor (Boa constrictor imperator). Most common is the Colombian Boa.

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[clayton]

well the sigh sounded more like a little hiss than ri they had a 3 hour period with out heat before i got them so ill have to keep an eye on that hiss.
as for age i was told a little over three years old each but i could of heard wrong and im gonna find out tommorow
as for feeding i agree that 2 meals per feeding is not healthy and they also need a bigger size than medium
buying these boas seams more like an rescue the way they were caged and fed but at least there regularly handeled and there in a good home now
its the puke that worries me i already love these two and would hate to see them sick
oh and i weighed the male 5.4lbs the female havent weighed yet but shes preaty thick

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	Respiratory Infection Respiratory Infection

[Sakara]

if a snake drinks a lot of water and then gets picked up they can "puke" up the water... It's no big deal really... Just let him relax and drink some more water to rehydrate....


keep an eye on the "hiss"... keep the temps and stuff right and hopefully it's nothing

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[Jess]

If you're worried about it you can take them to a vet and get checked out, I think it's a little weird that both of them did it. Someone should chime in that knows more about it soon though


^^ like sakara lol

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[clayton]

thanks guys/girls
the ambient temp is 83f
basking 92f+-
rh 54-57
there pics are my avitar now
the pic is accualy the one from the add that i got them from ill put some of my own up tommorow cuz those arnt the gratest
thanks

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[Sakara]

temps and stuff sound good... except I would bump the ambient up just a tad for now in case they do have RI's...

I would deff. separate them ASAP and get them into something non-glass...

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	Respiratory Infection Respiratory Infection

[clayton]

well the female is in a 6x2x3 wood cage and the male is living the tub life untell tommorow but he is a happy fella
and as im typing the female is saying hi through a screen hole for a light and i put my ear right up to her snout and i hear nothing so lets hope it stays like that

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[Sakara]

lol, good stuff!

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[jere000000]

Okay he said the boas are three years old now which means she was bred when she was two years old which is purely disgusting, breeding boas is more about maturity then size.

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[Aaron-Insular]

Originally Posted by Jess

If you're worried about it you can take them to a vet and get checked out, I think it's a little weird that both of them did it. Someone should chime in that knows more about it soon though


^^ like sakara lol

They were probably both dehydrated seeing that they were kept together, so they probably had thee same idea and took down more them they could hold onto after being handled...

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[Sakara]

Originally Posted by jere000000

Okay he said the boas are three years old now which means she was bred when she was two years old which is purely disgusting, breeding boas is more about maturity then size.

he said "a little over 3 years old"

in all honestly, that could mean, 3, 4, 5, 7 years old... Just like someone driving by my house that doesn't know jack about snakes might say my 4ft ball python is a "10ft. snake"

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[jere000000]

Originally Posted by Sakara

he said "a little over 3 years old"
in all honestly, that could mean, 3, 4, 5, 7 years old... Just like someone driving by my house that doesn't know jack about snakes might say my 4ft ball python is a "10ft. snake"

Your right but i doubt the previous owner could keep her alive past 4 lol

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[clayton]

Originally Posted by Sakara

he said "a little over 3 years old"
in all honestly, that could mean, 3, 4, 5, 7 years old... Just like someone driving by my house that doesn't know jack about snakes might say my 4ft ball python is a "10ft. snake"

thats what i got from it
but she is only 5'7'' is that even big enough to be bread the year before last
the story i was told was he had them a year and a half and they were a little over three but i think he might of ment he had the male a year and a half and the female for a little over three and he dosent know there true age(im waiting on a call back today from him to better find out)
he did say he bread the female year before last so if hes only had them a year and a half than thats impossible right?

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[KaiYudSai]

size has very little to do with their ability to breed.... it's purely a matter of whether or not they are old enough to reach sexual maturity... some boas don't ever grow over 5 feet... or less... it depends on their genetics

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[Sakara]

5' 7" is a bit on the small side, they should be at least 6' to breed.... I do have a 5-6 year old female that is right about 6' though... So you CAN have a small adult female boa... You just usually see them larger...

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[clayton]

Originally Posted by Sakara

5' 7" is a bit on the small side, they should be at least 6' to breed.... I do have a 5-6 year old female that is right about 6' though... So you CAN have a small adult female boa... You just usually see them larger...

well he said he fed them two medium rats every two weeks and he said it like he knew it was two little which gave me the feeling he was trying to keep them on the small side

on another note im getting some rats for them and i can get frozen or live and i was wondering should i get frozen or live and just prekill
ive never fed frozen in my life and i dont know if these snakes have had it so what do you guys think i could also get some live and just a couple frozen to see if they take. im buying the whole months worth for both snakes today cuz its a drive

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[Sakara]

frozen... try it and if they don't take it the first time then try a pre-killed... I guarantee you will save a LOT of money buying frozen, lol... If they are hungry, they will eat frozen... You might just have to make the rat do a little zombie dance the first time lol I've never had a problem switching a boa quickly

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