shedding problems with Rosy???

[Ashawee00]

I have a 10 month old Rosy boa that I've had for about 5 months. I've only seen him shed once, the day I got him. This last week I was out of town, I returned yesterday and found him very weak. His skin looks like it needs to be shed and his mouth seemed to be sealed shut. I made a warm bath for him and had him soak for about 5 min and the skin around his face came off a little. I put him down on a towel and he didn't move. Just layed there. Usually he's off exploring.
I've been having a lot of trouble with feeding since I've gotten him. He eats live pinkies but then two days later throws them back up. I have him in a 10 gallon tank with an undertank heater. He has Aspen wood shavings as a substrate. I keep his water dish in all the time and he has to hide boxes...one on the cool side and one on the warm side. I really haven't checked the temps on the warm side, but I know he can get down to where he needs to because he burrows all the time.
Please help me. I don't know whats wrong with my little guy.
Thanks so much.
Ashley

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[phaedrus]

One, vet check for internal parasites. At 10 months, he should be on something larger than pinkies. How often are you attempting to feed? After a regurge, they need at least 2 weeks to replenish their gut flora or they will regurge again. Just re-read.....this is a Rosy. I've an RTB. I could be wrong of the feed size.

He's probably stressed. Soak him for a lot longer. Get that shed off him. You really need to check the high temps. I'm not an expert in Rosy's but you need to be careful of him burrowing. UTHs can get pretty hot and if he's lying right on top of it while he's burrowed down....well, he could be burning himself.

I'm sure someone else will be along that's more knowledgable than I, but I hope this can get you started.


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	Under Tank Heater Under Tank Heater

[Extreme]

Take him to the vet. You just described a sick snake the needs medication.
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[pincess_wy]

Weird.... hope he's ok-- It seems strange that he would have retained a shed, because rosys require so little humidity to do so properly... which brings me to another point; does the water dish being in the enclosure all the time raise the humidity a bit much? Also, rosys require lower temps (I believe) than other types of boas. Without regulating the temps, you'd never know if he was too warm.

Definitely sounds like your rosy needs a trip to the vet....

Good luck!
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[Ashawee00]

I took my little guy to my vet. He said that he was very dehidraded (spelled right??) and gave him some medicine. He told me to give him some gatorade. I did that for 2 days and then talked to him again on Sunday, because Cowboy wasn't swallowing the gatorade or the meds. I would put the saringe in his mouth and squirt but it would just leak out the sides. So he gave him some fluids under the skin. And told me to feed him. Well Cowboy ate a pinky, I was so glad. I thought he was getting better. I left last night (Tuesday) and came home this morning and he was dead.

I don't know what happened to him. I know I probably made some big mistakes that cost him his life. I feel so bad! I know now not to leave my snake alone when I go out of town. Even though someone was making sure he had water. I should have taken him somewhere where they know something about snakes. And I definitly shouldn't have gotten a baby that was from a pet store. I'm so sad that he had to die.

Thanks for your help.
Ashley
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[phaedrus]

Ash, I'm sorry for your loss but I don't think that you being out of town for a brief bit of time was a major cause. A lot of times, our snakes are sick and they don't show any outward visible signs. I read somewhere that a lot of people make the comment, "He just got suddenly sick" or "he wasn't like this yesterday". That's usually not the case. I believe there's an entire article about this in this month's Reptiles magazine. They say it a lot better that I can.

If you have had problems feeding him for the past 5 months and he kept regurgitating, then I would have thought that you would have made a vet visit quite some time ago. Dehydration also occurs over a period of time. He may have had internal parasites that caused him to regurg or possibly he never had enough time to replenish his gut flora...which resulted in the same and contributed to the dehydration. At either rate, probably between the dehydration and lack of eating, trying to feed him wasn't a good idea, IMO. Without knowing the entire story, I'd suspect that the vet may have been wrong in recommending that. On the other hand, I'm new at this, so I could also be very wrong.

Hope this bad experience doesn't turn you away from herps. Learn from here, get another from a reputable breeder and you'll have years of happiness together.
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	In My Opinon IMO = In My Opinion and IMHO = In My Honest Opinion

[Extreme]

I am sorry for your loss. Don't be so hard on yourself. You came here for help and took him to the vet, there is not much else you could have done. Nobody is perfect when is comes to husbandry. We have all lost animals. We just learn from our mistakes and move on. I hope you will stay with the hobby and not be too discouraged by the loss of your little friend.
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[Ed_r]

Sorry to hear of your loss. Odd thing though Roseys are a desrt species and even most care sheets tell you not to have a water bowl in the tank. only to introdue it a couple times a week. odd it would be dehydrated. I do know they seem to prefer lower temps.they stay buried during the dayight hours. Im sure parasites had something to do with it.
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