Is this normal for a boa?!

So, as I said in Hades's thread, we took him out for a photo-shoot Saturday. It was the first time he'd been handled since we brought him home 10 days before. While he was out it was the perfect opportunity to switch his substrate from the repti-bark to Cypress mulch which I heard is better for them. Before taking him out, he spent the last 10 days either out roaming around at night or curled up in his hide during the day. As soon as we put him back in his re-done viv, he headed straight for his soaking dish and hasn't come out since Saturday evening! We tried taking him out ourselves but as soon as we let go, he headed straight back for the bowl. I've checked him over and have seen no sign of mites(nothing on him,nothing in his water.)and if he was in blue before then I must have totally missed it! I heard that prolonged soaking could mean mites(which I've ruled out),shedding(could be I missed the blue period) or stress. Could taking him outside have stressed him out that bad?! He was nice and light and still is. He just refuses to come out! Help??

So, since this has been bugging me all day, I went ahead and took out the tub and replaced it with a normal water bowl, for the time being. At least until I find out if this is normal or not. Again, I checked the water and no mites. Checked the snake and found nothing unusual other than he seemed "puckery". You know how your fingers and toes look after you are in the water for a while? That's the closest I can come to describing it.

Wrinkly like when the kids don't want to get out of the bath I know what you mean. That is a long soak but if no mites or signs of dehydration maybe it is just stress due to the move and new substrate?

Honestly, my BCI girl soaks all the time. And it's not mites (I've checked, and treated, just in case). She'll be in there for days at a time, but usually it is just before a shed. And unless you see their eyes go blue, a shed can sneak up on ya. I've seen her shed when I missed all signs of her being in blue.
It could also be because he's a little bit warm, and is just trying to thermoregulate.

Well, as soon as I took out the soaking dish and replaced it, he immediately headed for his warm side. I don't blame him! He was really cold and wet! He's nice and dry now and exploring a little again. I think I'm going to leave the tub out for tonight and then put it back in tomorrow and see what he does. I just thought maybe 3 days was excessive but maybe not if he's getting ready to shed. Wow, I can't wait to see a boa shed!

MinLynn said:

Well, as soon as I took out the soaking dish and replaced it, he immediately headed for his warm side. I don't blame him! He was really cold and wet! He's nice and dry now and exploring a little again. I think I'm going to leave the tub out for tonight and then put it back in tomorrow and see what he does. I just thought maybe 3 days was excessive but maybe not if he's getting ready to shed. Wow, I can't wait to see a boa shed!

Click to expand...

With my bigger ones, it's usually rolled up (kinda like a condom), but if you catch it soon enough while it's still moist, you can unroll it.

Ooooh! I haven't had to do that in YEARS! LOL! Right now, Hades has figured out that he can fit his head and upper body in the dog dish and that's where he's been since last night. Looks pitiful! I'll have to get his tub back in there. At least I got him to warm up for a little bit before he headed back for the dang water!

Maybe try moving the tub closer to the warm side? I've never had a snake soak that much.. Not even my boas. Weird! You can, though, help him keep warm while he's soaking (and up the humidity) by moving the water tub/dish closer/onto the warm side... =)

Oh now he isn't even bothering with the dang water! Even after I put the tub back in. Now he's decided he likes being completely buried underneath his cypress mulch(which is a bit moist). You should've seen me this morning trying to figure out how in the world a 5ft boa got loose from a locked up tank! I couldn't see him anywhere! So I started digging and digging and digging and then there he was stretched out the length of his tank completely buried. I unburied him to make sure he was okay and he gave me a hiss and started reburrowing. I'm really hoping this all due to a shed!

Well, Hades appetite is obviously not affected in the least! We got him to take a F/T Jumbo Rat this evening! This is after we were told he'd never take F/T because he's been fed live for 4 years. Yeah, well, you've never met me have you? LOL! Took it on the first try,consticting holy hell out of it and gobbled it right down. He hung out on his log on the warm side for a while,then went into the log for a bit and then reburied himself. Silly snake! I never see him! LOL!