PYTHON AND BOA CARE

Thomas H. Boyer, DVM

9888 Carmel Mt. Road, Suite F

San Diego, California (858) 484-3490

Pythons and boas (boids) are large, primitive  snakes that are always popular as pets.  Pythons are generally confined to the old world tropics and subtropics in Africa, Western Asia, through Southeast Asia, the East Indies, and Australia and are egg layers.  A lone species occurs in Mexico and Central America. Boas  are heavily represented in the new world in tropical Central and South America, the West Indies and temperate western North America. They are also found in tropical and subtropical Africa, Western Asia, New Guinea, Fiji, and the Solomon Islands. All give birth to live young.

From their distribution in tropical and subtropical areas we can appreciate that most boids prefer it warm (75 to 85°F) with high humidity levels (except for the sand boas).  Make sure you have a thermometer to monitor temperature.  Guess work is not advisable.  The best way to warm boids is to warm the air temperature with a portable space heater.  Out of tank heat with heat tape, heating pads or lights also work well.  Hot rocks can seriously burn snakes and should be checked for localized hot spots  and discarded  if present. Humidity can be kept up by periodically misting the cage with a spray bottle or with a humidifier.  The idea is to keep the cage humid but not wet.

A hide box should be present for all species.  A hardwood driftwood branch is also appreciated.  Glass aquaria, fiberglass, plastic or coated or sealed wood all work well for cages.  Make sure you have secure fitting lids or your captive will escape.  Newspaper is an excellent choice for lining the bottom of the cage.  It is easy to clean, cheap and you can tell when it is dirty or wet.  Indoor-outdoor carpeting (Astro turf) looks good but is poorly absorbent and difficult to observe if wet. Place newspaper under it to increase absorption. If you use Astro turf make sure you have two so that a clean dry one can be replaced for the dirty one while it is being cleaned and dried.  Aspen, pine shavings (not cedar shavings), or bark chips  can also be used but are more expensive and difficult to keep clean. Of all the choices I find newspaper to be the best. Burrowing species should be kept on gravel or sand, not crushed corn cob or kitty litter. The rubber boa should be kept with a small container of moist sphagnum moss in its cage. Whatever type of substrate you use the most important thing is to keep it clean ! Moist filthy substrates are a sure way to promote skin disease.

Most boids do well on a diet of rodents.  Rodents are a completely balanced diet and need no vitamin supplementation if they are fed a healthy diet (such as rodent chow or blocks) prior to feeding them to your snake.  Avoid diseased or starved rodents.  Never use wild caught rodents because they can pass internal or external parasites to your reptile.  Rodents should be killed or stunned prior to feeding so that they don't injure your snake. Failure to heed this can result in serious eye or mouth injuries or perhaps even the death of your snake. Larger specimens will eat rabbits, rats and poultry. If rodents are frozen they should be quickly thawed in a plastic bag in hot water to prevent a bacterial bloom in the rodents gut which can occur with slower thawing and can cause intestinal upset in your snake.

Captive born boids are generally much healthier, tamer  and easier to keep then wild caught snakes.  Large wild caught snakes can inflict a painful bite with razor sharp teeth and should be handled with respect. To avoid bites don't handle your snakes during feeding or after handling rodents.

Several problems are common in boids.  Low humidity, sudden chilling or temperatures below 70°F, dirty water bowls or cages, stress, and various viruses, bacteria or parasites can all cause respiratory tract infections or pneumonia.  Snakes with pneumonia have a gurgling sound to their breathing and thick mucous in  their mouth. They often rest with their head held vertically or a 45 degree angle.  Treatment consists of increasing cage temperature to 85 to 90°F and a culture from the trachea or lung to see which antibiotic will work, antibiotics, cleaning out the mouth if necessary and improving husbandry. See your veterinarian if you suspect this potentially serious disease.

 Mouth rot or infectious stomatitis is often caused by striking repeatedly, rubbing the nose raw on screening, material lodged in the mouth, rodent bites and the same circumstances that can cause respiratory tract infections. Mouth rot can develop secondary to pneumonia or vice versa. Early signs of mouth rot include small reddish areas in the normally pale colored mouth, thick mucous in the mouth, or areas of whitish yellow material on the surface of the mouth.  Seek veterinary attention immediately if you suspect mouth rot,  early treatment is much more successful than treating advanced cases. Treatment consists of removing infected tissue, a culture for antibiotic selection, injectable and local antibiotics, and gentle daily cleaning with disinfectants. Over the counter treatments are much less effective than veterinary treatment.

Regurgitation can be caused by handling snakes to frequently after feeding (handle snakes carefully for 2 to 4 days post feeding), parasites, bacteria, viruses, too cool environmental  temperature or too large a meal.  Your veterinarian may want to check  the feces and stomach washings for evidence of parasites or perform other tests.

Snout abrasions are common in wild caught snakes that are continually seeking a way out of the cage.  Providing a hide box is crucial and replacing the screen top with a  pegboard top should eliminate further damage. Local treatment with various antibiotic ointments should be initiated and the rest of the mouth evaluated for signs of mouth rot.

Difficulty shedding  is very common in our area because of low relative humidity. If your snake fails to shed its skin entirely soak it in shallow (only half way up the snakes side) lukewarm (80°F) water in a small container with a rock for several hours to overnight. Be careful that the water is shallow or your snake will drown! Alternatively one can place the snake in a damp pillowcase for several hours at 80°F. After soaking one can gently manually remove the stuck shed. Stuck eye caps or retained spectacles can be treated in a similar manner. They should come off easily after soaking overnight by grasping the retained shed around the eye orbit with fine tweezers (not directly over the eye) or rubbing a Q-tip over the eye cap. If the eye cap doesn't come off easily see your veterinarian, you may not be dealing with a retained spectacle. If there is any doubt in your mind then it is most likely not a retained spectacle. If you don't have a retained spectacle and you try and remove the outer surface of your snake’s eye you may cause great damage !

Parasites are very common in wild caught imports.  A fecal exam will identify what types of worms are present and what type of wormer is needed.  Over the counter wormers are not recommended. I recommend that all snakes have their feces examined for parasites.

If you suspect any of these or other problems please see your veterinarian immediately.  Don't delay professional help, many problems can be overcome with early correct treatment.