How hard can it be!

[BnC Snakes]

To find a 4ft boa! Yup she is on the loose, she was in her cage yesterday and now she isn't. The only problem I see is one of the heat registers is open and we don't find her in the room so she may be in the duct work. If I don't see her soon I am going to make a duct trap.

[ffollett]

Good luck with the hunt. I am sure she will show up at some point.

[The Snake Guru]

What a pain. Wish you the best of luck in finding her though! Yeah you would think at 4 feet they would stick out a little more. LOL

~B~

[Lorelei]

Good luck!

[Reaper1187]

You'll be walkin around one day and she'll fall through one of the vents straight into your arms, lol, you be relieved and piss yourself at the same time, j/k but good luck finding her

[burmlover16]

haha it can be hard. my 8 ft redtail got loose and i couldn't finr her for 3 days and i found her behind a shelf that was only a foot wide lol

[danthony428]

shit, my boa got out of his cage and was gone for 2 months, we thought he was dead and had even grieved over it already, and had dealt with it all, then i found him, he looked like shit and was freezing to death, he wouldnt eat at first because he had been so stressed out i guess, i just got him eating again a few days ago, but he's perfectly fine, hes a little hard ass i guess, good luck finding your snake, check under every things, especially if theres clothes or towels on the ground anywhere, thats where i found joe

[BnC Snakes]

We found her today in the wall, how she got through that tiny hole I will never know. On a bad note she now has a broken top jaw on the left side, I know the vet will put her down, any idea's?

[The Snake Guru]

Well, congrats on finding her.....sorry to hear it wasn't under better conditions.

Is it possible to post a pic. of the Injury?

I good friend of mine had a boa that hit the glass on the enclosure so hard it fractured both sides of the bottom jaw, litterally bent to a 90 degree angle, after to months it corrected itself and you couldn't even tell the difference, even kept eating and everything.

~B~

[Lorelei]

Glad to hear you found her - hope her jaw works out for ya!

[BnC Snakes]

She is in poor shape, I'm not sure what to do. She can't eat but is of good size if it will correct itself so she can eat again. Her tongue comes out the right side of her mouth, this looks soo bad. I not sure on whether to put her down or wait and see what happens. Any idea's would be much appreciated.

The messed up thing about this is I was the "executioner" for my herp society. I have the necessary setup for humane euthenisa if it comes to that but I am having a real issue with putting down one of my own. The others I have had to put down were in very bad shape and were obviously suffering but I wasn't attached to them.

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[ffollett]

oh man that looks horrible. Poor thing.

This may be one of those trip to the vet times. Maybe get some x-rays taken to see if it is broken or what the deal is inside there.

[The Snake Guru]

Have you tried popping everything back into place?
This may require a second set of hands....but it may be possible. If you manage to pop everything out and get it back into shape, there may be hope, otherwise yeah that one probably isn't going to correct itself......As I see it that is about your only option besides putting her down.

If you manage to get everything back to where it's supposed to be, don't feed her for at least 3 weeks. After 3 weeks try a meal 1/4 the size of you would usually give her.....do that for about 2 months, then move to larger meals, but nothing to oversized.

Sorry man, that is pretty rough....but I think if you have the nerves you should be able to manipulate that out, looks like the upper jaw on the right side is broken and curled inwards....the left looks bad because of the pressure being exerted from the right side...if you can the right side back into place, the left should be fine.

~B~

P.S Vet trip would be a good idea

[mschris]

We actually tried that earlier but we are going to attempt it again considering the only other option is..... you know. Thank you for your help!

Brian
B&C

[The Snake Guru]

Yeah it's not going to be easy.....I wish you the best of luck.

~B~

[BnC Snakes]

Well I am happy to announce that I was able to get her top jaw back into place and she is almost able to close her mouth. I was gentle but more firm in my approach this time. I had Ms Chris do what I call "the hot hold" (for those of you that have handled hot you know what i am talking about) and I was able to see that her upper jaw on the right side had crossed over the left side of the upper jaw. Once I got it to release and back in place I checked movement of the right side and it seems to operate fine, she has some swelling so I will give her time but her face is no longer distorted looking. Thank you for your advise and help Brad!

[danthony428]

that is so damn sad, i dont know what the hell i would do if i had to put down one of my own snakes, i feel for you majorly, good luck, hope everything works out well,

[The Snake Guru]

Well I am happy to announce that I was able to get her top jaw back into place and she is almost able to close her mouth. I was gentle but more firm in my approach this time. I had Ms Chris do what I call "the hot hold" (for those of you that have handled hot you know what i am talking about) and I was able to see that her upper jaw on the right side had crossed over the left side of the upper jaw. Once I got it to release and back in place I checked movement of the right side and it seems to operate fine, she has some swelling so I will give her time but her face is no longer distorted looking. Thank you for your advise and help Brad!


That is absolutely Fantatsic man! The swelling is probably what's keeping her mouth still open, but GREAT news! I'd give her a week or 2 before you try feeding her, but since it's more a dislocation and not a fracture I exspect a full recovery....awesome man, just awesome!

~B~

[BnC Snakes]

Well we now have her all comfy in her escape proof enclosure. Her mouth is looking 98% normal (slight swelling) but I think she will be fine. I will post pic's in a week or two.

[The Snake Guru]

Again man, that's awesome! I'm so glad it worked out that way. That is one thing that has always amazed me about snakes, the flexibility in thier head structure, I mean for it to be that out of shape and not have anything snapped....just amazing!

At anyrate man, good on ya, I'm glad. Looking forward to seeing the "after" pics...in fact when you post them you should do a side by side comparison....that'll really throw people for a loop. LOL

~B~

[ffollett]

i dont know what the hell i would do if i had to put down one of my own snakes,

It is never a cool thing to have to do.

The messed up thing about this is I was the "executioner" for my herp society. I have the necessary setup for humane euthenisa if it comes to that

Now that the crisis seems to be over I can ask. What do you for reptiles? We have a C02chamber for rats, rabbits, etc.

[Basil]

Wow! I'm so glad that things are looking better for her! Poor girl. Definitely keep us posted. I'll have my fingers crossed.

[Lorelei]

Glad to hear you got her all fixed up!

[mschris]

YOUR AWESOME BABY, YOU DID AN AMAZING JOB WITH DUSA

[Robilyn]

Wow what an awesome job getting that jaw back, it looked nasty as heck! I hope she recovers fully for you! Poor thing!

[BnC Snakes]

Now that the crisis seems to be over I can ask. What do you for reptiles? We have a C02chamber for rats, rabbits, etc.

Euthenaisa can either be done with Co2 or the pink juice the vet uses of which I have access to. Either way is very humane and peaceful.

[BnC Snakes]

Here are some blurry next day pic's of her mouth. It looks a lot better, still some swelling on the lower other side of her jaw so I will wait a week or two and attempt to feed her a small sized meal.

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[The Snake Guru]

A little swollen yes....but 200% better than what it was! You did a fantastic job getting that back into place! And kudos to your wife for helping!

~B~

[BnC Snakes]

A little swollen yes....but 200% better than what it was! You did a fantastic job getting that back into place! And kudos to your wife for helping!

~B~

Thank you! Now that's twice I have done recent snake repairs. I know the vet would have put her down so I was going to do what I had to do to at least try to make it right. I went online and found a 3D rotating slide of a Boa's skull and tendon setup and it was then I realized it may only be out of place and not broken and thanks to you I got that little extra push to try a little harder. Thankfully it wasn't broken. The real test will be if she will eat in a couple of weeks. The other recent snake repair I did was on my Dumerils ("Nefertiti") she had a cyst on the right side top of her head that grew to he point of affecting her vision. Again I had Ms Chris do the hot hold and I opened her up with a scalpel with a sterile #10 blade. Went inside with hemostats and removed the cyst core (it was the size of a pea and hard as a rock!) thoroughly flushed it with clorhex solution (2tbsp to 1 gallon of water) and followed up with a saline flush. I opted not to suture it closed because I wanted it to heal from the inside up and my also my suture kits are 24" long and I didn't want to use a whole suture package for two knots so I used an antibiotic ointment once a day for two weeks and she did great! You can't even see a scar and she was seeing better the first day and eating within three days.

[Lorelei]

She looks good! Let us know how the feeding goes!

[The Snake Guru]

Thank you! Now that's twice I have done recent snake repairs. I know the vet would have put her down so I was going to do what I had to do to at least try to make it right. I went online and found a 3D rotating slide of a Boa's skull and tendon setup and it was then I realized it may only be out of place and not broken and thanks to you I got that little extra push to try a little harder. Thankfully it wasn't broken. The real test will be if she will eat in a couple of weeks. The other recent snake repair I did was on my Dumerils ("Nefertiti") she had a cyst on the right side top of her head that grew to he point of affecting her vision. Again I had Ms Chris do the hot hold and I opened her up with a scalpel with a sterile #10 blade. Went inside with hemostats and removed the cyst core (it was the size of a pea and hard as a rock!) thoroughly flushed it with clorhex solution (2tbsp to 1 gallon of water) and followed up with a saline flush. I opted not to suture it closed because I wanted it to heal from the inside up and my also my suture kits are 24" long and I didn't want to use a whole suture package for two knots so I used an antibiotic ointment once a day for two weeks and she did great! You can't even see a scar and she was seeing better the first day and eating within three days.

Well you are quite the handy man! LOL, I know what you're saying though....we don't have any decent vets in this area so I've had to learn stuff on my own....amazing what you can acomplish when you're forced into it. LOL

~B~

[mattciupak]

im glad she's ok. if your cage is made (partly) of glass (or anything that you can see through, and when people walk she can see it, try covering it with something so she can't see. maybe she was just stressed out. my bp did this alot, and until i started covering the glass, he has been fine.

[The Snake Guru]

im glad she's ok. if your cage is made (partly) of glass (or anything that you can see through, and when people walk she can see it, try covering it with something so she can't see. maybe she was just stressed out. my bp did this alot, and until i started covering the glass, he has been fine.


What in the lord almighty are you talking about man?

~B~

[ffollett]

What in the lord almighty are you talking about man?

~B~

What brad said.

[BnC Snakes]

Well you are quite the handy man! LOL, I know what you're saying though....we don't have any decent vets in this area so I've had to learn stuff on my own....amazing what you can acomplish when you're forced into it. LOL

~B~

Luckily I used to work in the medical field and have knowledge of broken bones, surgical knots, wound care, cleaning and closing large wounds etc... Didn't ever think I would ever have to apply it to snakes!

Offered her a syringe of water tonight which she drank with little effort, she drank four syringes full. I don't think she is able to drink from a bowl yet, I will give her one in a few days and see how she does.

[The Snake Guru]

Luckily I used to work in the medical field and have knowledge of broken bones, surgical knots, wound care, cleaning and closing large wounds etc... Didn't ever think I would ever have to apply it to snakes!

Offered her a syringe of water tonight which she drank with little effort, she drank four syringes full. I don't think she is able to drink from a bowl yet, I will give her one in a few days and see how she does.


Sounds great man! Keep us posted! But I tell ya, I'm expecting a full recovery.

~B~

[Troy]

BL, been watching this thread. Really happy for you that things turned out good in the end. :) Truly glad for you that you didn't have to put the boa to sleep.Troy

[BnC Snakes]

Sounds great man! Keep us posted! But I tell ya, I'm expecting a full recovery.

~B~

I definitely will thank for your help.

BL, been watching this thread. Really happy for you that things turned out good in the end. :) Truly glad for you that you didn't have to put the boa to sleep.Troy

So am I. It was the last thing I wanted to do. Medusa was surrendered to me 1.5 years ago by animal control in the next county down from me (about 30 miles away) she was in good health and has been with me ever since. She is a little on the spazy nippy side at times and has been up for adoption on my site for about 6 months. Had a lot of inquiries but it seems to be people I don't trust or those that I won't adopt to because they want the animal for the cool factor. Maybe I'm being picky but I want her to go to a "forever home" and know she will be treated right!

[BnC Snakes]

I gave feeding a try today with a weanling mouse (she normally eats jumbo rats) and she hit it like a freight train and then decided she didn't want it and left it alone. I now know her mouth works but may still be sore so I will give it another week and see what happens.

[The Snake Guru]

Sounds to me like that was the issue.....kind of like....OWWW that hurts! LOL I'd give at least 2 more weeks before you try again.

~B~

[BnC Snakes]

Sounds to me like that was the issue.....kind of like....OWWW that hurts! LOL I'd give at least 2 more weeks before you try again.

~B~

I think you are right, two weeks it is.

[jltica]

wow great job! sure do hope she's on her way to full recovery. i've had problems with local vets here in the islands too. most are dog and cat vets only. then ther coma along once and was so either.so we've had to do things mostly on our own

[BnC Snakes]

We have a local vet that advertises as exotic but is definitely more into dogs and cats. He has helped a lot of people I know with basic reptile stuff but other stuff (surgeries and whatnot) I'm not to sure. So like you we are learning to do a bit of it ourselves which is fine by me, more knowledge and experience is great!

[panic13]

I just saw your post. Haven't been on in awhile. Our little burm got out too, but after a few hours we found her. I thought she feel down the vent and was dead. Shes ok now. But i can relate to your fear of missing your snake. I was so sad seeing the pictures of her jaw, it looked like it really hurt. I'm glad to see that you have her jaw all fixed up and she is doing better. Let us know how things are going with her. Best of luck to you.

[Ionlylookinnocent]

hows your boa doing?

[BnC Snakes]

hows your boa doing?

She is doing very well, just went into opaque so I will wait to feed her until after she sheds. I tried to feed her once after a week, she struck and then refused it so I think it is a sign of pain, so I will wait it out. Her swelling has gone down and she looks like a normal Boa again, I just want to make sure the mouth works properly.

[Ionlylookinnocent]

My boas eat anytime, even when there in a shed. (one of them ate monday and its eyes were cloudy)

[BnC Snakes]

Here is an update! I attempted to feed her tonight and she readily took a small mouse and ate it with no problem so I fed her 3 more. Her jaw is working fine! I am going to stick with the small prey for the next few feedings and gradually work back up to the jumbo rat's she was eating before jaw problem.. All is well and she has something in her tummy and a working jaw!

[Lorelei]

Thats great!

[The Snake Guru]

Here is an update! I attempted to feed her tonight and she readily took a small mouse and ate it with no problem so I fed her 3 more. Her jaw is working fine! I am going to stick with the small prey for the next few feedings and gradually work back up to the jumbo rat's she was eating before jaw problem.. All is well and she has something in her tummy and a working jaw!


Sounds great man! Glad to hear she's back up and running! Good idea with the smaller prey items....no need to stretch things out of wack just yet.

Very good news though!
~B~

[Basil]

Fantastic! I'm very glad to hear it!

[BnC Snakes]

I feel really good about this, she is back to her old self, has a strike response that makes me jump every time I feed her (even though I know it's coming) she hits very hard and fast. I always tell myself "I'm not going to jump" but then she hits like lightning and I jump. LOL!

[n5zow]

I feel really good about this, she is back to her old self, has a strike response that makes me jump every time I feed her (even though I know it's coming) she hits very hard and fast. I always tell myself "I'm not going to jump" but then she hits like lightning and I jump. LOL!

I have been watching this thread from the beginning and am very happy to hear your snake is doing great. I also know about the hard hitting feeding response. My RTB hit the f/t rat I feed it so hard it bounced twice off the cage wall.... Scared the cr*p out of me.....

[The Snake Guru]

I feel really good about this, she is back to her old self, has a strike response that makes me jump every time I feed her (even though I know it's coming) she hits very hard and fast. I always tell myself "I'm not going to jump" but then she hits like lightning and I jump. LOL!

Don't know how I missed this one, but hey....glad she's back to normal self!
Great news!

~B~

[dr_d_us2000]

very big congrats

[dr_d_us2000]

i had these little incedents before i got my good cages, one time i had a 3,500 dollar snake roaming around for 4 months. get u some good cages with locks will make u feel so much better. can even divide a 4 foot cage easily and it saves cost. best of luck