lines on scales (re: boa scales)

[intravenous]

I've just read this thread: http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/snake...oa-scales.html

My boa also has these and I wondered what they were but didn't think to ask.

Is the only reason a snake gets these that it is obese? My boa has grown pretty fast in his first year but I've always thought I fed him reasonably (one small rat every 7 days). His viv is big...6ft x 2ft x 2ft so he has the room to stretch out if he wants, he just happens to like staying curled up in the same spot most of the time. He gets exercise too...I take him out for an hour almost every day.

[Azazel777]

as far as i have known they are also quite common with more inactive snakes...one of my bigger boas and my female burmese get them...so i try and get them out more often to encourage movement and general socializing and exercise...however in the topic you are referring to is a very different bag entirely...the boa is young, clearly morbidly obese and the crease lines are most deffo from inactivity due to the strain of the weight.

so dont worry i am sure your animals dont have the same problem

[intravenous]

Originally Posted by Azazel777

as far as i have known they are also quite common with more inactive snakes...one of my bigger boas and my female burmese get them...so i try and get them out more often to encourage movement and general socializing and exercise...however in the topic you are referring to is a very different bag entirely...the boa is young, clearly morbidly obese and the crease lines are most deffo from inactivity due to the strain of the weight.

so dont worry i am sure your animals dont have the same problem

I wasn't really comparing mine to his...those rats are absolutely massive and mine is only on small rats. I just worried after everyone said its a sign of obesity . I want healthy snakes.

My boa is young (and big for his age)...he had his 1st birthday last month and at that point he as 4ft 3inches and 1118g. There isn't really a guideline for what weight a boa should be at certain lengths which makes it difficult to judge. I can't really make him more active if he doesn't want to because I already take him out heaps as it is.

[intravenous]

These are the only semi-decent recent pictures I have:

12/09/07 (the smears on the glass is gel that won't come off, not dirt incase anyone wonders )



03/10/07


Does he look a healthy weight?

[MBurt]

cool looking snake

[AZUK]

regardless of the size of the vivarium any snake will end up in one spot if there is not a correct thermogradient. I see that your Boa has a large viv which due to it's dimensions could prove difficult to adequately heat.
what source of heating do you use? what are the temps at either end of the viv and what is the overall ambient temp ?
I am not sure from the pic but is that a " hot rock " in the viv ? Dreadful things and if relied on as a soul source of heat then it's probably the root of the problem.
creases in snakes especially the larger Boids are created due to the lack of movement, Snakes see no recreational benefit from moving about and will if given the choice stay put to conserve energy. This is always the case with the really big guys and in some zoos tortoises are often seen in the same enclosure to encourage moement in the captives.
Obese snakes tend to show more than creases and a better indication that the snake is morbidly obese is the rings of fat that manifest under the dermis usually around the tail.
stunning looking Boa buy the way.

[intravenous]

Originally Posted by AZUK

regardless of the size of the vivarium any snake will end up in one spot if there is not a correct thermogradient. I see that your Boa has a large viv which due to it's dimensions could prove difficult to adequately heat.
what source of heating do you use? what are the temps at either end of the viv and what is the overall ambient temp ?
I am not sure from the pic but is that a " hot rock " in the viv ? Dreadful things and if relied on as a soul source of heat then it's probably the root of the problem.

.

You can't see it in that picture (you only see half the viv) but the viv is heated by a 250W ceramic heater (with a ceramic bulb guard) on a thermostat...the hot end (under the heater) is around 90F and the cold end is around 75F and the snake moves between the two as he pleases. I have no hot rocks, the only things you see are regular hides.

creases in snakes especially the larger Boids are created due to the lack of movement, Snakes see no recreational benefit from moving about and will if given the choice stay put to conserve energy. This is always the case with the really big guys and in some zoos tortoises are often seen in the same enclosure to encourage moement in the captives.
Obese snakes tend to show more than creases and a better indication that the snake is morbidly obese is the rings of fat that manifest under the dermis usually around the tail.
stunning looking Boa buy the way.

Well I think his tail looks pretty normal and streamlined...I don't see any fat deposits there (he sometimes looks a bit chunky down there but thats normally followed by a massive present under one of his hides ). As I said...I don't think I could give him much more exercise, I probably handle him a lot more than the average keeper.

[AZUK]

every thing sound right m8 maybe an increase in the size of the hides may help also check that there is no signs of dehydration which again can cause these lines. To be honest I think you've got it pretty well sussed and the Boa in question looks a super healthy specimen.

[intravenous]

Originally Posted by AZUK

every thing sound right m8 maybe an increase in the size of the hides may help also check that there is no signs of dehydration which again can cause these lines. To be honest I think you've got it pretty well sussed and the Boa in question looks a super healthy specimen.

I bought two bigger hides since that picture was taken...he is just a picky sod .

[AZUK]

snakes are believe it or not quite agoraphobic and will all ways try to cram themselves in the smallest of spaces to feel secure