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Posted by glenn bartley on January 14, 2003 at 12:30:56:
In Reply to: New Boa Behavior posted by djairam on January 14, 2003 at 09:44:14:
You seem to be worried about nothing, and maybe are not worried about what you should be concerned with. Let me explain. Boas and pythons often exhibit a symptom called star gazing. This is when they keep there snout pointed almost straight up for abnormally long periods of time. This can be a symptom of different diseases; however that having been said, let me ad: young Boa constrictors apparently do this quite a lot when healthy. I have only kept a couple of Boa constrictors before, and vaguely remember mine doing such and they were quite healthy. A check on the boa forums also disclosed that many people's healthy baby boas do so. It is something to worry about if there are other signs of disease, but I would not be all that concerned at this stage. I have had snakes exhibit this symptom when they were suffering from respiratory and mouth infections, and believe it is also a symptom of IBD. While IBD may be a killer, I have never had a boa or python with this disease, nor do I personally know anyone whose snakes had this disease. My guess would be that your snake is exhibiting normal behavior.
As for worrying about stressing out a snake, it is a good idea not to disturb it too much in the first week or so in its new home. If it is a captive born snake though, it is probably fairly used to people being around.
Now as for your housing of this snake, I have a question. You say the snake spends a lot of time in its plant. Does it have hide boxes? Sure boas like to hand out on branches and in plants, but should also be suplied a nice pair of hideboxes too. If you have a high enough tank you can supply a hidebox in the branches or suspended from the side of the tank - sort of like a hollow in a tree. A nice snug hiding place is usually appreciated by most snakes.
Best regards,
Glenn Bartley
