• Posted 12/19/2024.
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    I am still waiting on my developer to finish up on the Classifieds Control Panel so I can use it to encourage members into becoming paying members. Google Adsense has become a real burden on the viewing of this site, but honestly it is the ONLY source of income now that keeps it afloat. I tried offering disabling the ads being viewed by paying members, but apparently that is not enough incentive. Quite frankly, Google Adsense has dropped down to where it barely brings in enough daily to match even a single paid member per day. But it still gets the bills paid. But at what cost?

    So even without the classifieds control panel being complete, I believe I am going to have to disable those Google ads completely and likely disable some options here that have been free since going to the new platform. Like classified ad bumping, member name changes, and anything else I can use to encourage this site to be supported by the members instead of the Google Adsense ads.

    But there is risk involved. I will not pay out of pocket for very long during this last ditch experimental effort. If I find that the membership does not want to support this site with memberships, then I cannot support your being able to post your classified ads here for free. No, I am not intending to start charging for your posting ads here. I will just shut the site down and that will be it. I will be done with FaunaClassifieds. I certainly don't need this, and can live the rest of my life just fine without it. If I see that no one else really wants it to survive neither, then so be it. It goes away and you all can just go elsewhere to advertise your animals and merchandise.

    Not sure when this will take place, and I don't intend to give any further warning concerning the disabling of the Google Adsense. Just as there probably won't be any warning if I decide to close down this site. You will just come here and there will be some sort of message that the site is gone, and you have a nice day.

    I have been trying to make a go of this site for a very long time. And quite frankly, I am just tired of trying. I had hoped that enough people would be willing to help me help you all have a free outlet to offer your stuff for sale. But every year I see less and less people coming to this site, much less supporting it financially. That is fine. I tried. I retired the SerpenCo business about 14 years ago, so retiring out of this business completely is not that big if a step for me, nor will it be especially painful to do. When I was in Thailand, I did not check in here for three weeks. I didn't miss it even a little bit. So if you all want it to remain, it will be in your hands. I really don't care either way.

    =====================
    Some people have indicated that finding the method to contribute is rather difficult. And I have to admit, that it is not all that obvious. So to help, here is a thread to help as a quide. How to become a contributing member of FaunaClassifieds.

    And for the record, I will be shutting down the Google Adsense ads on January 1, 2025.
  • Responding to email notices you receive.
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    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

baby nicaraguan boa

kalismom3

kalismom3

snake whisperer :)
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hello. i have to start by saying i'm an idiot. i ordered a baby nicaraguan boa from lllreptile oct 1st. baby got here the 2nd. my husband and i have struggled with this baby who won't eat or drink. temperatures are 92 hot side and 80 to 82 cool side. i'm at a loss as what to do for this poor dehydrated baby who stopped drinking oh his own 4 days ago. i'm sick to my stomach with worry. we are trying to get him to drink through a dropper. i gave lllreptile a good guy review for the baby. i didn't know the baby was sick.... i have kept in constant contact with lllreptile. i don't know where to go from here. i also hope i posted this in the right place.
 
Does he look ropey at all?

I wouldn't worry too much about a new aquisition not eating for a few weeks, depending on how he looks. If he looks reasonably chunky and is alert it might just be that he's slow to settle in.

As for drinking, how confident are you that he's not drinking when you aren't around to see it? I bought a Brazilian Rainbow in june and I still haven't seen her drink, but she has access to water, humid hides, has a fogger and is growing like a weed.

Where does he spend most of his time? Is he reliably huddled up the cool end or sticks to the warm end?
 
Make a vet appointment, might just need a run of panacur to knock out some fun parasites.
 
Did LLLReptile tell you what the baby boa was eating when he/she was with them? Also, what feed item the boa was started out on (if they know)?
What have you tried to get him/her to eat?
Is the boa being handled a lot?
Does he/she have hides in both the warm side and cool side?
Is the boa very thin or does he/she look filled out?
Are you positive that he/she is dehydrated? What brings you to believe he/she is dehydrated?
 
i believe the baby is dehydrated because he just shed and he's very wrinkly. he drank tonight on his own for 15 minutes straight tonight. he spends part of his time under the big fake ivy plant in the middle of the cage or up on his perch in the heat for the rest of the time. i tried hide boxes but he doesn't like them. i'm constantly watching him off and on 16 hours a day to see if he drinks. we have tried live rat and mouse pinkies, f/t pinkies and fuzzies. he's not chunky, he's about 18 inches long and skinny. lllreptile whom i'm in constant contact with, hasn't said what he eats. the problem is they tell me to leave him alone. if i would have done that, he'd be dead by now. Gratch the baby nicaraguan is handled 4 times a day, just to get him set up to drink. then a little love kisses and back to his cage.
 
That was going to be my exact question. Also, are you taking the snake to a vet? This sounds very serious.
 
Welcome to the hobby. My first concern is how often he is being handled, 4 times a day if far too much. If you feel that he is dehydrated then mist him heavily twice a day and add an extra water bowl for his convenience. Second, I have found that in my experience boas do not thrive in 90 degree temps, I would take the hot side down to about 87-88 F . Pictures would help a lot here and I agree, if you feel that the animal is within immediate jeopardy, then you need to contact a vet.

When you purchase again, I would highly recommend buying from a private breeder who can give you more information and follow up support tailored to the specific animal you bought.
 
Agreed, a good private breeder can provide strong information and support that a store cannot match.
 
EmeraldBoid said:
Welcome to the hobby. My first concern is how often he is being handled, 4 times a day if far too much. If you feel that he is dehydrated then mist him heavily twice a day and add an extra water bowl for his convenience. Second, I have found that in my experience boas do not thrive in 90 degree temps, I would take the hot side down to about 87-88 F . Pictures would help a lot here and I agree, if you feel that the animal is within immediate jeopardy, then you need to contact a vet.

When you purchase again, I would highly recommend buying from a private breeder who can give you more information and follow up support tailored to the specific animal you bought.
Click to expand...

This, above, about sums it up.
He/She really does need to be left alone, for awhile, (aside from needed handling if taken to a vet) and, then, minimal handling until older or really settled in and an established feeder.
Also, don't offer food each day or every other day (don't know how often you are attempting to feed). Allow some days between attempts.
If your baby boa still refuses to eat (after following advice), and you need some feed tips/tricks, let me/us know.
 
hi. by handling we take him out of his cage and set him on my table in front of my chair to give him water. once he's done we hold him for about a minute or two. he loves to be held. he ate on october 21st. i usually offer food every 5 to 7 days. he is going back into shed after just shedding on the 14th. i found his biggest problem is he has shed stuck over his nostrils. it's making it a touch difficult to breathe and i don't know what to do. he has improved alot. the shed on the nose and drinking from a dropper is the only things wrong with him now.
 
Boas do not require a dripper nor do they need help finding water or drinking as long as it is available in their enclosures. I assure you. A good thing thing to focus on at this point is to make sure he can have a full shed this time. This entails misting the enclosure daily, but avoiding spraying him directly, especially while he is opaque, and minimizing the handling. The shedding process includes a build up of several oils that help get the job done, too much direct misting and disturbance in general can inhibit this process. Goodluck.
 
You can also make a humid hide for the boa to use. Get a plastic food storage container with a lid, cut an access hole in the lid, and put some damp (not sopping wet) spaghnum moss in it. You may have to re-wet the moss every few days. Also check it often because snakes really like to do their business in it - it can be washed and re-used a few times.

If there's enough room in the enclosure you can use two water bowls, one on the warm side and the other on the cool side, to increase humidity.

You also said the boa is thin. They are supposed to be thin - a chunky/round boa is a FAT boa, and fat boas have shorter lifespans than fit ones. They should not look like corns/kings/BP's, they should have a square body shape.

If you can get him onto f/t feeders and you're still worried about him not drinking, you can give him damp feeders.
 
Could you get us a pic of your boa? I think people are speculating a bit too much on this thread without really having some firsthand knowledge of the situation. Also, boas don't love to be held. They don't "love" anything, although they're generally pretty enthusiastic about feeding. They tend to prefer to be left alone, truth be told.
 
gratch

hope these pictures are ok enough for you to see
 

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Does he have any problems closing his mouth fully? The pics look like his mouth is partially swollen...granted it could just be the pic.
 
OK, while the stuck shed is definitely not a good thing, it looks like overall tone isn't too bad. I'd recommend ditching the aquarium and heat lamp for a rubbermaid sweaterbox with a ring of holes put in it. Use a small hide and a water dish on the non heated side. This will help with heat and humidity retention and the snake's feeling of security.
 
I agree, that could lead to mouthrot and a subsequent resp infection pretty easily.
 
kalismom3 said:
the reason his mouth is partially open is because of old shed stuck over his nostrils.
Click to expand...
If that is the case, then I reiterate what me and others have already said. Focus on hydration and security, so that this next shed goes well. If you notice any mucous or unusual sounds (symptoms of an RI), then seek out a vet. Is he out of the opaque stage yet?
 
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