Obesity

Symptoms

  • fat rolls
  • segmented body
  • unable to find spine
  • unable to see/feel muscles under scales

Cause

  • overfeeding
  • lack of exercise
  • small enclosure
  • fatty prey

Treatment

A fat snake can develop fatty liver or heart disease, leading to an untimely death. To resolve this:

  • Feed smaller prey.
  • Feed more birds. Birds generally leaner.
  • Feed adult prey in its prime, instead of extremely young or very old “jumbo” rodents. These animals are high in fat and can be lower in nutrients. This may require that you offer multiple animals in one feeding.
  • Make sure your boa is in an appropriately-sized enclosure, large enough to facilitate exercise. Regular handling can also encourage your snake to exercise. Go the extra mile by snake-proofing a small room for free exploration and exercise without fear of escape.

Record your snake’s weight 1-2x monthly to keep tabs on progress.


Other Dumeril’s boa health topics: