New snake acting... Off

Boas Sand Boas
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A new sand boa baby arrived to us today. Body condition wise she’s perfect. But I’m concerned about the amount of lethargy she was displaying as I got her out and inspected her. I’ve dealt with young Sands before and usually they are a good bit more squirmy and wanting to burrow immediately. This one, while able to hold herself decently when being held and let to “dangle” a bit (not a limp noodle), had some odd halfway jerking upwards head movements and otherwise didn’t really respond to touch other than squirming the area being touched to avoid it.

She drank a good bit of water when offered and the Temps today were consistently 85f. On top of that she also arrived to me 2 hours later than projected because of a mix up with FedEx.

Could it be that she’s dehydrated and got overheated today while in transit? She otherwise seemed healthy and responsive (looking around, following my movement with eyes).

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The jerking movements are a common defense mechanism in sand boas. It is not unusual for snakes to be lethargic after shipping. Leave her alone for a week and then reevaluate. Also, your temps are on the low side.

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I think they were saying the outside temps were 85°F. Could be wrong though.

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Yeah shipping Temps were at least 85f. Possibly higher in the back of the truck/van she was in. Her Hotspot temp is at 90f just as the rest of my sand boas.

I know the drill on a new snake. No contact for at least a week and then can do small handling sessions but only if they eat.

Guess I’ve never had one be defensive before. Usually they just wanna dig through fingers and such.