My male Dumeril’s Boa seems a little on the “special” side with no disrespect he is a beautiful male just seems like he might have a neurological issue. He handles weird and sometimes flips himself around my two females act like normal snakes is this normal of him?
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While I don’t work with Dumeril’s so I can’t comment on what they are supposed to be like, I’d be concerned about any boa showing neurological symptoms. Has he had any other issues like regurgitations, etc? You may want to consider having him seen by a vet and tested for Arenavirus just to be safe.
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I’m going to second what @noodlehaus said. I don’t work with boas, but you say you have multiple Dumeril’s and you are noticing that your male’s behavior differs significantly from that of the females. What do you mean when you say he “handles weird” and “flips himself around?” Snakes can have their klutzy moments like any creature, but If he’s acting like he cannot coordinate or control his motion and/or his body, that’s very concerning and he needs a vet visit.
Before seeing a vet, think about how long he’s been doing this, if the behavior has changed over time, what (if anything) makes it better or worse? The vet will ask these things.
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Also maybe consider quarantining him out of an abundance of caution just to keep your other snakes safe.
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I agree with what everyone is saying. Should have him check out by a good reptile veterinarian.
One other thing is he house with your other two boas? Dumerils are cannibalist, so he could be getting stressed out. Dumerils should always be housed separately unless they are breeding.
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They are all housed separately. I looked into arenavirus as a possibility but he doesn’t have any other symptoms. He is fine in his tub but once removed he is goofy and klutzy. He doesn’t show disequilibrium like a wobble in ball pythons or some of the more severe cases of laying upside down anything like that. It hasn’t worsened I was just worried that he may have some form of neurological problem. I will arrange a vet visit if it continues or worsens.
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This might be a stretch, but how long have you had him? I have a “slightly special” Dums as well. The woman who originally owned him told me she had a thermostat malfunction and the rack significantly overheated. He survived, but is “off.” My vet said he’s most likely suffering neurological damage from the extreme heat. Maybe that happened to yours?
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