I have a oketee corn and just added a boa to my collection!!! I got him Friday night. It's a rainbow/common boa mix. He's been "soaking" in his water bowl the entire day. Is that common? I wasn't sure if there was something wrong or if he was lacking something and that's why he's been "swimming" all day. Thank you!

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Steph
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I am too blessed to be stressed! The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything!

1.0.0 Husband; 3.1.0 Children; 1.1.0 Corns; 0.1.0 BP; 1.0.0 C/BRB; 0.1.0 Rabbit

It could be that he's either in shed or he's got mites.I would check him over for any parasites.
Rainbows need a higher humidity;is yours as recommended by the care sheet?
How old is he?Any pics?
Here's a caresheet www.petsnake.co.uk/care_sheet-rainbow.php

Thank you Jackie! my Boa (Ty) is 2 months old. We just got him this past friday. i don't have any pictures yet but I will be getting some very soon. He is still in there at this very moment. i was getting very scared. i appreciate your information. i am looking into getting a Milk Snake, a Ball Python, and a Green Tree Python!!


Wish list: Striped Ghost corn snake, Albino Okeetee corn snake, California King snake, Lavender corn snake, Burmese Python, Bloodred corn snake, Candycane corn snake, and a Sunglow corn snake!!!
we will be getting these "eventually"!!

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Steph
<t><
I am too blessed to be stressed! The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything!

1.0.0 Husband; 3.1.0 Children; 1.1.0 Corns; 0.1.0 BP; 1.0.0 C/BRB; 0.1.0 Rabbit

Hello,

He may also be hot. If your temperatures aren't adequate, the water will help him cool and thermoregulate. If you don't see any speckles moving on the surface of the water, or his head, he doesn't have mites. The water would force them to retreat to "high" ground, and some would "float" in the water.
Shedding is also a likely possibility.

Check the water for mites (and any exposed "body") and check the temps as well.

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Thank you Rich! I will check tonight! He is "still" in there. i went down to look at him at 7:30 and I didn't see any mites but I will definately check again! Thank you so much your information is going to help alot! When I get pictures I will post them! He is so cute. My children love him. My duaghter was afraid of snakes yesterday and now (today) she wants a thousand! She was holding our Okeetee Corn snake and she said she wants alot more. therefore this information will go to great use in this house!

Thanks again!

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Steph
<t><
I am too blessed to be stressed! The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything!

1.0.0 Husband; 3.1.0 Children; 1.1.0 Corns; 0.1.0 BP; 1.0.0 C/BRB; 0.1.0 Rabbit

Do you have a hide box for him?? He could be retreating to the water to "hide"...after he settles, he probably will come out and move around more...I hadthat happen with My BIG Boa...and he is like 7ish ft long and really big....he hid in his water dish until he decided that the many pairs of eyes were not going to EAT him LOL....good luck ...and bring on the pics !!! Lyn

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Warmest Regards from Lyn

Congratulations on the new baby.
I wasn't aware that you could inter-breed Rainbows and common boas, as they are completely different species of boa. (?!) It sounds like a cool mix, but I really thought that it was impossible to cross different species. (I might be wrong here.) Post pics soon... sounds like a really cool snake!!
Some snakes like to soak more than others. Check the temps/humidity and make sure you have plenty of other dark hiding places for him. When I put my rainbow boa in a bath, and then come by to check on her, she goes under and holds her breath -- she thinks I can't see her anymore!
As some others have said, he could be going into shed, he could have mites, or some snakes like to soak right after eating.

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Andrea

Hmmmm,...do you have any pics? Who told you it was a hybrid? This would be very unusual.

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I am with Andrea and Merlin, as far as I'm aware no one has crossed Epicates (any sub spiecies) with Boa (any sub spiecies), and if they had it would be big news and the animals would fetch silly prices, have you got a picture of the animal?

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I'll think of something to put here soon.......

Thank you all for the information. There are no mites and he does have plenty of hiding places. I even kept the little container that we brought him home in and he retreated to that place last night. A lot of the other babies that I had a choice of were in a shed so I'm assuming that's what's going on with Ty. My temperatures are 88-90F warm end and 80-82F cool end. Are they okay?

As far as the cross breeding... I don't know much about such things. I got Ty from someone I know at my Church who breeds snakes. When he told me that he had boas I asked what kind and his exact words were "Part Columbian and Rainbow." As I said, I don't know anything about breeding so I didn't know that was impossible. I will definitely ask him more about it. Ty is two months old and he has the markings of a Rainbow Boa but not the coloring, but maybe the coloring comes as he gets older???

I tried to post a pic but it said the file was too large. I'll work on figuring that out and post pic soon! Thanks again

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Steph
<t><
I am too blessed to be stressed! The shortest distance between a problem and a solution is the distance between your knees and the floor. The one who kneels to the Lord can stand up to anything!

1.0.0 Husband; 3.1.0 Children; 1.1.0 Corns; 0.1.0 BP; 1.0.0 C/BRB; 0.1.0 Rabbit