27 year old boa

Question
our Biology II class room has a boa that as far as we can tell is approximatly. 27 years old.  he has stopped eating and has not eaten since before thanksgiving.  now when ever a rat is placed in his cage and it touches the left side of his face he jumps away and acts as though he is trying to bury his head.  i think he may have gone blind.  you got any ideas as to how we could help him.  he has been feeding off of live rats for at least 15 years and is in light for about 8 hours a day.  i change his water every other day but he doesn't appear to be consuming any of it.
any help you can give would be great. thanks.

Answer
Hello Josh,

I find it amazing that your snake is around 27 years old. That is a good age for a snake.

There are a few thing to ask yourself.
1) Is he looking thin or triangular shaped throughout the body. You will notice a triangular shape with a point on the top side of his back. This means he is malnourished.  
2) Is he active
3) Is his cage the correct size for him

I could go on and on about questions to ask yourself, but I think the answer may be very simply that he is getting older and losing his appetite and drive to live. Now I am not saying he is dying for sure, but because of his age that would be my thought.

You can always force feed a snake. One of the best ways to do this is to liquify a rat or mouse and add about 3 ounces of water. This mixture is then put into a syringe with a feeding tube long enough to extend half way down the length of the body. This might be near impossible with a boa that is nine+ feet long.

Another suggestion might be to bring him to a local vet who knows about herps, and have them do some blood work and stool samples. It could be that he has some form a bacteria.

Before you go to that extent, check all over his body for mites. They usually hang out around the eyes, mouth, and the under side of the mouth.

Josh I hope I have helped you. If you have any other question please feel free to send them to me.

Eric Rovegno
www.ballpythonplanet.com