Posted by:
ChrisGilbert
at Mon Feb 26 15:58:59 2007 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by ChrisGilbert ]
I've never medicated in response to regurge, however I have dealt with a couple of animals that had regurge problems in the past.
It would be helpful if you could provide the age, and size of your boa, also if it was captive bred, farmed or wild caught.
Also, what size meal are you feeding?
The general protocol for dealing with regurgeing animals is to stop feeding for 3 weeks. During that time make sure they have PLENTY of fresh water and allow the animal to soak at least once a week. I would get one of those dish bins and fill it with a few inches of room temperature water and let the snake sit in there. Some snakes really don't like being in water and in that case, a shallow level is best. Check the temperature of the water with a thermometer first, it should be as close as possible to the air temperature in the room to prevent a shock to the boa.
After 3 weeks try feeding a very small meal. If this is a baby boa, I would only feed a pinky mouse. If it is bigger, a rat pinky. The absense of hair seems to help with these problematic boas. The only downside is runny stools, so do not be alarmed. Without hair to hold the stool together and the added hydration it might get messy.
This worked well for me, and I continued feeding every 2 weeks with the small meal for 3 feedings, then I went to every week. After a month I went to normal meals. It's a long slow process, but it works.
Keep in mind that in the wild not all boas make it, some sadly can't be helped.
I would not use any medication if it can be avoided because they cause problems with the boas kidneys over time. I know plenty of people (me included) who have lost animals due to antibiotic treatment affecting the kidneys. In my case I did not have the full medical history of the boa before I had bought her.
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RE: Regurg problems, need help! - ChrisGilbert, Mon Feb 26 15:58:59 2007