Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My boa regurgitated(how ever your pell it) the mouse i fed to him. i gave him 48 hours until i touched him but then he threw it up(he threw it up yesterday). I just now tried to feed him again and he struck the mouse a few times but didnt get it and didnt seem to interested. Could this be because he just threw up yesterday? is this normal? When should i try feeding him again? sorry for all the questions its just im new to this and i guess im kinda worried about it.

Thanks

I don't give a rats ass what anyone says, don't touch your boas until they've digested for at LEAST 5 days. ESPECIALLY if they're new to your collection. also, do NOT feed your boa for at least 3 weeks from now. you absolutely must give it time to heal. i say three b/c i know most people wont wait 4. also, you'll want to visit the vet (preferably w/ a fresh fecal sample) and have your animal tested for parasites. also, don't believe the whole, "it's CBB, it CAN'T have parasites" load of crap. cbb animals can and do have parasites. they can get them from all kinds of places. food, mostly. being housed w/ other animals, insects biting them. all kinds of places. so anyway, back to YOUR animal.
your next feeding should be a prey item about 1/3 or less the size of a usual prey item. IF your boa keeps it down, wait another 3 weeks and feed the same size prey again. then repeat again. then step up the prey item size to 2/3 the usual size for three, three-week apart feedings. then you can get back to the usual size, but keep the feedings at least a couple weeks apart (just for the overall health of the animal).
you may also want to look into tubing some pedialyte or even plain ol' water. i tubed one of my animals many times after a gurge before feeding to replace lost fluids and in one tubing, i added a little NutriBac. It's the "good" microflora in your snake that can sometimes be depleted by a gurging/treated for parasites animal. but don't go overboard, too much of a good thing can still be bad.
anyway, this should get you started. this regimen has helped me in the past. be sure you get your snake to the vet for a check-up, no telling what's up w/ it.
good luck, jb
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Jonathan Brady
My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

ok thanks alot for the info i will make sure not to hold him for 5 days from now on. I think i also forgot to mention that hes just a baby aroun 1 1/2 feet. I just wanted to add that to make sure the three week period without feeding still applied.

Thanks

Also heres a pic of him.....

how often do you think i should feed him i was told once ever 7 days (This is before he regurgitated). When hes all healed do you agree with 7 days or do you think i should wait longer?

people who feed boas every 7 days are raising their boas on an unhealthy regimen, in my opinion. for baby central american bci like yours, i'd say you could do every 2 weeks w/ no problems. the best thing to do is keep in mind that boas are individuals as much as we are. if you see your boa getting fat, cut back on feedings. if you think your boa is skinny, feed a couple of days earlier for a few meals. i've got a pair of cay caulkers that i feed every 2-3 weeks on the average. sometimes more, sometimes less. just depends. also remember, baby boas tend to be skinny, so keep that in mind.
i feel i should mention one more thing so i can answer your question completely. you don't need to feed prey items that are any bigger than the snake is at it's largest point, w/out food in it's body. overfeeding a snake has two components, size and frequency. you can do one w/ or w/out the other so keep an eye out for both.
later!
jb
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Jonathan Brady
My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

Well said Jonathan...I just wanted to add one point.
I whole heartily agree you should wait a good three weeks after a regurg to continue feedings but for small boas never forget about the power of a pinky. Since he is feeding mice I assume it is a young boa. After three weeks he should only feed it pinkies for the next 3 or 4 feedings. Pinkies are very easy to digest and will get the boas digestive tract back to normal.
Also, I'm not so sure I can agree with tubing at this time unless the boa is obviously dehydrated. Tubing (like force feeding) is stressful and can turn an otherwise aggressive feeder into a shy one. It may have been stress that was responsible for the regurg in the first place...why cause more? The best bet is to have a fecal exam done, give plenty of fresh water perhaps with some electrolytes added and wait at least three weeks before resuming feedings of pinkies....and avoid handling or anything stressful.

the power of a pinky! lol, i like that. and you're right, a small, quickly digestable meal can do good... but it can also be bad, so you've got to be careful.

also, i haven't had TOO awful much experience in tubing and sick snakes (although i'm getting there w/ the more people i buy from), but i haven't noticed tubing having any real noticeable effects on them. two examples that i've had VERY recently...
one animal was fed and then shipped to me in the next day or two (bcc, by the way), regurged 2 days later (i had no idea it had been fed until that point) and developed a pretty awful RI. i was giving shots and tubing water for 7 shots over 3 weeks. 2 days after the last shot, she ate her first meal for me after refusing before the treatment.
another animal i received puked after i received it b/c i didn't know about the parasite load (cbb my ass-try WC). after treating for parasites (same as tubing b/c i was sticking a syringe down it's throat) and tubing it w/ water, it became an even more aggressive feeder. damn near ripped the pinky rat in half! so, i don't think a 30 second incident really stresses these animals out for days at a time... but i could be wrong, i'm only going from my experience. anyone else have differing experiences?
-jb
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Jonathan Brady
My Kingsnake Photo Gallery

With what you dealing with I understand the tubing. But for a single regurg in a baby boa sticking a tube down it's throat is kind of overkill...at least I think.
I have had to treat my fair share of WC's myself so I do know where your coming from however.
Later.