Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a month or two old red tail two weeks ago at a rep. show.When i brought it home i tried to feed it a live fuzzy mouse and she eat it.A couple of days later i fed it a live full grown mouse and the next day i was holding it and that night it threw up the mouse.I thought it was from me holding it to close after it eating.Then this past friday i fed it again and yesterday "sunday"it threw the mouse up again.I was woundering if its because the mouse is to big and it can digest it.And iv read that boas will sometimes throw up mice because there is little meat and alot of fur.tomarow im gonna go to the store and buy pinky rats because it dident throw up the the fuzzy mouse i hed her. The breader that i bought it from fed it rat pinkys.

It sounds like you're trying to feed it way too often! Especially after they puke, you need to take a solid 2 weeks and let them recover from throwing up.

After that, start with a small meal and don't handle the snake for at least 48 hours. Also, is the snake in an enclosure with the required temps and heat gradient?
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2.1.0 Kidletts
0.0.1 Ball Pyhton (Rex)
0.0.1 Okeetee Corn (Maizey)
0.1.0 BCI (Ruby)
0.1.0 Cat (Ginger)
1.0.0 Pughuahua (Ranger)

Ok, I had this problem 3 weeks ago when I got my first Baby Boa. I fed her as soon as I got her home. Bad move. She regurged less than a week later. Keepers on here told me this, here it goes:
1. Always wait atleast a week to feed after purchasing a new Boa. It has to be comfortable with it's environment, temps, etc.
2. Make sure your day temps are between 85F-90F. Night temps can drop down to 78-80F (This is on the warm side)
3. Make sure your humidity is at least 60% (Very important)
4. VERY IMPORTANT: If your snake regurges you have to wait at least 2 weeks before feeding again. It takes the snake that long to rebuild the bacteria it needs to digest with in it's belly. Have patience. Remember, baby Boas can go months without food. When you have waited two weeks, then feed her SMALL prey (If you were feeding it hoppers, then try a small fuzzy).

I fed my Boa a small fuzzy last wednesday after WAITING 2 weeks after she regurged. It's now Monday and she is holding it down so far. I hope this helps

It's nice to see someone who actually learns and follows advice from others who are more experienced. Often I'll see someone post a problem that there Boa is having and ignore the advice that they're seeking. Wether it be this issue, or temps, or caging etc, etc. It sound like your Boa is in good hands. Take care, David

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I'm just the snake room janitor

Thanks! Hopfully my boa is in good hands lol. Like I said, I fed her last wednesday and she hasn't regurged yet. So hopfully she'll keep it down. For the first week I had her like an idiot I didn't have a night heat lamp on, so my night temps were probably dropping to 70f and humidy was probably at 45%. Now since I amped my temps my humidity sits around 60-65% sometimes it drops to 55% for a short period of time. If she doesn't regurge, should I wait until she defecates before feeding again? or just wait another week and a half?

passing good advice on to others.

Congrats and glad to have you helping others!!
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Thanks,

Dave "Rainbows-R-Us"

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB)
2.7 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (adult breeders)
2.5 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2004)
4.8 Brazilian Rainbow Boa (sub-adult from 2005)
2.1 Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 Het for Hypomelanistic BRB
0.1 BCI "Elvira" normal from 1989
1.0 BCI Albino / het-anery
0.1 BCI Hypo / het-albino
0.1 BCI Anery / het-albino
0.1 BCI Salmon (possible super)
1.0 BCI Albino het stripe
1.0 BCI Salmon
0.1 BCI Ghost
0.1 BCI Super salmon, possible jungle
1.0 BCI Salmon, possible jungle

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

(In order of probability)

-Too big of a food item

-Feeding too frequently

-Handling too early after feeding

-Too low of ambient temperatures

-Sick Snake (which can be caused by many factors)

It sounds like you are feeding too frequently and handling too early. A boa of that age will do great when fed once a week. Give it 2-3 days to digest prior to handling ... Make sure your ambient temps dont drop below 78 ... and give him a few weeks to recover prior to any further meals.
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Take Care,

-Ryan Homsey

www.topnotchboas.com