Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 50/50 albino surinam is regurging. I am feeding him one rat pup every 7 to 10 days. i have him in my boa room with my 9 other boa's. none of my other boa's have this problem. I live in S florida so it's not to cold. I have a heating element heating the whole room to a nice 87-91 degrees. I have him quarintened,taken him out of the room. I just put him in more of a "traditional" setup, heat pad and lamp in a 20 gallon. When I feed him again I will be giving him a small mouse instead of a pup. Anything else I could do? Oh by the way this has been going on for about 6 week's., on and off.

I become concerned when any baby I have regurgitates twice or more. I give them a dose of flagyl and it usually clears right up along with small meals for a couple of weeks. You will have to get the flagyl from a vet, but it is well worth it.

I will try that Thanx, RED.

First off a stool sample should be Vet verified if available?
Baseline Rules should be applied.
Regurgeing snakes should be allowed 2-3 weeks before attempting any further feedings.
A snake with a regurge history like this should be fed every 3 weeks for acouple months,then cut back to 2 weeks for acouple months and then tried every week.Slightly smaller prey for meals until the 2 week schedule is applied,then increase to appropriate size per animal girth.
Useing medications should be the "last call" option when patient husbandary options are exhausted.

My $.0¼

M/

>>my 50/50 albino surinam is regurging. I am feeding him one rat pup every 7 to 10 days. i have him in my boa room with my 9 other boa's. none of my other boa's have this problem. I live in S florida so it's not to cold. I have a heating element heating the whole room to a nice 87-91 degrees. I have him quarintened,taken him out of the room. I just put him in more of a "traditional" setup, heat pad and lamp in a 20 gallon. When I feed him again I will be giving him a small mouse instead of a pup. Anything else I could do? Oh by the way this has been going on for about 6 week's., on and off.

How old is the animal, and how big? Usually baby BCC (in this case BCC cross) and other delicate boas can not handle the normal Rat Pup meal fed to baby Colombian boas.

With boas with reccuring regurge there is a very dangerous risk of dehydration.
Wait 3 weeks before the next meal. Do not handle the animal during this time unless cleaning the cage or other needed times. Provide lots of FRESH water, and allow the animal to soak at least once a week for about 10-30min.
If it is a baby, after this time feed it a large pinky MOUSE. That meal may seem small, but it will help. Feed this size meal for a couple feedings spaced 2 weeks apart. After which you can move to a small pinky rat, but keep the 2 week schedule. BCC are best fed on a 10-14 day schedule. Because your boa is a cross, treat it like a delicate baby BCC, not like a Colombian.

Being Albino and a cross, it is obviously captive bred, so the likelyhood of any internal parasites behind the problem is slim. However a vet visit does not hurt. However with the dangers of medication to reptiles in the long run, it is better to avoid it if possible.

I just want to say that I in no way feel that the problem is parasites.....anyway, probably not. I read an article, and I do not remember where, that it was noticed that when snakes were given Flagyl for parasites, it seemed to settle their stomachs and give them more of an appetite. I have just used it as a "stomach settler" in the past with nothing but positive results. Usually one treatment is all that is necessary, since the repeated dosages are for parasites, and that is not what I am treating for. I give a dose of Flagyl, wait 2-3 days, and feed a small meal. Usually the problem is solved....but I never tolerate 2 regurgitations without treatment. I don't know the age of the snake here on the forum, but I know that sometimes, especially when a young snake is already sick for 6 weeks, playing the waiting game with feeding can be fatal.

Thanx for all of your help to everyone! Red.

A Ginger Ale for snakes, lol.

I think "meta," "Chris," and "boa" are right.

At this point, the first thing is the age and condition of the snake. "meta" & "Chris" are right in that normally, after a regurge, you should wait 2 - 3 weeks before trying to feed it a single, small prey. And also, it shouldn't be handled or stressed in any way, shape or form.

I have no idea about Flagyl (not familiar with it) but "boa" makes a good argument in her second post about it's soothing effect and the time that has already passed since it last kept a meal down.

Seeing as how you have to get Flagyl from a vet, sounds like now's a good time to see one.

Keep us posted.
Mike
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It is said that 1 out of every 4 people are mentally unbalanced. Think of your 3 closest friends, if they're normal, then it's you.