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Regurge Question

biscuit71 Jan 15, 2007 09:26 PM

I purchased 2 baby boas.. about 4 months old or so..got them about 2 months ago. He was being fed adult mice, so that is what I am feeding him. He took 2 adults, and kept them down about 3 days, and then regurged them. My female is taking them no problem and has no regurge issues. My question is, after he does regurge, how long should i give him before I feed him again? Also, he spens ALL of his time in his water bowl.. of course, he usually ends up going to the bathroom in it, but he is in it all the time.. is that normal? The female is never in it. I am wondering if this maybe causes him to regurge beccause the water is basically room temp and he isnt on the heat.. Just a thought. Any and all advice is appreciated. attached are a few pics of him... doing what he does best.. swimming in his bowl.

Replies (2)

PGoss Jan 15, 2007 09:56 PM

Give him a full two weeks off. After two weeks, feed him ONE small mouse, maybe even a hopper. At four months old, two adult mice is too much food. Never give a baby a meal that is larger than the boa is at his/her largest girth. Also, it is always better to feed one appropriately sized meal. Especially as babies, boas don't need two prey items at once. They may be able to handle two items, but their bodies will only absorb so much. The extra will just be passed anyway, so it is basically a waste.

So give him some time off and try again. Good luck.

Phil Goss

BillyBoy Jan 16, 2007 06:13 AM

Just to add a little more to Phil's excellent answer, you may want to wait three weeks before feeding again. It won't hurt him at all and will give his little system a better chance at healing completely - regurges take a pretty hefty toll on a little snake's digestive system. Also, make sure he has a normal defecation after his next meal before feeding him again. Make sure he has at least three good, smaller meals (hoppers) with no regurges and normal defecations before moving him up to what you would consider normal sized prey.

About the soaking, that is not normal and is usually due to either mites, stress (trying to hide or cool off in the water) or dehydration. The soaking itself is not causing the regurge but could be a symptom as to the cause of the regurge. Is he being housed with the other boa (stress)? Does he have opportunities to hide in a tight dark shelter (stress)? Are his temps dialed in (stress - too hot)? Did you handle him during those three days (stress)? Have you checked him for mites? If he has them, you will definitely notice them in his water bowl. If he does not have mites and there is no real cause of outside stress then he may be dehydrated, which could also be a cause for soaking and regurge. Stick to the no food for three weeks and monitor his water intake if possible and keep the humidity up around 90% for a few weeks.

Good luck!
Billy

>>Give him a full two weeks off. After two weeks, feed him ONE small mouse, maybe even a hopper. At four months old, two adult mice is too much food. Never give a baby a meal that is larger than the boa is at his/her largest girth. Also, it is always better to feed one appropriately sized meal. Especially as babies, boas don't need two prey items at once. They may be able to handle two items, but their bodies will only absorb so much. The extra will just be passed anyway, so it is basically a waste.
>>
>>So give him some time off and try again. Good luck.
>>
>>Phil Goss

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