Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys... short and sweet... I've got a sub adult texas rat, ( maybe a year old ) for the last three weeks now, he's decided that he doesn't want his food in his stomach any more... this event is usually two to three days after he eats. His temps are with in the the standard for him and meals are appropriately sized ( he's been feeding on fresh killed rat pups to uber small rats for 6 months now ). One good thing is he hasn't lost and weight, so I'm not overly concerned just yet... Thoughts guys??

Just to clear things up...you're talking about regurgitation, correct? If so, and the temps are normal, I would chock it up to either stress or internal parasites. Has he been exposed to excessive handling and lots of action around his cage after feedings? If he keeps it up I would take him to a vet and check it out.

-Mack

Yeah... I'm talking about regurgitation, and the activity level around his cage and the handling is kept to a minimum... flagyl time??

You said he's regurged for the last three weeks? After a regurgitation, you should skip at least the next feeding and possibly a little longer to give them time to recover from it. Feeding again a few days after a regurgitation is just going to predispose them to doing it again with (healable) damage to the esophagus and such. I'd try giving him a two week break from feeding, and then a smaller-than-usual item next time and see how he does. That's worked for me with both corns and rosy boas that've regurgitated. Good luck,

-P
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1.0.0 Normal corn snake (Frito)
1.0.0 Creamsicle corn (Tang)
0.1.0 Ghost corn (Raynham)
1.0.0 Bay of LA rosy boa (Rivet)
0.1.0 Cape Gopher (Mole)
0.0.1 African House Snake (Casa)

It sounds to me like it could VERY WELL be "Flagyl Time"!! It could VERY likely be a parasitic issue, and the snake could possibly have what is known as Gastro-enteritis caused by an amoeba(Entamoeba invadens). Flagyl is administered at a dose of 25-50 mg/kg(second dose in 14 days). I usually go towards the high end of the dosage as snakes seem to be very tollerant to the drug.......If temps are indeed ideal, then this might do the trick.....give it a dose, and don't feed it for a week or so, then give it a MUCH SMALLER than normal prey item, and see if that stays down!....stay with the smaller meals in conjunction with the medication, and see how things go!.....if after several SMALL MEALS have been "held down", you can GRADUALLY work up to the normal sized meals it was eating before........if this DOESN'T help, it is indeed time to see a good "reptile vet". Good luck,.......................................Doug
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Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!