Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok- we got this little retic in a week ago- she's not at all aggressive, she's only about 3 ft- maybe a little longer- she is pretty skinny though- but otherwise seems healthy- she had a bit of a wheeze when we got her in- and with a heat lamp- has cleared up.

anyway- I wait until the snakes are active before I feed them- She was out of the hide for the first time in a week so I thawed out a large fuzzy- (she can take a mouse but with just being moved and such- i go for smaller, more frequent meals)

I held the fuzzy by the tail and she came up and took it and very much enjoyed it. I came back a bit later to check her and she was in the water bowl drinking and when i walked by- she popped up and *looked* at me- I got her another fuzzy - I held it out for her- she grabbed it and when she curled around it- there was a lot of water- at first I thought it was just in the mouse fur- but it's slimy- IT CAME OUT OF HER!! and quite a bit of it too.
When we got her home- she went straight in the hide and i haven't seen her since- until tonight and I know she is dehydrated.

Is the water re-gurge something to worry about? This has been probably 15 minutes ago... and she's not lost the fuzzies- I certainly didn't want to take the 2nd one from her so I let her be- It didn't seem to bother her... She's actually back in the hide now.

thanks- never seen a water re-gurge like that- especially when the snake still has an appetite!!
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

You have to realize that you have a snake and not a dog. Try not to disturb it and let it have its space. On contrary to what some will believe, they do not like being handled but they grow accustomed to it. I'm not a fan of hides but if you are using one let it be. And it will get a drink when it is thirsty so please quit worrying!

Oh, and quit offering fuzzys. That is why it has such an appetite, its because it is still hungry. I'd only offer small rats. Believe me when I say it can handle them. My hatchling Jampeas (one of the smaller island retics) will eat small rats right out of the egg. Your albino is even larger and could easily handle 50 - 60 gram ones. I'm not trying to insult you only offer advice.

Another thing I would think about is changing your heat source to belly heat. In my opinion retics do much better with belly heat then heat from above. Flexwatt is probably the most common heating element for heating from below the enclosure.

Best of luck.

Jim

ahhhh- i'm remembering why i dont come here.
I am 1 semester away from a degree in herpetology- I've run a rescue for 5 years and had snakes for going on 8 years now- I am NOT by any means a "newbie" to snakes OR retics. But I certainly don't have 20-30 years under my belt like many others- we're getting there though. Meanwhile: This is a RESCUE ANIMAL THAT WAS ABANDONED AT A RENTAL PROPERTY- WE GOT HER LAST WEEK- I am not retarded- I know its not a dog= she doesn't exactly wag her tail or have fur- Thats a bit insulting I think. I am NOT stupid and I have done much much more than my fair share of research on these animals and know quite a bit about them. HOWEVER:
The reason I asked about the water is because in all these years I have not once seen that much water come out- and certainly not out of something so small. I would estimate the amount of water to be a bit shy of 1/8 cup- it totally flooded the bottom of the enclosure. And after seeing that she has regurged at LEAST once before- it got me a bit worried.

I was not handling her- i never once said I was. I also never said she was an albino... not sure where that came from- she is infact a tiger.

I don't use hides for the most part- when i got her- she came cage and all- i just put her back in her original cage to let her un-stress from the move- it was 4 hours in the car and an hour on each end to load/unload- we got several snakes from this house- landlord called after she evicted someone- they left some 28 animals there- i took the 7 reptiles.

I hadn't seen her out exploring at all for the entire week so when i did- all i had available that could be quickly thawed was a fuzzy- the fuzzies i gave her were one step down from a small mouse- (crawler?- everyone calls them something else)- it was enough to give her a bulge without stretching her out.
I also gave her this because in her cage when we got her was a regurged mouse- it reiked of regurge and it was a HUGE adult mouse which is borderline too big for her. I imagine, just by looking at her that she had some fat reserves before and regurged again and again and again and lost weight. She has wrinkles in her skin- excess. She's only about 1 inch around and her head is the size of a quarter. her head is definatly out of proportion from her being skinny.

also- I do use heat pads- I bought a giant roll of flexwatt from big apple herps a while back- best stuff ever made.

needless to say- she's doing just fine and will be eating a larger prey item next week- I certainly don't want her to loose another meal.

The advice you gave was good- on changing heat and bigger meals but i have belly heat and she yaked her last HUGE meal so we started small- it goes down better that way- and if needed- comes back up better... This was her first meal I've given her- I dont know anything about her- except that she was abandoned, covered in shed, skinny and dehydrated- and then stressed.

thanks
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

I'm sorry you took offence to what I posted. From reading your past questions I was of the impression you had little to no experience with reptiles. Its funny that I was thinking this because of you earning a future degree in herpetology. I'm sorry I stepped in and tried to help.

Jim

Water gushing isn't really all that abnormal. What it probably was is that it takes a while for the water to makes its way from mouth to stomach. If the water was on it's way down and then your snake wrapped around a rodent then the only place for the water to go was out. Retics are hogs for water by the way so in one drink half the bowl can be gone especially after feeding.

I agree with Jim in that belly heat is better for a digesting snake then a top heat. Given your training you should know the reasons why. But for any newbies who might read this I am going to go ahead and say it. Snakes MUST have heat to properly digest. 90o - 92o are the golden temps. Especially for a young snake. With a top heat temperatures will very but on a belly heat it's constant. Also top heat can sometimes really reduce and /or remove proper humidity. Belly heat is localized and doesn't do that to the entire enclosure. Belly heat really helps snakes snakes to fully digest. That is why you'll see wild reptiles often laying on a hot rock or pavement. Yes the sun or a lamp can provide heat but its not as consistent as belly heat.

No offense is meant by the way.
Good luck and thank you for taking the poor kid in.
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Christine
Tails With Scales Reptiles
www.tailswithscales.com
Looks, brains, and venom . . . . how do I stay single?

Good points Christine. I sometimes forget to point out the reasons for what I posted. Thanks for adding to my comments.

Jim