Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi everyone i figured this lil think tank we all frequent would be a good place to ask for some advice concerning my latest boa. i recently picked up a female hypo from a local breeder. she is a shy snake but had been seeminly adapting well to life at my house. ive had snakes for years and never had this problem. she eats a mouse and then regurgitates it back up usually within 48 hours. im thinkin its stress due to the fact shes a very shy snake. if this is the case what can i do to help destress my wonderful critter because i dont think a trip to the spa is possible. she is currently being housed in a 35 quart sterilite rack system(well seperated from the rack cause shes new.) with bedding and water bowl. there is a small hide in there for her but should i possibly provide multiple hides? maybe give her hiding options? like i said ive never had this problem before but i contacted the breeder and said she had eaten and there is nothing visibly wrong with her. no symptoms or nothing. sorry for the long post but im greatly concerned over my baby. any help and advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.

Make sure to wait 7-14 days before feeding again...

wait a minimum of two weeks but personally I would go three and give that stomach lining some time to fix itself and make some more. Also if at all possible feed pinkies as opposed to fuzzies whether it be a pinky mouse or pinky rat and only one at a time and then wait for a couple weeks again at least to feed
Bob

WAIT, WAIT, WAIT before feeding her again!!! Reading your post... "she eats a mouse and then regurgitates it back up usually within 48 hours." From your "usually" comment I'm thinking she's regurged MULTIPLE times. Each regurge can cause damage not only to the esophagus but also reduce the amount of helpful bacteria in the digestive system. That and also dehydrates the animal. Give her a chance to heal before you attempt another feeding. With several regurges, I'd wait at LEAST two weeks more like three to four before feeding her again. Then feed her something very small, more like a snack than a large meal. If she keeps that down then you can slowly increase the food size until she's eating regular size meals.

Think of it this way...
When you're sick and puking your guts out, how long till you eat again? How many meals do you skip? Probably one or two at least. For a snake that eats weekly, how long is that, 2 or three weeks from puking. AND, when you do eat again, do you eat a full meal or just some soup and crackers? If you eat too much or too soon what happens? You just puke it right back up!!!!
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

In addition to checking the temps, and waiting a full two weeks minimum before attempting to feed again, try getting some Nutribac and sprinkle it liberally onto a F/T item while it's still pretty wet, allowing it to soak up moisture and stick to the prey item.

This stuff is full of beneficial bacteria that will aide in the digestion process, fix regurge problems, fix runny stools, I can go on and on. I used it when I had a batch of bad feeders giving all my neos bad runs, and some regurges, not a one afterwards though, and runs were gone in a couple of defecation's. I now use it as maintenance every 3 months or so on ALL my snakes.

Good stuff, you won't be sorry for trying it. Good luck too!
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Richard Carew
Sunset BCI
You laugh at me cuz I'm different! I laugh at you cuz you're all the same.
Stop Inhumane and Illegal Practices

That stuff has saved me in the past with baby BCC & even neonates
that wouldn't feed...

I would agree with all the above and reemphasize keeping the snake well hydrated during the recovery process. Offer fresh water every day. Maintain heat at upper end of the spectrum to fortify healing process.
And from what I understand, frozen/thawed are easier to digest than live/fresh killed, so frozen thawed might be the way to go.
Be patient. That's always the hardest for me.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

After checking temps, which are probably the cause, then you need to carefully get her back to eating.

You MUST wait 3 weeks (not one week, not two weeks but THREE weeks) before you feed the boa again.

In the mean time, make sure the boa has fresh water changed daily. Also allow weekly soaking. Regurges cause a lot of stress and dehydrate the boa as well.

A boa is NOT designed to regurgitate and when they do so there is the possibility that they can DROWN on their own fluids. Their trachea extends into their mouth and if it isn't closed when they regurgitate then fluids can get into their lungs. Stomach acids also wreck havoc on their esophogas.

After you do ALL OF THE ABOVE, then you can offer food. BUT, you MUST offer small prey. I do not know how old or how big the boa is, so I can't recommend a direct size. However, at the LEAST it must be HALF the size that the boa would normally eat.

If the meal is held down, wait 2 more weeks. Offer another SMALL meal. Wait two weeks, another small meal. And slowly back to normal over time.

The next time your boa regurgitates it could DIE, so BE CAREFUL and FIX the problem.
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http://www.GilbertBoas.com/
http://www.BoaList.com/

Great advice in the above posts N/P

I would soak 3-4 times a week. I find that it really helps with the hydration factor. I've brought many a BCC back from the edge with routine soaking and waiting a while for feeding. I agree with the other suggestions as well. Wait a while and feed small. I don't have experience with Benebac, but it was recommended to me once and I'd definitely try it.
Most importantly, soak, soak, soak says I.
Chris is right though, fix it soon. Each regurge worsens the problem exponentially.
Don't give up!
Good luck.
Aaron

i want to thank everyone for al the great advice. as for regurgs its happened only twice and i waited maybe 2 weeks between feedin and did soak her. ive raised her temps and have begun a soakin routine. she was eatin full sized mice next time i feed ill offer her a much smaller item. again thank you everyone so muc for all the helpful advice ill keep updates of how she does.

If she was on full sized mice. I'd try a fuzzy for the first meal. If she hold that down, then hoppers. Just do that for a while and then progress back on up.
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http://www.GilbertBoas.com/
http://www.BoaList.com/