Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In Jan. I bought two 8mnth old Argentine boas.I waited a week and fed them.The male was fine the female regurged.
I waited 14 days and fed her a weanling rat that I shaved(thats silly but I didnt want the hair to cause problems)
She was fine
I fed her every week a shaved weanling rat,no problems.So I fed an unshaved and she kept it down.Then another on the 19th and this saturday there was a regurge in her water.Half digested but the head was still intact with ears and everything.

The male is on the same schedule, same size rats and he is smaller and has had no problems.The female has not pooped either and the male has.
Both are in vision cages(separate ones) 76-78cool 80ambient 90-94 hot spot.Both have two large water dishes.I havent handled her but a couple times because of this problem.The room is quiet too.
They have hides everywhere, like five of them each but they sit on the hot spot all the time.Ive even used the temp gun on her and she was 92(that seems hot to me)
Could she be dehydrated? Could she have an impaction? I keep everyone on newspaper so I doubt that unless she came that way.
Im at a loss as to what I am doing wrong.I was under the impression Argentines were very hardy boas, not like surinames, thats why I got them.
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possible she dropped it in the water? sometimes snakes are dumb and cant figure it out if they bite coil and lose it in their water. if this is not the case then i'd get her to a vet since it sounds like you have her set up in optimum conditions and she is not fairing well.

http://www.reptileuv.com/nutribac-df-probiotic-for-reptiles.php

>>In Jan. I bought two 8mnth old Argentine boas.I waited a week and fed them.The male was fine the female regurged.
>>I waited 14 days and fed her a weanling rat that I shaved(thats silly but I didnt want the hair to cause problems)
>>She was fine
>>I fed her every week a shaved weanling rat,no problems.So I fed an unshaved and she kept it down.Then another on the 19th and this saturday there was a regurge in her water.Half digested but the head was still intact with ears and everything.
>>
>>The male is on the same schedule, same size rats and he is smaller and has had no problems.The female has not pooped either and the male has.
>>Both are in vision cages(separate ones) 76-78cool 80ambient 90-94 hot spot.Both have two large water dishes.I havent handled her but a couple times because of this problem.The room is quiet too.
>>They have hides everywhere, like five of them each but they sit on the hot spot all the time.Ive even used the temp gun on her and she was 92(that seems hot to me)
>>Could she be dehydrated? Could she have an impaction? I keep everyone on newspaper so I doubt that unless she came that way.
>>Im at a loss as to what I am doing wrong.I was under the impression Argentines were very hardy boas, not like surinames, thats why I got them.
>>-----
>>

www.reptileuv.com/nutribac-df-probiotic-for-reptiles.php

I noticed that Bene-bac has a powder form for birds and reptiles.I was going to call the vet tomorrow and see if they carry either one.
Otherwise I will order the nutribac, cant believe they charge 9 dollars for shipping a little bottle of powder.
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You might try to lower the hot spot temp if possible.
I had the same problem with Argentines. Problem went away with lower temps. Right now max temp is 86dF. Last summer temps would get up to 91dF. That's when I had the problem.
If the food has gas in it, there is a possibility it is bloating/fermenting faster than digesting.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer

She sits right on the hottest part all the time.It sometimes reaches 96, but rarely.Usually sits at 94.
But lowering temps is scary too.

I intend to order the probiotics.I wont feed her for at least 3 weeks and then start with a small fuzzy mouse.This is my first major problem with any of my reptiles.
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No boa should be subject to temps that high.

No where in their natural range are they going to have temps that high. Argentine boas are black as a way of absorbing the little heat available to them at their latitudes.
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Gilbert Boas
The Boa List!

Argentines do like cooler temps than BCI. 88 belly heat temp should be fine.

8 month old boas eating weanling rats sounds a bit big. I'd expect pups.

After a regurge, this is the procedure:

Wait 3 weeks before offering food again. During those 3 weeks don't handle the boa, leave it alone, make sure it has the proper temps and fresh water. Regurging can cause dehydration. As such you should also let the boa soak once a week.

After the 3 week period, offer food half the size of a normal prey item. A normal prey item is as wide as the boa at mid body.

Make sure fresh water is available at all times. IMPERATIVE.

Wait 2 weeks. If held down, feed a small meal again.

Wait 2 weeks. Small meal again.

Wait 2 weeks. Slowly increase the prey size.

Argentine boas have slow metabolisms and grow very slowly. Usually every 10 days is the most frequent that you would want to feed.

Nailing the cause of the regurge and preventing it is very important. Snakes are not designed to regurgitate and when they do they can drown. Because the trachea extends into the mouth the fluids that come up with the rat and the boa trying to breathe as well can cause fluids to enter the lungs.
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Gilbert Boas
The Boa List!

bumped the heat up because I was told it was too low.I was told that higher is better for digestion(something about rocks in the wild having a higher heat)
So now Im supposed to bump it back down.I hope this works.
She held down quite a few meals between these two regurges.I also found a large dump in her cage.It was hidden behind a box so she isnt impacted.
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It is hard when you are getting different and sometimes conflicting advice.Everybody is telling you what works for them to try and help you. Seems like more people are telling you lower temps than higher,and thats probably good with Argentines. I did not mean to sound like I said raise it.I just like to give my boas an approx. 75-90 degree range and let them pick there spot.Its worked for me for about 23 years now. I still think alot might have to do with your pray item size.Follow Gilberts advice on the next few feedings.Good luck

Argentines tolerate lower temps than most boas.Mine have a hot spot of 90 to 92 which they use a couple times a day.They have a cool end avail. that is in the high 70's.There should also be fed mice until approx.1 year of age.Humidity can also be a little lower than most other boas.Mine are usually kept around 70%.The main problem people have with them is too big a prey item too often.Hope somthing here helps

I have intended to switch back to mice.I thought maybe its sometehing with rats she is having trouble digesting.I will start feeding every two weeks for both, I did notice they dont poop that often.

Seriously last time i was told to bump the heat up.Go figure.
These guys have turned out to be quite troublesome compared to my bci.Everyone told me to switch to rats as soon as possible and feed once a week till a year old.Seems like I get alot of conflicting info sometimes.
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Sometimes it's hard enough to figure things out when it's your own snake in your own hands, much less giving one line advise to one line issues over the net.
I think the high high heat is good for boosting the immune system, as a fever does in us, to fight infections, but I don't think it's good for a normal regime.
Probably your best bet is a qualified reptile vet.
jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"
John Crickmer