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I have a female bullsnake wild caught, I am guessing she is between 1 1/2 to two years old. She eats but regurges everytime about two or three days later. These are the things that I have done.

1. Raised the temps 75 night 85 day
2. Lowered the temps 70 nights 80 day
3. Completely turned off the heat
4. Given smaller meals
5. taken to the vet nothing wrong as far as the vet can tell xrays taken, treated for parasites etc.

So at what point do I say I have done all I can (that I know of to do). At the point I say I have done all I can do, do I let her continue to regurge or do I euthanize? If you have any suggestions please tell me.

Thanks in advance,
Miller
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1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

I have had her for about a year now and she was fine for the first 8 or 9 months.

>>I have a female bullsnake wild caught, I am guessing she is between 1 1/2 to two years old. She eats but regurges everytime about two or three days later. These are the things that I have done.
>>
>>1. Raised the temps 75 night 85 day
>>2. Lowered the temps 70 nights 80 day
>>3. Completely turned off the heat
>>4. Given smaller meals
>>5. taken to the vet nothing wrong as far as the vet can tell xrays taken, treated for parasites etc.
>>
>>So at what point do I say I have done all I can (that I know of to do). At the point I say I have done all I can do, do I let her continue to regurge or do I euthanize? If you have any suggestions please tell me.
>>
>>Thanks in advance,
>>Miller
>>-----
>>1.1 Florida King
>>1.1 Eastern Kings
>>1.1 Black Milksnake
>>0.1 Honduran
>>1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
>>2.2 N. Pinesnake
>>0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
>>1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
>>0.1 Cats (Shug)
-----
1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

When you say small meals...you meant weaned rats or something along those lines....try pink rats...1 at a time...i bet she will keep it down...it will digest before she has time to regurge...keep her on those for awhile...like 6 months ...then try a fuzzy rat...this has worked for me...sometimes these animals have problems with digestion...the fur is difficult if not impossible to digest...so eliminate the fur.
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Michael Enriquez

Will do, I am going to give her about two weeks to recoup then try this method.

Thanks!

>>When you say small meals...you meant weaned rats or something along those lines....try pink rats...1 at a time...i bet she will keep it down...it will digest before she has time to regurge...keep her on those for awhile...like 6 months ...then try a fuzzy rat...this has worked for me...sometimes these animals have problems with digestion...the fur is difficult if not impossible to digest...so eliminate the fur.
>>-----
>>Michael Enriquez
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1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

Are you giving her any time to recoup her stomach juices? After she pukes, are you giving her at least a week to 10 days before trying to feed again?
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Genesis 1:1

The last time she fed before this weekend was about 3 weeks ago. I give her more and more time between each regurge.

>>Are you giving her any time to recoup her stomach juices? After she pukes, are you giving her at least a week to 10 days before trying to feed again?
>>-----
>>Genesis 1:1
-----
1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

>>The last time she fed before this weekend was about 3 weeks ago. I give her more and more time between each regurge.
>>
>>>>Are you giving her any time to recoup her stomach juices? After she pukes, are you giving her at least a week to 10 days before trying to feed again?
>>>>-----
>>>>Genesis 1:1
>>-----
>>1.1 Florida King
>>1.1 Eastern Kings
>>1.1 Black Milksnake
>>0.1 Honduran
>>1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
>>2.2 N. Pinesnake
>>0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
>>1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
>>0.1 Cats (Shug)
-----
1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

Hmm...able to take the snake to a vet?
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Genesis 1:1

She went to the vet when i got her a year ago and a little over a month ago when I could not stop the regurging on my own. The vet cannot find anything wrong with her. I am at my witts end.

>>Hmm...able to take the snake to a vet?
>>-----
>>Genesis 1:1
-----
1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

The thing that caught my eye was your statement, "took her to the vet, nothing was wrong....treated her for worms"

Unfortunately, it sounds as if your vet "Treated her for worms" without actually identifying a "worm" or some other gastrointestinal parasite but rather as a "well we gotta do something" approach.

I set through a very informative presentation years ago given by a reptile veterinarian who went into great detail regarding why it is a poor idea to shotgun treat for internal parasites w/o actually having diagnosed an offending organism. It seems to be a fairly common practice in the herp world but can have disasterous effects.

Ask your vet for a referral to a veterinarian who specializes in reptile medicine.

Unfortunately the practical answer is that you "give up" when you reach a point where you can no longer justify the financial costs of pursuing an accurate diagnosis and treatment.

Good luck, and sorry to hear about your troubles.

Thanks for the input but i stated some things out of order. When I first got her I took her to the vet since she was wild caught. She was at that time treated for parasites. The subsequent visit was for the regurge. She was checked for parasites again and none were found. She was also xrayed for intestinal blockage and that came out clear. Thanks again for your input. I guess my real concearn is do I let her continue down this path or do I put her out of any misery she may be in?

Thanks

>>The thing that caught my eye was your statement, "took her to the vet, nothing was wrong....treated her for worms"
>>
>>Unfortunately, it sounds as if your vet "Treated her for worms" without actually identifying a "worm" or some other gastrointestinal parasite but rather as a "well we gotta do something" approach.
>>
>>I set through a very informative presentation years ago given by a reptile veterinarian who went into great detail regarding why it is a poor idea to shotgun treat for internal parasites w/o actually having diagnosed an offending organism. It seems to be a fairly common practice in the herp world but can have disasterous effects.
>>
>>Ask your vet for a referral to a veterinarian who specializes in reptile medicine.
>>
>>Unfortunately the practical answer is that you "give up" when you reach a point where you can no longer justify the financial costs of pursuing an accurate diagnosis and treatment.
>>
>>Good luck, and sorry to hear about your troubles.
-----
1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)

I tried this once and it worked with a problem child... I left the snake alone with no heat in the basement in the dark with only water in the coolest spot I could find. I left her there for two weeks. I then put her in a ridiculously large sweater box (she was maybe 16" long) that was over a 4" piece of heat tape controlled to 90 degrees. The reason for the large box was to let her pick her own temperature. Over the tape, I'm sure it was close to 90, but at the front of the box, it was room temp. There were several layers of newspaper too, which also helped her to have more of a gradient. I then fed her small pinkies, one a time, one per week for about 3 months, and then fed two at a time for another three months, and incresaed the food size over one year. She looked horribly thin, and a couple of times I was sure that she was dead. She is now 5 years old and can eat half grown mice with no problem and is extremely healthy, but very small. She's barely 30 inches, but fat and spunky. She'll never breed, but she's my buddy.

That is good to know, I was actually thinking of putting her on pinkes or at least weaned week old rats. Thanks again for that story I may attempt something like that before I make any final decisions.

Miller

>>I tried this once and it worked with a problem child... I left the snake alone with no heat in the basement in the dark with only water in the coolest spot I could find. I left her there for two weeks. I then put her in a ridiculously large sweater box (she was maybe 16" long) that was over a 4" piece of heat tape controlled to 90 degrees. The reason for the large box was to let her pick her own temperature. Over the tape, I'm sure it was close to 90, but at the front of the box, it was room temp. There were several layers of newspaper too, which also helped her to have more of a gradient. I then fed her small pinkies, one a time, one per week for about 3 months, and then fed two at a time for another three months, and incresaed the food size over one year. She looked horribly thin, and a couple of times I was sure that she was dead. She is now 5 years old and can eat half grown mice with no problem and is extremely healthy, but very small. She's barely 30 inches, but fat and spunky. She'll never breed, but she's my buddy.
>>
-----
1.1 Florida King
1.1 Eastern Kings
1.1 Black Milksnake
0.1 Honduran
1.1 Kankakee Bull Snakes
2.2 N. Pinesnake
0.0.1 Black Ratsnake
1.0 Chow Chow (2003 Papi)
0.1 Cats (Shug)