Reptile & Amphibian Forums

how often should i do it and for how long?

I soak my gaboons once or twice weekly for about 30 or 45 minutes. Also, Gaboons are prone to impaction/dehydration so if my guys haven't defecated in a long time I soak them quite often until they do. Remember that these guys are from a tropical rainforest environment and they are used to having high humidity. Their water source comes to them. Sometimes these guys need to be taught to drink out of a water bowl by dragging them over to it and gently putting their mouth in the water. I also mist them while they soak. This seems to cause them to start drinking.

Hope this helps,

TW

thanks, big help!

That raises an interesting question. How do you tell if your gaboon has an impaction? Do they not tend to hold onto their feces for considerable lengths of time in the wild?
Just curious. Thanks, if anyone replies.

creep

My Gaboons always go long periods of time (compared to other snakes) without defecating. Several weeks can be normal (2 or 3 sometimes).

If the snake goes for quite a bit longer than normal without a bowel movement I would be concerned about impaction. I don't think that one could be 100% sure unless the animal was X-rayed or died and an autopsy was performed.

From what I can tell many of the cases of impaction end in death with Gaboon vipers. This is an important factor to consider when caring for these guys. Dehydration and impaction go hand in hand with species that have very low metabolism and high humidity requirements. Not to mention that these guys tend to eat very large meals.