Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a wonderful little suri-colombian redtail who just now went through the most excruciating-looking contortions to upchuck some strange matter that resembles a hairball. i fed him 5 adult mice (they were out of small rats) about a week ago. i have never had a snake throw up before and am somewhat concerned. should i be? what can i do to prevent this form happening in the future...temp gradient and humidity are normal?? perhaps i am being overly cautious, but you all understand; i love my boa, so any helpful advice is well appreciated.

-dave

dave,

i wouldnt worry too much, i once fed my red tail a rat that was apperently too big and 2 days later found it back in the cage. snakes' first instinct is to kill wether or not they can actually digest the food. in your case maybe 5 rats was too much and what was left of them is what was returned(hairball) unless of course whatever substrate your using may have been consumed that may also be the cause. feeding too small is never ever a problem but too big or too much can be...

-george
-----

After a regurgitation you really do not want to feed your snake for another 2 weeks time.. this will alow the snake to recover from the regurg and allow their stomachs to heal... if you feed it too soon your just hurting the snake more.. and im sure thats not your intention.

If you fed it 5 adult mice and it only spat up a "hairball" and not the mice itself.. your in better shape than if it had regurg the mice itself, howerver, something was still spat out.

ALl in all you should be fine... just let your snake be for a couple of weeks (no food).

>>i have a wonderful little suri-colombian redtail who just now went through the most excruciating-looking contortions to upchuck some strange matter that resembles a hairball. i fed him 5 adult mice (they were out of small rats) about a week ago. i have never had a snake throw up before and am somewhat concerned. should i be? what can i do to prevent this form happening in the future...temp gradient and humidity are normal?? perhaps i am being overly cautious, but you all understand; i love my boa, so any helpful advice is well appreciated.
>>
>>-dave

I can agree with this advice. Two of my boas have regerged before and I recommend waiting at least 14 days before feeding again. Also when it is time to feed again feed a small food item to get him/her back into the swing of things. If you do not do this it may become a cronic problem. One other thing I have learned is to make sure your snake is deficating regularly. If it is backed up that can be a reason for regergitaion.

Josh