Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I have a BRB who is going on 8 months old. She was purchased from a breeder at the Sacramento Herp Expo. For a while now, I have thought that I had a problem with her regurgitating (which stirs up all kinds of fears such as the possibility of IBD). Though now I'm beginning to think that the partially digested mice I am seeing are actually her droppings, since lately they have been found next to urates, and often in the water dish.

All my other snakes go brown or black poop, that does not in any way look like an animal anymore! Her droppings (if that is what they are) still resemble a pink-colored "fuzzy" sized mouse. And are sometimes complete with mouse "parts" such as feet or a head. :-P

Is this a normal trait for rainbows?
Does it sound like it's definatly regurgitation (even though it has been connected to what looks to be urates), or could it be that she is not properly digesting her food before it passes?
If that is the case, what would cause it, and what can I do?

Just a bit of info on her..
Her humidity levels are kept very high. Temps are in the right range with a proper gradient. She eats one fuzzy mouse a week, and has since I got her. However, when she started passing what looked to be partially digested mice (this all started about 2 months after I bought her) I cut her back to pinkies twice a week in hopes that she'd stop regurgitating. It never occured to me at that point that the mice may actually not be vomit, but may actually be her poop.

In other respects, she seems healthy. She sheds normally and eats well. And makes her way around her cage. I am a bit worried about her growth rate; how large should an 8 month old be, roughly? She has grown, but nothing drastic. I mean, she hasn't needed to change prey sizes (there's no way she could take down an adult mouse anytime soon).

When I bought her, I had the hope of her being bred someday. I hope that can still be accomplished. But most of all, I just want my little Nyoka to be Okay.

If anyone can offer some advice, it would be GREATLY appreciated. Thank you.

Take her and her odd mouse bits to a vet for a complete checkup.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch

Hi,
That's already been planned. Sorry that I forgot to mention that. Unfortunatly, we only have one reptile vet around here and it takes roughly 6 weeks before you can get an appointment. So, until then I would really like to get the opinions of someone who may have an idea of what could be going on with her. I want to know what to expect.
Thank you for responding so fast.

That kind of sucks. It sounds a lot like some sort of parasite infection to me. I really wouldn't worry too much about IBD, what this snake has is probably curable. I'd wait 2 weeks before even trying to feed her again, then give her a small prey item. After that try feeding maybe every 10 days. It doesn't sound like a lot, but you basically need to support her until you can see what's really wrong.
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"The serpent crams itself with animal life that is often warm and vibrant, to prolong an existence in which we detect no joy and no emotion. It reveals the depth to which evolution can sink when it takes the downward path and strips animals to the irreducible minimum able to perpetuate a predatory life in its naked horror."
Alexander Skutch