Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys. I was wondering if some of you that have probably seven or more years experience breeding gophers, bulls, pines would mine sharing some of your house keeping techniques. I've got friends that keep and breed them out in So California and they tell me they periodically encounter problems with regurge. I'm wondering if this is because their being raised in sweater boxes, or maybe humidity is to high, or maybe they just have some funky pits.

How often have you experienced regurge in your pit collection? When you did, where you able to point to any one thing that caused it? I know in the pits that I have (8 total) I've had it happen but I've contributed it to nervousness shortly after eating or feeding to big of a meal.

Any help is appreciated. I'm also sure this has been talked about previously but didn't see any specific post addressing my questions.

Thanks,
Russ

Russ,

I have never bred pits, but do have at least 7 years of experience keeping pits, and I the only times I have ever had a pit regurge is when the temp in the snake room was too warm. My first two pits didn't do so good due to that one problem alone. I was used to keeping milks, corns, and kings around 83-85 and found out the hard way that pits really don't need temps too warm.

Ever since I turned the temps down to 78-80-82 ( at the very most! ) things have been fine. My whole collection is at those temps, and at night it may drop to 76. This system has worked for my northerns, southerns, deppei, bulls, gophers, etc.

Hope this helps! Take care!
Billy
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Genesis 1:1

Thanks for the good advice Billy. I live in Mississippi and by friend in San Diego and having visited his snake room many times, I know it gets warm in there during the summer.

Do you raise your pits in sweater boxes?

Thanks,
Russ

I do have all my snakes except one in sweater boxes of various sizes. I really doubt that pits would regurge due to being in sweater boxes. Temps, I believe, play the biggest part.

Also......of course....if they are being fed items too big, yes, that could cause some to regurge, and you don't want that to happen!

I have found out that the two southern pines in my collection are the most nervous pits I have, and have to provide extra security for them, such as more hiding places.

Take care!

Billy
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Genesis 1:1

Billy's advice on the temps are good ones. One of the major reason for regurge is the elevation of the temps and messing with the animals after feeding. We keep our pacifics, great basins, bulls, sonorans, northerns, southerns and black pines all at 78 - 81 degrees. The deppei deppei, capes, bimaris and deppei jani are all kept at 72 - 76 degrees. Babies are espicially touchy when it comes to temps.

One other note is that when you have a regurge, DO NOT make the problem worse by immediately trying to feed. The acids in the stomach really tear up the throat. You should wait at least 10 - 14 days before trying again and if the animal is in good shape I will wait 3 weeks to allow the throat to heal. As a rule of thumb if the animal regurges two or three times and you do not intervene with medication it will normally not make it. So use your allotment of chances wisely.

As far as caging we use a combination of rubbermaid boxes and neodesha/freedom caging. Up to about 4 - 41/2 feet pits do fine in boxes and actually will do better due to the opaque nature of the boxes. ( seclusion etc.)

Good Luck,

John Cherry
Cherryville Farms

PS the pic is not a pit, but I love these guys anyway.

Cherryville Farms - Reptiles