Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Bought a very pretty WA Gaboon last month and he keeps regurgitating his food. He goes right for the mouse and eats it but always spits it back out 2-3 days later, pretty nasty. I have raised his temp to the point where he moves completely away from the heat and the items are not too big, what could be going on?

A number of things could be wrong. You need good diagnostic tools to find out what's up. The best reptile vet in the world could not possibly tell you what is wrong with your snake based on this description alone. A microscope (or a good reptile vet) is a snake keeper's best friend in situations like these.

If this animal is wild caught parasites are pretty much a given. To find out what parasites are present, get a fecal exam. Regurging is very often (but not always) associated with a heavy load of protozoa in WC gabbys. You could guess and dose the animal with 50mg/kg metronidazole (Flagyl) every 3 or 4 days for a few weeks, but if your guess is wrong then you'll have stressed the animal and worsened its problem instead of solving it.

You could be looking at anything from cryptosporidia to neoplasia, and without some diagnostics you won't have a clue how to properly treat the animal. A fecal exam is a good place to start identifying what is actually wrong with the animal so you can begin the appropriate treatment.

If your snake isn't giving you any fecal matter, do a fecal wash. Get the snake's head and a chunk of its body in a tube, leaving the back end free. Flush a small amount (1% of the animal's body weight or less) of sterile saline gently and slowly up the cloaca using a red rubber catheter tube and a syringe. Massage the fluid around and then GENTLY aspirate it back out with the catheter. Expect to recover less than half the fluid you put in. Yes, the plain saline they sell in drugstores for contact lenses is fine for this use. Bring the aspirated liquid *immediately* to the vet for examination. The fresher the sample the better.

While many vets won't see hots, I don't know any who will refuse to see a fecal sample while you leave the snake at home.

If the fecal doesn't give you an obvious culprit, a tracheal wash would probably be your next procedure, looking for lungworms. This is a somewhat more advanced procedure that I would suggest be done only by experienced care providers. I've done this on conscious patients but it is often easier, safer and more comfortable for the snake under short duration anesthesia.

Some helpful articles are at the link below.
Vet care for venomous snakes

I'm guessing you got one of those pretty babies at the Ozark show. Here are some husbandry thoughts to be considered IN ADDITION to Ms. TT's advice, not instead of. It is possible that your snake is not ill nor infested with parasites, especially if it is a CB youngster. However, if it IS ill, fine tuning of husbandry may be a wasted effort.

Temps. You mentioned that you raised the temp. From what to what? Gaboons are generally considered to do fine at room temps, but a snake experiencing difficulties may need extra help. Provide a daytime gradient from 75 to 85 and a nighttime drop to low to mid 70s.

Stress. Provide good hide places at both the warm and cool ends of the cage. Consider covering the front of the cage with a piece of cardboard or something. When my female was young she used to hiss like crazy whenever I entered the room. She did not have problems, but is obvious now that she was experiencing stress. Any other stressors that you can identify? When my pair was young (and I was less experienced) I kept them in the same cage. The male puked a couple times, so I separated them. Never another puke in 7 years.

Water. Forgive me for belaboring the obvious, but Gaboons are known for having difficulty finding their water bowls, especially when young. They need to be "led" to water. A snake that has regurged has extra hydration needs.

Food. Regurging is disruptive to the digestive system, and a recovery period is required. Wait at least 2 weeks following a regurge to offer food again. Then, consider offering a smaller rodent. If the snake keeps this down, wait 10 days before feeding a modest meal again. It would be natural to want to help the snake recover strength and body weight quickly, but patience is a preferred strategy.
Hope this helps, and good luck.

Ian Long

You are right he is a very beautiful suppose to be CB Gabby from the ozark show. At first i was keeping him at room temp, his cage light ( a small halogen hockey puck light) raised the temp very little. The temps were around 75 but i gave him some heat under half the tank so the temps are 85-90 during the day and 80 at night. I thought maybe more heat was needed to digest but he always goes to the side withought heat and actually tries to get into his water bowl (small) so i figured out already he doesnt WANT more heat.

I have been keeping C Atrox for 5 years without heat and i recently gave him a red heat bulb above and he definatly goes under the light every day so he does like heat.

At least my whole experience with my new herps from the ozark show arent all bad, i also picked up a Albinoe Naja and he is doing great! he is an eating machine, i cant wait till he grows big not only because of being pretty when big but because i think he is much more dangerous being small and fast.................did i say he was fast? that is an understatement. I am really going to have to keep an eye on the cobra, my Atrox has been a very calm and predictable animal so its different getting new types of snakes but its interesting! I love it!