Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there-

One of my Cribos has regurged twice in the last 3 weeks. I waited a week to feed her and I made sure I fed her a small meal and only one. What could be the reasoning for the regurge if it isn't temp related or related to the size and frequency of the meals? She has a hide, fresh water, etc.

The regurge is during the very last stages of digestion. All it is is a whitish, smelly mass but unfortunately came back the end it went down. I am worried she may have some type of internal parasite? She is CB and is kept the smae way my other ones are kept and they are feeding, defecating and doing fine. She is a bit underweight but eats aggressively.

Any thoughts, suggestions, remedies or what else could be causing her regurge? I haven't dealt with too many regurging snakes as I have been very fortunate. Your help would be appreciated.

Happy Holidays-

Brett

Not a cribbo expert by any means but I would try flagyl.Metronidazol can be gotten from your vet in liquid form and dosed by body weight.

That would be cribo.

brett, whatever you do, do not use flagyl as it is toxic to dry's! they cannot tolerate it. i don't know what temps you are keeping them at but regurging is usually caused by too high temps where they are concerned. of course, something else may be at work here too but ???. did you feed him something that was never frozen? i'd try isolating him into a smaller box kept at room temp & not feeding him for 2 weeks [get past a shed if possible] then offer him something really small to eat & see if he keeps that down. however, if he continues to lose weight, regurge, etc., a visit to the vet may be in order. best of luck.......

as for drugs, I would recommend not taking a scattershot approach and dosing him with something, unless you have a vet do a stool culture first. Anything you give him, Flagyl, Baytril, etc, disrupts the gut chemistry itself, and can make things worse if mis-applied. Flagyl is very dose sensitive - it's easy to kill a snake with too much or too long. Best to spend the extra $$ and time and find out if there's an organic problem, or just a husbandry issue.

in my experience the worst thing you can do is try to feed him again too quickly - regurging is bad for their digestive tract and it takes some time to settle down and heal. I'd wait at least 10-12 days after the last attempt, and keep him relatively cool - 70's. Good luck.

I would start with the obvious feel for any obstructions in the get tract. Put a sock ofer your hand and let the snake squeeze through your hand feeling for any hard mass. When was the last time you noticed a bowel movement? The second thing I would do is soak the Indigo in luke warm water for a day, 1/4 inch ir so of water. The third thing I would do is leave the snake alone for a month or so if the intestinal tract is irritated it may need some time to straiten itself out. Notify a GOOD snake vet that you will be bringing them a stool sample for examination.

Thanks for the suggestions. The temps are in the mid 70's with a warm spot in the low 80's. I think I am going to wait a little longer like 2 weeks to feed again. I only waited about 7 days from the last regurge. Maybe not enough time to get the juices flowing in the stomach properly?

She did defecate so some of the food is going through her GI but I will check to see if there is any blockage.

Thank you all for responding. Very much appreciated! I will give an update, hopefully a good one in a few weeks.

Thanks.

brett, your temps sound perfect. & you're right, give him a good block of 'time off' & see what transpires but watch his weight closely, it's an excellent indicator. all drymarchon slow down at this time of year but healthy ones do not lose appreciable weight, maybe he just wants to 'cat nap' a little. i've been through it before & it's perfectly normal. when he's ready again, you'll know. keep us updated & best of..........

.

Definitely see a vet as soon as you can. Regardless of the problem, waiting only gives it time to get worse if it isn't something as simple as bowel irritation. I don't know exactly where you live and what's available near you...I live in Lodi and I take my snakes to Dr. Richard Turner (not very personable, but good with the snakes). Good luck.
Robert