Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After returning my females to their cages and the male to his, 2 of the 3 females regurged their meals. I had received 1.3 as a group and then purchased a mature male separately(the one I initially received with the 3 females was "small"/too young to breed) The guy told me he couldn't handle small meals, but that he ate great. Right after I received him, I traded him for something else, telling the person I traded he doesn't do well with large meals(he never regurged for me, but I only had him 2 weeks). At one point the small male was in with the 3 females and the other male. Anyway, I did some research and found out about "Squamate regurgitation syndrome". Anyone know about this or have had experience with it? My other female, who I am SURE is gravid hasn't regurged and she ate 2 large mice the other day. I feel sick thinking the worst. Any advice would be appreciated. If they throw up another meal, I will get them to the vet for sure.

John

Regurgitation can be very frustrating and can be a serious problem if not treted correctly.

Remember that when a snake regurgitates a meal it's kind of like throwing up a bowling ball or a watermelon. A lot of damage can be done to the lining of the digestive tract. This damage needs time to heal before another meal is eaten.

When I have a snake that regurgitates I will not feed it for two weeks from the day of regurg. When I do feed, I offer a meal that is very small. Literally, half the normal-sized meal. I will continue offering this size food item for 5 weeks. I do not want to stress the animal's digestive system at all during this period of time. The 6th - 10th feedings will be roughly 3/4 of the normal size. Only after about 12 feedings with no regurg am I confident enough to offer a full-sized meal.

Snakes are very efficient at converting food into snake. They will not starve or lose any body weight if they are fed small meals for three months. However, if you feed a snake too soon after a regurg or too big a meal right away, it will continue to regurgitate and deteroirate healthwise. Slow, steady progress is how to handle this problem.

Many things can cause regurgitation in animals. High temperatures, low temperatures. stress, handling, infection, dehydration. Double check the temps in your cages. How long after you fed the animals did you handle/transfer them?

Remember, slow, steady recovery. Good luck,

Mike

I don't handle them after feeding at all. I feed my boas in their cages. Also, I am very good at checking temps and have all my cages under the control of Helix Proportional thermostats. I keep the Alvarezi at 81-82 degrees on the warm end of the cage. With them, I keep the humidity relatively low. I will make sure and feed them small meals. I want to make sure I do feed them properly, as I am hoping they are gravid. Thanks, John

>>Regurgitation can be very frustrating and can be a serious problem if not treted correctly.
>>
>>Remember that when a snake regurgitates a meal it's kind of like throwing up a bowling ball or a watermelon. A lot of damage can be done to the lining of the digestive tract. This damage needs time to heal before another meal is eaten.
>>
>>When I have a snake that regurgitates I will not feed it for two weeks from the day of regurg. When I do feed, I offer a meal that is very small. Literally, half the normal-sized meal. I will continue offering this size food item for 5 weeks. I do not want to stress the animal's digestive system at all during this period of time. The 6th - 10th feedings will be roughly 3/4 of the normal size. Only after about 12 feedings with no regurg am I confident enough to offer a full-sized meal.
>>
>>Snakes are very efficient at converting food into snake. They will not starve or lose any body weight if they are fed small meals for three months. However, if you feed a snake too soon after a regurg or too big a meal right away, it will continue to regurgitate and deteroirate healthwise. Slow, steady progress is how to handle this problem.
>>
>>Many things can cause regurgitation in animals. High temperatures, low temperatures. stress, handling, infection, dehydration. Double check the temps in your cages. How long after you fed the animals did you handle/transfer them?
>>
>>Remember, slow, steady recovery. Good luck,
>>
>>Mike

Thanks