[Regurgitation] Regurgitation after getting home

[SnakePlissken]

I just got a het/hypo morph boa..his name is plisskin and shortly after I brought him home and put him in his enclosure he threw up his food. He was fed this past Saturday 12 Dec 2015. Could he have been stressed? This is my second boa, my first died young he wouldn't eat or drink water by the time I realized what was going on it was too late...I do not want to go through that again...any advice would be helpful. I know not to handle him for 72 hrs and to offer him food this Saturday. His tank is at 84 deg and the humidity is 50%-60%.

[bcr_229]

Re: Regurgitation after getting home

I know not to handle him for 72 hrs and to offer him food this Saturday. His tank is at 84 deg and the humidity is 50%-60%.

Ummmm, no, you should absolutely not offer food again this Saturday. Regurgitation is extremely hard on a snake's system and he needs time to recover. Wait three weeks and then offer a feeder half the size of what he would normally eat.

Wait two weeks after that meal to make sure everything is ok. If all goes well offer another half-sized feeder and wait 7-10 days. If that stays down then offer another small meal 7-10 days later.

Over time you can slowly build your snake back up to normal prey size on a 7-10 day schedule.

Also I would strongly recommend getting a powdered reptile probiotic called NutriBAC. You can buy it at TheBeanFarm.com and it's inexpensive. Dust a little of it on the damp feeder to help re-establish your snake's good gut flora.

If your snake regurgitates again then it's time for a vet visit. I would suggest taking a fecal sample to test for parasites. It's not expensive and if the snake is stopped up with worms or it has cryptosporidia that will show up on the test. Both of those conditions can cause regurgitation, and while this instance was probably caused by stress, you will want to rule those out if it happens again.

I would also set up his tank so he has a temperature gradient from 89-90*F high end, 78-80*F low end, and let him thermoregulate, rather than keeping him at a constant temperature for now. If your thermometer is off - and I've found several of mine to be wildly inaccurate - he could be too cold, which would also cause a regurgitation.

[McCarthyBoas]

Re: Regurgitation after getting home

Here is a link to my care sheet.
MyCarePage

[zamora]

Re: Regurgitation after getting home

His tank is at 84 deg and the humidity is 50%-60%.

As in fish tank with glass on all sides? The reason I ask is because if he doesn't have any place to hide, he will be stressed and that will also lead to regurgitation. If you must keep him in a tank, please cover at least three sides with something that will block all movement and he will feel more secure. Make sure you have hides and as was suggested, up the temps (what are you using for a heat source and is it on a thermostat?) and wait at least two weeks to feed again. Photos of your setup will help us greatly.


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