Barfing BRB

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Originally Posted by flameethrower

The feeding insdie the enclosure is the best wy to go. They will not strike you in association of the cage being opened feeding time every time. Its a myth that many newbies think is true. The transporting from one tank to another for feeding is enough to stress them out especially putting back after feeding. This alone can cause a regurgitation

You need to up the temp a bit on warm side to about 88-90 and cool side of 78-80. this will ensure proper digestion. each snake likes a certain temperature and thats up to you how you find it out.

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I am going to have to respectfully disagree with the temps you recommended. I am not saying that I am a pro, but to my knowledge, any temps over 88 deg can prove harmful to a BRB. They need a cool side of about 75 degrees with the ambient at about 80 degrees and the warm should be around 85 degrees and should never be allowed to go over 88 degrees. This is the recommended thermal gradient for a BRB that I have knowledge of. If the enclosure is to reach temps as high as 88 degrees, it should not remain there for any extended period of time. Also, if it isn't yet a yearling, humidity should be a little bit higher.

I will not have mine for another few weeks, but this information is based off of the obsessive amount of research I have done on this particular snake over the last several months in preparation of getting one.

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Originally Posted by BeastMaster

I am going to have to respectfully disagree with the temps you recommended. I am not saying that I am a pro, but to my knowledge, any temps over 88 deg can prove harmful to a BRB. They need a cool side of about 75 degrees with the ambient at about 80 degrees and the warm should be around 85 degrees and should never be allowed to go over 88 degrees. This is the recommended thermal gradient for a BRB that I have knowledge of. If the enclosure is to reach temps as high as 88 degrees, it should not remain there for any extended period of time. Also, if it isn't yet a yearling, humidity should be a little bit higher.

I will not have mine for another few weeks, but this information is based off of the obsessive amount of research I have done on this particular snake over the last several months in preparation of getting one.

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Yup.

There is a difference between regurgitation and vomiting. There is also a marked difference in the potential damage that can occur depending on the whether the snake regurges or vomits.

A regurgitation is a a relatively "minor" incident in which the prey item is voluntarily ejected from either the esophagus or the beginning of the digestive tract before real digestion begins. If you feed your snake at night and wake up to an entire prey item - then it's a safe bet that it was a regurge. The key with a regurge is that the prey is usually undigested.

If that's the case, then there is usually no expenditure of beneficial gut flora or trauma to the esophagus and digestive tract from digestive enzymes. Consequently there is no problem in attempting another feeding within a week's time.

If your snake has vomited, the thing to look for is the amount of digestion that has occurred and the amount of time that has elapsed since the prey was consumed.

This can tell you several things - foremost is narrowing down the probable cause of the incident. Second is the amount of trauma that may have occurred from the event.

Vomiting is a much more violent process in both the mechanics (it often involves bringing up items that have moved down farther into the digestive tract) and involves depletion of beneficial gut flora along with irritation from digestive enzymes in the esophagus. It also, unlike regurgitation, is a much more forceful process. If your snake has indeed vomited - it is advisable to let him recuperate for a much more extended period of time.

Telling people that there is a mandatory waiting period, while safe, doesn't encourage people to identify the process and use it to address the problem.

Again - regurgitation is different than vomiting. While some of the causes overlap, vomiting is a much more serious event that requires not only an investigation into your husbandry techniques, but also ruling out some potential pathogens. Regurgitation is a relatively mild event that usually involves no trauma to the animal and can be addressed by examination of your husbandry skills.

There are some excellent articles out there that address the differences, the causes and suggested treatments. I would strongly suggest that the OP research this information, examine exactly what may have occurred, check these against the husbandry requirements for his snake and then identify whether his snake regurged or vomited before adjusting temps, bumping humidity or fasting his snake for an extended period of time.