Female yellow-belly gets a trip to the vet.

Not sure if this is in the right section. Please feel free to move it if necessary.
The last 3 times I have fed my female YB, who is less then a year of age, she regurged within 24 hrs. She lost quite a bit of weight so I took her to the vet. He palpated her and took an X-ray looking for foreign bodies or impaction. He could find neither. He did take note of an excessive amount of gas in her lower intestinal tract. He then administered an antibiotic and an antiparasitic injections. I thought you all would appreciate seeing a pic of the x-ray. I have to take her back to my vet for a follow-up in 2 weeks. I just fed her 2 days ago and she regurged yesterday, I then took her to the vet. How long should I wait to try and feed her again?

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/...228_195613.jpg

I'd wait about 3 days.. she should def. be hungry if happened the last 3 meals and she's growing fast at the age of 1. Good luck to ya :gj:

That is a cool xray. I hope your girl gets to feeling better soon. I don't know what you are feeding her but you might want to try a smaller meal size.

She has nothing in her to defecate out. Unless your talking about the hopefully dead parasites.

Once she regurges you have to give her at least 2 weeks to get the bacteria and what not back to normal in her intestines. Regurging is very traumatic for them. Someone like Skiploder would be a good person to PM for more details...

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Originally Posted by jnoh

I'd wait about 3 days.. she should def. be hungry if happened the last 3 meals and she's growing fast at the age of 1. Good luck to ya :gj:

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You definitely do not want to just continue trying to feed her within a few days of her regurging!

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Once she regurges you have to give her at least 2 weeks to get the bacteria and what not back to normal in her intestines. Regurging is very traumatic for them. Someone like Skiploder would be a good person to PM for more details...

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X2
I know normally you want to wait a couple weeks for everything to settle back down after they have regurged. I'm just not sure if that is enough time since she has regurged 4 feedings in a row.

Also to the OP, how is her husbandry(setup, temps and humidity)?

Yes. I would say 2 weeks would be the minimum to wait after a regurge.

And as everyone else is asking, can you give us more details?
What is your husbandry like? What sort of meals is she being fed?

This^ she needs two weeks. After two weeks try and feed a very small prey item. Like less than 1/2 of what when would normally eat. Wait two more weeks. If she keeps that down then try bumping the prey a bit. 2 more weeks. If she keeps that down try resuming normal feeding.


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Cool x-ray! Thanks for sharing the pic.

I wait a month after a regurge to offer food again (and I would recommend that you offer a meal that is about half the size of what she usually eats). Regurges are not something to take lightly, and the more times she regurges the more damaged her digestive system will be.

Here's her husbandry. She is in a rack, 6.5 quart tub, aspen bedding, warm end is 90-92 F, cool end is 86-88 F. She was eating 1 rat pup once every 2 weeks after her first regurge. When she started regurging I down sized her food items to mouse fuzzies. weighed her 2 months ago at 180 grams, current weight is 120 grams. I'm concerned about her not eating and losing even more weight. I mean losing a third of her body weight is serious.

Cool end is too hot, it should be 78-80F. Hot side is a little warm too. You want the hot side to be 88-90.
Turn down the thermostat a wee bit bc youre cooking her lol.

I would say the cool side needs to be cooled down. Like the post above me.

Both ends are too warm for hatchlings. My hatchlings go off feed if it gets over 88. As they get older, they deal with hotter temps better. Cool side should be in the low 80s.

Try that and I'm sure she will start keeping her food down.

You can probably upgrade her tub size soon as well.


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OK guys I lowered her temps a hair. I had them raised at the direction of my vet. However, I know there is a lot more knowledge available on this site. My vet doesn't specialize with BPs. He is exotic certified and runs a turle rescue center at his house. She seems really weak, could this be a side effect of the meds or is she on the way out?

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Originally Posted by Reesy

OK guys I lowered her temps a hair. I had them raised at the direction of my vet. However, I know there is a lot more knowledge available on this site. My vet doesn't specialize with BPs. He is exotic certified and runs a turle rescue center at his house. She seems really weak, could this be a side effect of the meds or is she on the way out?

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At first I agreed that her temps seemed alittle high, but since your vet recommended it I would follow his advice. He may not specialize in BP's but as you stated he is a certified exotic animal vet; not just a typical dog and cat vet; and most likely has alot more medical training than any of us on here.
As far as her wieght lose goes it could just be from the stress and her numerous regurges or something else such as a parasite. Did he do any testing for parasites or anything else that could cause that much weight lose or just give her the antibiotic and antiparasitic injection?

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Originally Posted by AZmorphedballs

At first I agreed that her temps seemed alittle high, but since your vet recommended it I would follow his advice. He may not specialize in BP's but as you stated he is a certified exotic animal vet; not just a typical dog and cat vet; and most likely has alot more medical training than any of us on here.
As far as her wieght lose goes it could just be from the stress and her numerous regurges or something else such as a parasite. Did he do any testing for parasites or anything else that could cause that much weight lose or just give her the antibiotic and antiparasitic injection?

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I disagree. I would trust the opinions of some of the people on here before i would a vet that has no experience with bps. If he gave her antibiotics and antiparasitic injections w/out testing her for anything first then that shows he may not know what hes doing as far as snakes. Im not bashing the guy, he could be a good vet but just not for snakes. The first time her snake regurged it could have been a few different reasons, none of which cause by a parasite: too big a meal or meal wasnt heated completely through... She didnt wait a fully two weeks to a month in between these regurges so those 3 regurges could have happened within like a 2 week timespan. That much stress on a snake could clearly cause that kinda weight loss. No way to tell if she has parasites until she gets tested for them.

I'm going to have to agree with Mike

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

I disagree. I would trust the opinions of some of the people on here before i would a vet that has no experience with bps. If he gave her antibiotics and antiparasitic injections w/out testing her for anything first then that shows he may not know what hes doing as far as snakes. Im not bashing the guy, he could be a good vet but just not for snakes. The first time her snake regurged it could have been a few different reasons, none of which cause by a parasite: too big a meal or meal wasnt heated completely through... She didnt wait a fully two weeks to a month in between these regurges so those 3 regurges could have happened within like a 2 week timespan. That much stress on a snake could clearly cause that kinda weight loss. No way to tell if she has parasites until she gets tested for them.

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The OP never stated that the vet didn't have any experience with bp's or snakes. Just that he didn't specialize in bp's. So we really don't know what level of experience he may or may not have with bp's or snakes in general. But, we do know that he is a certified exotic vet.
As far as the rest of your post I agree. I stated before that the weight loss could just be caused by the stress of the continued regurges or something else such as a parasite. That is why I asked if the vet actually did any testing or just gave the 2 shots without testing.

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Originally Posted by AZmorphedballs

The OP never stated that the vet didn't have any experience with bp's or snakes. Just that he didn't specialize in bp's. So we really don't know what level of experience he may or may not have with bp's or snakes in general. But, we do know that he is a certified exotic vet.
As far as the rest of your post I agree. I stated before that the weight loss could just be caused by the stress of the continued regurges or something else such as a parasite. That is why I asked if the vet actually did any testing or just gave the 2 shots without testing.

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Yea you are right. I guess im reading into it a little too much. Still wouldnt trust someone without real experience with balls though. I dont care if you took a class and have a piece of paper that says your certified. I guess thats sorta old school or whatever you wanna call it but i value experience.

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Originally Posted by AZmorphedballs

At first I agreed that her temps seemed alittle high, but since your vet recommended it I would follow his advice. He may not specialize in BP's but as you stated he is a certified exotic animal vet; not just a typical dog and cat vet; and most likely has alot more medical training than any of us on here.
As far as her wieght lose goes it could just be from the stress and her numerous regurges or something else such as a parasite. Did he do any testing for parasites or anything else that could cause that much weight lose or just give her the antibiotic and antiparasitic injection?

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I agree. I love you guys here at bp.net but I always stick to exotics vets' advice (who have actually examined the snake in question as well as talked with me in person) over that of people on the internet. Though it certainly doesn't hurt to get other opinions.

Additionally, if temps were raised after the snake was taken to the vet, the high temps are not the cause of the regurges (though there is the possibility that the warm temps have become a contributing factor). So I seriously doubt lowering temps would fix the problem.

Hope you figure it out soon! :( That is sure a lot of weight loss.

I guess I wasn't clear. I fed her once per week until she regurged the first time. Then fed her every 2 weeks after, just trying to get some nutrients in her. My vet didn't have feces to do a fecal float test with. She is becoming very weak. I will be getting some benabac to add into her water.

Well, it has been 2 weeks since she was medicated. I gave her a mouse fuzzy which she gobbled down. Wish me luck that she holds it down. If she does hold it down, should I feed her one per week until she starts to gain weight and strength back or should I feed more often?

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Originally Posted by Mike41793

Once she regurges you have to give her at least 2 weeks to get the bacteria and what not back to normal in her intestines. Regurging is very traumatic for them. Someone like Skiploder would be a good person to PM for more details...

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+10000 wait at least 2 weeks! 3 days is NOT enough time to recover...

^Its already been two weeks.

*IF* she keeps it down, you can try feeding her again in another week. Stay with smaller meals though until shes kept at least three meals in a row down.

I will wait a week. So far, so good. Almost 24 hrs since she ate and she's still holding it down. I will breath a sigh of relief when she hits 72 hrs without a regurge. I am also using bene-bac in her water.

Cool x-ray. Thanks for sharing. As everyone else has said, when they regurge you need to wait 2 weeks for everything in her system to get back in balance, or it could lead to more regurgitation. Also smaller meals, about half of normal size for several feedings. Gradually get her back up. Hopefully she is on the mend and keeps them down for you!

That x-ray pic would be kinda cool for your avatar photo???

Wow, thanks for sharing the pic! That's so cool.

I'm glad she kept a bit down. My sincerest hopes that she's all better soon!

Well, it has now been 36 hrs and she's still holding it down. Half-way to taking a deep breath. I will be checking on her again tonight. I will also try to get a pic of her tomorrow so you all can keep up with her recovery if you like. Thanks for all the advice and support.

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Originally Posted by Reesy

Well, it has now been 36 hrs and she's still holding it down. Half-way to taking a deep breath. I will be checking on her again tonight. I will also try to get a pic of her tomorrow so you all can keep up with her recovery if you like. Thanks for all the advice and support.

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Glad to hear that she is holding down a meal for you and it sounds like she may be on her way to a nice recovery! As others have stated continue to feed her smaller meals for a few weeks and gradually work her back up to her appropriately sized meals.

Here's a couple of pics of her now, 48 hrs after eating.

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/...1/100_2779.jpg

http://i1228.photobucket.com/albums/...1/100_2778.jpg

She's still holding it down, starting to breath easier. This time tomorrow and I'll give a sigh of relief.

glad to here she is doing better.

Amazing X-ray :)

So glad to hear she is doing better! She is a beautiful snake :)

Ooh, she's a very pretty girl! I'm so glad to hear she's kept the meal down!

She is very pretty. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she keeps it down. Keep us up to date on how's she doing!

I will keep everybody updated. Thanks again to everybody for their advice and support. She is still doing good. I'll be feeding her again this Saturday. I fed her a mouse fuzzy this time. I'll keep her on the same thing util she start gaining body weight back on then slowly move her up in size of prey item. I'll keep the pics of her recovery coming as well.

Well, her second meal is down. The 72 hr count down begins again. Wish me luck. I think she might be on the mend, just have to get her weight back up. I know it will take a little time.

Sounds good so far. Glad she is doing better!

so glad to hear she's on the mend. gorgeous looking snake - and for her size she doesn't appear to be all that scrawny for the weight she lost :gj:

I had a similar story to yours. One of my snakes was eating a rat crawler every week for months until she suddenly started regurging. Nothing in her environment had changed so husbandry wasn't the cause of it, though I waited two weeks after her regurge and fed her again, small small rat pup this time. Another regurge. Waited two weeks, fed her again, mouse fuzzy. Third regurge. Took her to the vet, she had intestinal parasites. A week long medicating regime later, and giving her a week to settle, fed her a mouse fuzzy and she kept it down. She's been doing great since then.

I'm glad yours is too!

Yeah, 72 hrs and she has held down her second meal. I also found her soaking in her water dish this morning. I believe that is also a good sign. She's becoming more active again, venturing around her enclosure. I do believe she is on the mend and will be back up to weight after a few more feedings. Thanks everybody for your comments and support.

Well, I guess it's another good sign, she is going into blue and soaking in her water dish. Tomorrow will be her third meal and still no more regurges.:taz: