Red tail boa question

My 2 month old RTB has been eating well but I have a question about shed and digestion. He has eaten a mouse once a week for the last four weeks. The first 2 times he pooed a couple days later. His 3rd feeding turned out to be during a shed when his eyes were cloudy. (it was harder to tell than a ball). He pooed about 3 days later. He shed the same night so when I got home the next afternoon there was no bulge so I offered a mouse ( happened to be an all black one. ) The next day he pooed what looked like a mouse but the smell indicated there had been some digestion because it smelled just as bad as previously. I also found the white and brownish urates in another spot. He acts very healthy but right now the is no bulge and he would probably eat again if I offered. My question is whether this quick digestion is normal and if not what triggers it and what fixes it? At 2 months according to the owner he was eating a mouse a week. I lowered it to a hopper the first two feedings and a weanling the third. The fourth was almost a full grown mouse. Thanks for reading this long thread.

Are you sure he "pooped" the mouse out? I'm thinking it was a regurge... (had the mouse worked through the snake's digestive system, it's unlikely the poop would be mouse shaped...) Maybe the stress of shedding the night of the feed (if I'm reading this correctly) caused the snake to regurge. I would say to wait a few days before offering food again...

I say it went thru the digestive system because it smelled as bad as previous poos. Would a regurge smell that foul. (yes I actually did sniff to be sure it smelled like poo!!)

From what I hear (I haven't had any regurge yet), the regurge can actually smell a lot worse than a poo depending on how long after the feed the regurge happened... More digestion = worse smell...

I've never had a snake's poo come out in the shape of the prey!! :weirdface
I'm agreeing with inknsteel that it sounds like a regurge to me......
If there is doubt, I would play it safe (for the health of the snake) and wait 2 weeks before feeding it again.

Since the thread was so long I am just clarifying a couple points. I appreciate all your help so far. The poo/regurge happened about 24 hours after the feeding. It looked more like prey but since I really couldn't probe to see the consistency. Along with the substance of question, there was light brown/white urates in the usual amount :ie a little less than the poo. I am not second guessing, but I am just verifying all the points I don't understand. I guess I am the type that wants to know, not only if it's wrong but also why....:) once again thanks all!

sounds like a regurge but it is imposible to be a regurge if there were urates in it too. It sounds like some kind of diarrhea . I've never had my boa or pythons regurge , but I will tell you that it takes about a week for my snakes to digest and they usually poo in week and a half to two weeks after feeding. Make sure you don't handle the snake for about 2 days after feeding and check the temperature. They need a good warm spot when digesting. If temps are too cold the food literary spoils inside them without being digested, so check the temps. Hope all works well if that keeps happening when temp is right and you don't handle after feeding then call the vet . Hope all works well

It's sounds questionable to me as well...I'd definitely wait at least two weeks before offering again. If it was a regurge, the wait will help to heal the esophagus (snake stomach acid is some strong stuff) and if it wasn't a regurge, the wait won't hurt either.

In the future if you think it might be a regurge and want to make sure, take a photo and/or baggy it up and take it to the vet. My boa did regurge once after we had her for about a month and the full recommended regime for recovering after a regurge is wait 4 weeks, then feed very, very small, and work your way back up slowly with prey. You don't want to get the snake in a regurgle cycle, which young snakes can do if they are stressed and had a regurge.

Thank you all for the info. He has been resting since that day, mostly staying on his warm side. I did handle him briefly 2 days after and he is still very active and social as he has from the beginning. I will do the waiting unless he becomes really actively looking for food. I still have some f/t fuzzie mice that my BP outgrew and I will go back to those for his next meal. If anyone has more suggestions please post!

Without being able to see the animal or the questionable "poo/gurge", if it were me, I'd stick with the wait 2 weeks, feed small and then work back up. It won't hurt the animal.

And if you are still worried, then your next best bet is to take the animal to the vet. =)

Good herp vet who can see your animal > anything you read on teh interweb

Thank you Cassandra. I found another "piece" in his water dish this morning. I am going to weigh him Sat or Sun and decide whether to visit the vet on Mon. If he does it again before then I will bag it and take it with me.

I know keeping bagged poo in your fridge is kind of a gross thought, but I think if bag it up while it's still "fresh", it can be viable for like a fecal float or whatever other fun things vets like to do with poo the next day, so it never hurts. =)

I just wish I had thought of it when it was fresh!

He is moving around some and changing sides. He usually hung out on the hot side.
I did have him out Sat and he was very active then after 15 mins settled down a curled up and just looked around. Still reluctant to go home.
I have a couple frozen fuzzy mice I will try for his first feed next weekend. That will be 2 weeks and 2 days. Thanks, Debbie

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Originally Posted by Debbienflorida

Still reluctant to go home.

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Hehe, that never goes away...hate to come out, hate to go back in. I AM BOA! :snake:

In spite of this problem I am so lucky to have found such a mellow, outgoing RTB. I named him Deuce because he was my second snake. My first snake, a BP named George, is the sweetest thing too. I have mistakenly picked him up in blue and during a shed and he was still sweet. So far I don't have a reason not to try another snake which is going to be another RTB. It is on a back burner for a few months until I am sure Deuce is in the clear now. There was 4 months between the BP and RTB.