Regurgitation problem with Kenyan Sand Boas

[EyeLashViper]

:? Hey everybody,
Well I have a problem with these two juvenile Kenyan Sand Boas ( Eryx loveridgei ) that I aqquired about a month ago. They will feed no problem but they will regurgitate their meals a couple of days later - I have been feeding them pinky mice as they are still quite small snakes.I got them from Glades Herp. I have tried everything - I have got conflicting information on what is the optimum temps for this species - some people say as high as 100 degrees and other people say as low as 82 degrees. I must admit that I am getting rather confused - I don't know what is causing this regurgitation problem - ???? are the pinkies I am giving them too large? is the heat component of their husbandry wrong??? right now I am keeping them at about 90 degrees on the hot end and about 82 on the low end. I would really appreciate any info on this as I really dont want to lose these snakes...they are beautiful and were a tad expensive as well....I was hoping when I got them that they would have been a bit bigger but they were quite small...sort of makes me nervous you know ???? thanks in advance... :wink:

EyeLashViper

[JLC]

Hi...hopefully Tigergenesis will chime in soon...she has a lot of experience with sand boas and can probably tell you the best temps to keep them at. I know that for many snakes, temps that are too high can cause them to regurge. Temps that are too low can also cause that. Are you handling them at all before they regurge? If you are, then you may not be giving them long enough to digest their food.

Lastly....once a snake regurges, it takes quite awhile for their systems to recover. It could be that they are repeating the problem because they're not ready to eat again yet. I would wait at least two weeks before feeding such a snake again.

Good luck with them...I hope you get this nipped in the bud and they recover and thrive for you!!!

[Tigergenesis]

Definetly wait at least 2 weeks after a regurg to feed again.

Regurg can be due to handling too soon, too low temps, parasites, etc.

Since you got them, how often have you tried feeding? Did they regurg each time?

Are they housed together?

What size caging? What substrate and where are you measuring temps?

Most caresheets I've found say 90 hot end. The breeder I got mine from said 90-92. Well, I found out my little guy likes it a bit hotter - as I've heard is sometimes the case with Sand Boas.

Do you see them use both sides of the cage or just one?

[Snake]

My cousins had a bunch of Kenyan sand boas that had regurgitation problems, I took them to a vet and it turned out they had a terminall parasite called Cryptosparidium. Unfortunately, we had to euthenize them, but I learned a good deal of information while studying up on the possible causes of regurgitation. As some said earlier, it could be improper heating, handling, stress (possibly from being housed together if they are) or parasites among other things. Not all parasites are terminal and many can be treated with antibiotics. I somewhat doubt this to be the case knowing that you bought them from a pretty reliable source. make sure to feed them the smallest prey possible, also, keep the heat at the hot end HOT! I gradient from the mid 80's to the mid 95's even to 100 is ideal. Let me know if they are showing any other symptoms. Best of luck!

Nathan