Help with Regurgitation.

[NinjaKittyz]

Hey again, I got back one of the two babies I'd gotten a while back. This one is the one that was 46g when I got her on 2/12/13, She was hatched 9/25-26, and that small at approx 5m old. She went to a friend and was doing good for a while, then my friend got a group of feeders (live) that killed almost all of her collection. Out of 10+ snakes, this is the only one who made it. After being seen at the vet, she was given a clean bill of health.

She lost a lot of weight, and has been a problem feeder ever since. There is no where to get live mice anymore, so it's a forced switch to F/t mice.

I got her back today and I don't have a scale, but I'm guessing her to be between 150-200g. She'd been on 1 L f/t mouse a week, but here's the problem. I'm told that when they were able to get her to eat, she'd half way digest the mouse, then regurge the rest.

I've googled it and I can't find anything for a Bp regurging half the meal. I'm wondering if the mice weren't thawed all the way, if she's got a very delicate stomach after the bad rat (at the time she was eating XS rats), if she really just doesn't like the f/t, or if she doesn't like mice...

I'm going to get her small f/t mice, and roll them in rat bedding from the local petstore to scent them, then try feeding her and hope that she keeps it down.

Meanwhile, I was hoping someone on here would have seen or heard of a similar situation and could offer some advice.

I'm just getting her set up so I'll be aiming for the correct temps/humidity. She's on papertowels atm, with 1 hide, a log and her water bowl. I plan on putting her on aspen w/ some moss on the side. Same set up I've got for my other babies, (they're all doing amazingly) She's in a 20gal tall with a screen top, for the moment; it's what she came in. I'll be making a lid for her that's half solid, half screen.

She instantly drank when I put the dish in there, she doesn't feel skinny, just... small for her age, so I know she's not starving herself.

Any suggestions, ideas or insight?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

A regurgitation can be due to different things and all you can do is to try to eliminate the possible cause

In the meantime no feeding for 2 weeks

Regurgitation can be due to

Improperly thawed or bad feeder

Improper temps not allowing digestion

Stress

Internal parasites

Health issues.

In two weeks if you feed your BP and it regurges again you will need to take it to a vet, in most cases it does not re-occur and the main cause can be found by elimination.

[NinjaKittyz]

She's been to a vet in the last 3m, clean bill of health, no parasites or virus'. The mice are from Arctic Mice, only ones to get in the area. (My King does fine on them.) I know my friends house is always busy and bustling, so stress may be a factor.

Last time Pixie ate was 9/22. I'll have to ask if that was a good feed or another regurg, I'm going to guess regurg, since all the others in the last couple months have been. As for the temps she was at, that I can't say all I can do is get them where they need to be. I'll be trying to feed her next Sunday; Oct 5th. (Feeding day for everyone) So it'll be just a day under 2x weeks since her last feed.

[KMG]

When a regurg happens they loose the precious stomach fluids they need to digest the prey. Feeding to soon after having a regurg can cause the cycle to repeat as the fluids are not yet built back up. This is why its recommended to wait 14 days to feed again. You should also first start with a prey item half the size of what would usually be fed. Your on the right track with a small feeder.

Over the 14 days get the numbers dialed in as the more things that are wrong only make the situation that much more serious.

[KMG]

How are you thawing and warming the prey?

What works for me is this. I start with the prey in a zip bag and place it in the sink with something on it to submerge it completely in the water. I think let it thaw. This time will vary by prey size but 30 to 45 minutes should be more than enough for a large mouse. Remove the prey and squeeze its head and guts, they should not have any cold or cool spots. If they do submerge a bit longer.

I then drain the water and again fill the sink with the hottest water I have in the tap. I again submerge it for 15-20 minutes to get it warmed all the way through to represent a real live rodent.

[NinjaKittyz]

For my one that has always been on f/t, I do thaw and warm them up. Hot water, let'em soak till the water cools, then do it again till it's the right temp, that way I KNOW it's all the way thawed. Never had an issue. I can't say how my friend had been doing it, thats why I'm wondering about it being half digested/half regurg. I'm planning on scenting it w/ bedding from my daughters pet rodents. See if she'll like it better, she'd always been on live/stunned till the place locally got shut down.

[bcr229]

Go to The Bean Farm's web site and order NutriBAC - it's a reptile probiotic in powder form. Since you're not feeding again until next weekend you should have time to get it shipped to you.

Offer prey a size down from what she would normally get, and sprinkle a little of the NutriBAC powder onto the feeder just before you offer it to the snake. It will help her re-establish her gut flora. The powder sticks very nicely to a damp f/t feeder, so I don't worry about administering it in their water.

If she keeps her next meal down then offer a similar meal in another two weeks. If that one goes well you can bump it to 10 days, and then 7 days, before going back to her normal prey size.

I would also double-check her heat in her enclosure or tub to make sure it's correct.

[thegamejr]

A blow dryer also works really well at warming them up after bring thawed. hope all goes well

[Skiploder]

Hey again, I got back one of the two babies I'd gotten a while back. This one is the one that was 46g when I got her on 2/12/13, She was hatched 9/25-26, and that small at approx 5m old. She went to a friend and was doing good for a while, then my friend got a group of feeders (live) that killed almost all of her collection. Out of 10+ snakes, this is the only one who made it. After being seen at the vet, she was given a clean bill of health.

She lost a lot of weight, and has been a problem feeder ever since. There is no where to get live mice anymore, so it's a forced switch to F/t mice.

I got her back today and I don't have a scale, but I'm guessing her to be between 150-200g. She'd been on 1 L f/t mouse a week, but here's the problem. I'm told that when they were able to get her to eat, she'd half way digest the mouse, then regurge the rest.

I've googled it and I can't find anything for a Bp regurging half the meal. I'm wondering if the mice weren't thawed all the way, if she's got a very delicate stomach after the bad rat (at the time she was eating XS rats), if she really just doesn't like the f/t, or if she doesn't like mice...

I'm going to get her small f/t mice, and roll them in rat bedding from the local petstore to scent them, then try feeding her and hope that she keeps it down.

Meanwhile, I was hoping someone on here would have seen or heard of a similar situation and could offer some advice.

I'm just getting her set up so I'll be aiming for the correct temps/humidity. She's on papertowels atm, with 1 hide, a log and her water bowl. I plan on putting her on aspen w/ some moss on the side. Same set up I've got for my other babies, (they're all doing amazingly) She's in a 20gal tall with a screen top, for the moment; it's what she came in. I'll be making a lid for her that's half solid, half screen.

She instantly drank when I put the dish in there, she doesn't feel skinny, just... small for her age, so I know she's not starving herself.

Any suggestions, ideas or insight?

How did your friend arrive at the conclusion that feeders killed all but the snake you ended up with?

By what means did a vet give her a clean bill of health? Visual? Were actual tests performed? Just how was that conclusion reached?

[NinjaKittyz]

How did your friend arrive at the conclusion that feeders killed all but the snake you ended up with?

By what means did a vet give her a clean bill of health? Visual? Were actual tests performed? Just how was that conclusion reached?

From what I was told, they did a fecal sample on her, along with the visual. Nothing abnormal found.

In regards to the food, all her snakes were doing great, then she got a new batch of mice/rats from the same place (all live) fed, and within a week, she'd lost 4 of the snakes, the rest regurg'd, and were gone w/in a month of the feeding. Pixie is the only one who made it. (Sand Boa, BPs, and a Corn.)

She's also a lot more active than ANY Bp I've ever seen, also a lot more aggressive. She always has been, since the first time I saw her.