Boa regurgitation

[bugs4life]

Ohhhh dear lord, you all weren't kidding when you said it stank like holy hell when a snake rejects a meal already inside its body :8o
I feel so terrible, I guess my Dharma wasn't ready for a full grown mouse just yet. The poor girl, that must have been terrible for her I have so learned my lesson. I will never ever take a chance like that again.
Are boas usually ok after they regurgitate? Is it possible she could have been hurt? How long before I can offer another (smaller) mouse? She was on "large" hoppers but not quite adults before this. Should I try something smaller than the usual large hopper so it'll be more gentle on her system? This is the first time I've had a snake do this.

 

[Gigas]

its recommended you wait around a week after a snake regurgitates

 

[bugs4life]

I feel so bad, will she be alright?

 

[Gigas]

Personally i have never dealt with regurgitation so i cant answer, I suggest tha you just give her some quiet time

 

[bugs4life]

Thanks. Might want to keep her especially hydrated after this? Can't hurt.

 

[joseofsa]

yeah try to leave her alone for about a week or so. My ball regurgitated once before and he is fine. I just taped a few sheets of newspaper on the front of the glass so when i walked by to take care of my others i would not bother him. He pulled through fine. Why did she vomit? Did you pick her up right after feeding? Mine vomited because i accidently dropped a empty tank on his and the top landed on hide he was in. As long as the prey is as big or a little bigger as the thickest part on the snake it should be fine.

 

[bugs4life]

It was entirely my fault, I just offered her prey that was too big for her. She's grown considerably since I first brought her home so I thought I'd at least give it a try, but never again until I'm 100% sure she's ready. She seems fine right now, I just saw her slithering around her enclosure actively flicking her tongue. I was sanitizing a new water dish for her so that's probably what she was looking for. Poor baby.

 

[Mushroom Spore]

I would give it WAY longer than a week. A regurge seriously messes up their system (consider that their stomach acid is strong enough to dissolve entire skeletons without difficulty). If the snake is decently fat and otherwise healthy, you might want to do more like two or three weeks so their system can reset. Feeding too soon will probably just result in another regurge, which will further mess things up, and so on.

Snakes can quite literally regurge themselves to death if things are handled badly. I suggest going to the "herpers" community on livejournal, or "snakecommunity". They'll be full of more specialized advice on what should be done to avoid further problems.

 

[PA7R1CK]

I'm so sorry to hear about Dharma! She since she seems quite alert, it sounds like shes ok to me. I suggest waiting 7-10 days (atleast) before attemping to feed again. I hope shes ok, just keep making sure she has plenty of water to drink.

 

[Midnightrdr456]

2 weeks should be sufficient. Keep alot of water. Also like they said NEVER do much larger than the largest part of their body. I know the urge to move up in size of prey is always there, but at the rate boas grow you wont have to wait long. Mine is about 1 year and 2 months old and he is already on small rats (large weanlings but not considered actual small rats quite yet).

Wait 2 weeks, give her the size she was eating pre-regurg. If she wont accept it take her to a vet.

 

[joseofsa]

look foward to hearing whats up in a few days. is she acting normal again?

 

[bugs4life]

I'm still waiting to feed her again, she seems to be just fine at the moment, 100% normal.

 

[joseofsa]

cool cool glad to hear it!

 

[joey]

my corn regurgitated the other week,, yes the smell was horrendous. he was okay after, just left him quiet, and didnt try feeding him for another week.
he ate two mice at once, hence the regurge. (long story as to how he managed to get hold of two).. so at least i knew why, which is better than them regurtitating, and you have no idea why,, thats a worry.

good to hear that Dharma is okay now.

 

[MrT]

What kind of heat source are you using? Are you feeding live food or frozen -thawed?

Don't worry to much, your boa will be fine. Snakes regurgitate for many reasons. One of mine spitup a 2# rabbit cause its heater got unpluged. Talk about a stinky mess.
If its ready for food, it will take it...

MrT

 

[OldHag]

I agree with MrT My first thought was. What is the heating situation. The only time Ive ever had snakes regurge is when they have heating issues. (and of course stress but if you didnt stress her Id look into the heating issue fast)
I have my small kenyan sandboas eating fuzzies and they do fine! Not one regurge! If they have adequate heat they can digest before it starts to decompose. If not... What a mess!!

Good luck with your Dharma.

 

[Phyre102887]

Also don't handle them for about 2-3 days after they eat. It can make them regurgitate their food ( didnt know if you knew that... just throwing it out there hehe) . I usually wait about a week after that happens and offer the snake a prey item, and most of the time they take it, if they dont I wait another week.

 

[bugs4life]

She has a well functioning heat lamp for the day and her heat mat keeps temps steady through the night so I know it wasn't a temperature issue. The mouse looked partially digested (the head looked like poo and the rest was easily identified as a mouse with a bad hair day). I just gave her a mouse that was too big for her which was totally my bad.

Phyre102887 - I think any snake owner here knows not to handle a snake for a little bit after it eats. I wouldn't have even thought of owning a boid if I hadn't done some research beforehand.

 

[Phyre102887]

Sorry hehe... I know a lot of people know that... just I see people with snakes sometimes that dont know what they're doing ( not that I thought you didn't know, just wanted to throw it out there lol) and they dont do any research beforehand. My bad im sorry :8o

 

[bugs4life]

It's all good, I was just in a b*tchy mood yesterday. I'm sorry