Is this normal for post-feeding?

[Woapalanne]

My RTB fed for the first time today, and now he's curled up under his log and hasn't budged in hours. When I lift the log, he looks up at me, so he's not dead or anything *knock on wood*. I was just wondering if this is normal for a boa to do after feeding. The mouse he ate was right sized - he got it down with no problems and no huge bulge. It's also thunderstorming here, if that makes a difference. I'm guessing that between the storm, moving, and just eating, he's a tired lil boa, but I just wanted to make sure.
-Eli
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[phaedrus]

Woapalanne, that's totally normal. My RTB pretty much stays in hiding most of the time. He cruises his cage when he's a bit hungry. As to the thunderstorms, well, while he may be able to "hear" the thunder, I doubt that has anything to do while in hiding.

The snake is a wonderful thing and it's body is gearing up to digest it's food. I just read a post today that describes in detail the changes it's body will go through to extract every bit of nourishment out of his food. Darned if I can find it again, tho. [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_evil.gif[/img]

The snake will increase it's breathing to help metabolize the food and even it's intestines enlarge to accomodate the absorbtion of all the nutriets. I'm sure someone else will be along that read the same thing I did and point you to it. Very interesting reading.

But, he's fine. He'll probably stay there for at least a couple of days. Make sure temps are set for a high and low zone (very important to aid in digestion) and humidity levels are set proper.

Oh, Welcome aboard! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_razz.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]
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[Woapalanne]

Ah, that would also explain why he seemed to breathing differently [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img] Entiendo!

The main cage thermometer says 80, and it's between the hot and not-so-hot zones, and he has the water bowl, half-log, and tree branch - I'll bug him tomorrow then.

And I've read that a LOT of animals are extremely sensitive to the pressure changes during storms (heck, I'm terribly sensitive myself!) but I don't remember if snakes have that particular quirk.

I'm off to sleep, thanks for reassurance and welcome [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]
-Eli
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[phaedrus]

Just remember to keep handling down to a minimum for a day or two after he eats. You don't want him to regurge. And that's a whole 'nother story with replenishing the gut flora.

Not sure about the pressure tho.

Sleep well!
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	regurgitate Throw up. Reptiles will regurge when they feel they are in danger or if they have some sort of health issue. If your reptile has regurgitated his/her food please seek help!

[slaponte]

Totally normal.. I HOPE!! [img]modules/Forum/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif[/img]

Chica eats on saturday, and forget it, you won't see her about until tuesday. She curls up on her hide over the heat pad and I don't even bother her.

By wednesday she starts to poke her head out, like just resting with her head forward, and I know it is ok to pick her up.

By friday she is cruising the cage, going like "humm, almost time to eat, no?"

Recently I feed her a large+medium rats in one sitting (Angus didn't want his medium, and she seems ready for seconds). She then hid away until thursday (I got a little worried), and then fell off schedule for the sat feeding. But then she did the poop of a lifetime, and she was back in force.

I think she is almost ready to go Jumbo, to stay on the 7 day schedule. Right now, one large and she (A) eats it within minutes and (B) she starts looking around by tuesday PM, long wait until saturday...
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[slaponte]

Oh, one more thing. If he can eat a regular mouse with no problem, think of switching to rat pups. They are about the same size but much more nutritious for the snake, at least that is what I read here.

When I switched to rat pups my babies starting growing faster (I think) and were eating rats in no time.... It is just hard to get them sometimes. (I buy live and then pre-kill before feeding).
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[phaedrus]

Found it:

[source: Juergen Kromerr - www.boa-constrictor.de]

At the University of Jena, zoologists examined the digestion process of giant snakes. The most modern medical equipment like supersonics and MRIs, were used for this. That way, the digestion process could be examined (thank God) on the living object.

According to the zoologists, this research has already delivered amazing results: Giant snakes are equipped with some sort of turbo-digestion, in which the inner organs extract in an extreme manner. The metabolism can reach higher levels than the one of a 100-meter runner.

The reptiles perform heavy-duty labor during the digestion. Amazingly, only the head of the prey is dissolved in the stomach of the animals at first. Only afterwards is the headless body dissolved. Within 2 days, the prey is turned completely into mush. As time passes, the mush then flows into the tube formed intestine. Within a few hours, the digestive tract swells up to three times of its original size.

The weight of the digestive tract also increases drastically. This is the only way that the sudden wave of nourishment can be mastered. In order to digest a whole pig, a giant snake needs little more than a week. during the process of swallowing, the snakes already begin to breathe deeper and heavier. Heart and lungs perform highly.

During the digestion of a large prey item, snakes use forty times as much oxygen as they do while resting. Only racehorses achieve this at full gallop for a few minutes, while giant snakes can keep this up for several days. This digestive maximum performance leads to only half of the calories reaching the energy storages. The rest is already used up during the digestion process.

But, the animals have no choice. They have to digest that quickly. The unchewed prey begins to decay from the inside immediately after being swallowed, producing gases that lead to painful bloatings.

Even far more dangerous are the developing ptomaine. Some giant snakes have eaten themselves to death with oversized prey items. Long breaks in the feeding cycle are necessary, because the intestinal tracts are strained to such a degree, that it sometimes takes months to regenerate them.



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