Regurgitation

pjmartin · #1 (**permalink**) 01-23-2003, 09:54 PM

Okay, I went to feed my Surinam Red Tail last night (he's about 6 months old right now), and when I opened his cage, I was almost knocked out by the horrendous stench. I haven't opened his cage since Sunday, and I just assumed that maybe he pooped in his water dish. I picked up the dish, and I noticed bits of meat and fur floating in the dish, as well as a partially digested hinquarter sitting next to the dish. After fighting the urge to regurgitate myself, I sent the water bowls on through the dishwasher, gave everything else a good dose of Quat, and changed the substrate. Next thing I did, was I hopped on the internet and ordered new feeders (from RodentPro) for all of my snakes, because my current supply is about 5 months old now, and it does seem to be getting gamier every time I unthaw a rat. I was running the cage temps with an ambient of 83 degress, a warm side of 88 and a hot spot of 95 -- now it is 85 to 90 with a hotspot of 101. Humidity is still at 65%. I'm thinking it was something with the food supply, or maybe something with the water. I raised the temps just as a precaution.

The only thing that is puzzling me right now is that it is slightly pink right around his mouth. I kind of looks like he is about to go into shed, except for the fact that his underside hasn't gone pink either. Is this a sign of some sort of disease, or is this just crud that got on his face while he was regurgitating? Any help, or any other suggestions will be greatly appreciated.
[addsig]

JuliusSqueezer · #2 (**permalink**) 01-23-2003, 10:13 PM

BCC are very prone to regurge for many many reasons...Ideal cage conditions being one of them....too cool or too warm...This hotspot you speak of is too hot. No boa will every fair well with such a hot basking area. The original warm side was ok...I think....how exactly are you getting these readings? eye level for the snake on the ground? Is this hot spot up on a shelf or branch? can the snake lay on a heated floor area (UTH, Heat pad) without being exposed to this searing heat?

How big is the snake and how big are the rats? and how often are you feeding? BCC do not do well when fed too large, too often or too many....They stress easy and seem to find any excuse they can to vomit.

Has this snake been checked for worms or other internal parasites?
[addsig]

Ti · #3 (**permalink**) 01-23-2003, 10:14 PM

Wait two weeks before feeding again. Thats the standard, and if you stick to it your snake should be fine. With the BCC's you need to watch out for repeat regurges, and if it happens again, triple check everything. Also, I would suggest returning the temps to normal before feeding again. Extra heat coupled with a weakened digestive system can lead to additional regurges due to the prey item rotting faster than it can be digested. BCC are very delicate when juvis, and I think they will prefer lower temps. Where is your animal spending most of its time, on the hot or cool side? Take this advice with a grain of salt because I do not know you, how you measure your temps, what your heating element is, etc...

As for the pink color, I dont have any idea about that. Is there any way for you to post a pic so we can see what you are referring to? That might help. If you are concerned, schedule an appointment with a herp vet. In any case, Good Luck!
[addsig]

pjmartin · #4 (**permalink**) 01-24-2003, 04:14 AM

His feeding schedule is one F/T rat pup every 7 days, which I think I may push back to 10 days when I feed him again. He's about 26-30" long (I'm pretty bad with size). He hasn't been checked for parasites since I got him in September.

As for heating -- I use a Desert Ray heat panel and a ZooMed UTH, with both connected to a ESU Thermostat. I get my reading with two digital thermometers. One is an Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer/Hydrometer, which is mounted on the cool side, one inch above the substrate. The probe for that thermometer is mounted on the wall on the hot side, again, one inch above the substrate. The other thermometer sits outside the cage to get room temps, and I hang the probe one inch over the substrate to get various temp readings around the tank. The hot spot reading is directly over the UTH, and under the heat panel. And to answer your question Ti, he does spend almost all of his time on the cool side.

What are propper temps for BCC? Are they simliar to a BCI, only with a smaller margin for error?

Anyway, I guess I got some more work to do...
[addsig]

JuliusSqueezer · #5 (**permalink**) 01-24-2003, 08:25 AM

There is probably the problem....The hot side needs to be UNDER 90 degrees in the basking area....It is way too hot for him so he won't go there and his meals are souring in his stomach and not digesting properly. If you get it down to 88...a much more comfortable basking temp, he will bask there and digest better. Do like Ti said though and wait 2 weeks after the regurge before attempting to feed again...He needs time to rebuilt gut flora/enzymes. Feed too soon and he will just puke again....In the mean time keep an eye on hydration. They tend to dehydrate easily after a good puke due to loss of body fluids that are expeled with the regurge. If needed, soak him in pedialyte...and/or put some in his water bowl full strength or 50/50 mixed with water at your disgression. If he will drink it, full strength is fine. Whatever you do...DO NOT let him dehydrate...this can and probably will be fatal at his age.
[addsig]

pjmartin · #6 (**permalink**) 01-24-2003, 06:20 PM

I unplugged the UTH, because no matter how low I set the thermostat, it was still creating a 100 degree hot spot, even after I added another 1/2" of coconut bark into the tank to try to diffuse the heat a little. I'll see how well that works. Also, thanks for the tip on the Pedialyte, Julius. I'll definitely get him going on that when I get home from work.
[addsig]

JuliusSqueezer · #7 (**permalink**) 01-25-2003, 12:52 AM

hmmm he really needs the belly heat from the UTH...is there no way to reduce the overhead heat? anyway...hope he comes out ok. Sounds like you have a nice setup and are trying your best to keep him happy and healthy....got pics?
[addsig]

pjmartin · #8 (**permalink**) 02-07-2003, 01:50 AM

Just a quick update...I dropped his temps, so his basking area now hovers right around the 88 degree mark. I built up his substrate from 1/2" to about 1 1/4" in an effort to diffuse some of the heat from the UTH -- I've noticed him burrowing now, and he seems very happy doing that. He also has a 50/50 Pedialyte to Water mixture in his bowl.

Anyway, today is feeding day, and he ate a rat pup with no problems. This last shipment of pups I got are smaller than the last batch, so maybe there was some good fortune there. I'm keeping my fingers crossed...

Sorry no pics yet.
[addsig]

Advertisement