RTB Regurge???

[joe_57]

My Boa was fed Sunday and I came home last night to find he had regurged and is pretty much life less.What shoulkd I do ?Called the vet and the doc is not in today?Please help

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[joe_57]

Anyone????????

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[amercnwmn]

Did u handle the snake after feeding it??
Need some more info about what happened...

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[joe_57]

I did not handle the snake.I fed him Sunday evening,I got off work last night and he had regurged.What type of info do you need?

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[amercnwmn]

sorry, i shoulda been more specific. Although I am not sure I am right person to ask....Never had that problem before...But I am sure someone here has..and will be willing to help you..But in the meantime:
How long have you had the snake?
Have you had it checked for mites/internal parasites?
How old is it?
What are conditions of cage (temps humidity..substrate)
Any info you can give, will hopefully help someone give you some advice..
How big was the rat you fed it?
When was the last time you fed it?

My advice is the vet, but u said he is out...Does he not have emergency number or message system???

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[joe_57]

90-95 Warm side
80 Cool side
Carpet for substrate
Had the snake 2 1/2-3 Years
Humidity 45%
No mites
I tried the DR'S emergency #,no answer

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[amercnwmn]

Temps seem a tad high and humidity a bit low, but I dont think that would be main cause of regurg..
I've heard of too big of a meal, or feeding to frequently make a snake regurg..also handling or stress...as well as mites...Other than that..Im out of ideas..

	Mites Mites, close relatives of fleas and ticks

[joe_57]

Meal was a small/medium rabbit,same size as the ones I've been feeding the last six months

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[amercnwmn]

ok so what is weight and length of snake..and do u have pics??

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[amercnwmn]

oh and how often do u feed it? I may not answer back within the next 45mins...got an appt at 930-1015 but I will get back asap..
I am looking at the slight possibility of overfeeding, as that is most common for regurg...But there are other reasons your snake regurged...Best advice is vet, but dont panic..
How lifeless is the snake?? My RTBs are ALWAYS lifeless..unless they are eating! You probably should just let it rest for a bit, dont disturb it...Im sure it is stressed from the regurg. but when you checked on it, does it seem responsive at all?? tongue flicks, etc??
I dont think missing a meal will hurt it..but we do need to find out WHY it regurged.

[joe_57]

No response what so ever,barely breathing
Snake is 9 feet long,not sure of the weight
I feed once a month
No pics

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[unluckyseventeen]

Get him to the vet. He might have a parasite or something causing him to not be able to digest it.

Your snake will be pretty inactive after throwing something up. Just assure that he's breathing and flicking his tongue at you when making a pass.

Them throwing something up is REALLY painful. They will be as inactive as possible because it hurts them pretty badly. Call the vet and have them do an examination. A fecal would be optimal, but you might need X-rays too.

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[MED04]

I am assuming that you feed f/t. Was the rabbit warm enough?

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	Frozen/Thawed A rodent or other prey item that is frozen and then thawed to be fed to a reptile or other animal.

[JuliusSqueezer]

Somethings that can cause regurge:

Improperly thawed or freezer burned food. (under or overheating the food to thaw and warm it) If it's still partially frozen, it will either kill your snake or your snake will puke. If it was superheated like for instance in the microwave, your snake probably just ate molten lava wrapped in rabbit skin and again, will either puke or die or both.

Any number of parasites and illnesses will cause regurge. Without fecal results and notes of other symptoms, it's impossible to determine what it could be from a "why did my snake barf" thread.

Feeding prey that is too large and/or too often. Boas aren't like pythons. They don't do well at all with oversized prey items. If you are feeding a 9 foot boa a rabbit more often that once every 2 weeks or so, this is likely your problem. It takes them a long time to rebuild their gut flora (benificial digestive bacteria) and they have a slow metabolism...and it all gets slower with age and size.

Your cage is too hot. 88 warm side and very low 80s cool side should be the proper day time temps for most boas. Some locales of BCC do better with a degree or two more but anything approaching 95 may as well be preheat and bake. Please remember, they are cold blooded. They rely on the temps of their surroundings to regulate their body temperature. 7 degrees variation doesn't sound like a big deal? When is the last time you have a 105 degree fever? Did you feel like going to work or school that day or were you rushed to the ER? You have to cool that cage down. Overheating or underheating a cage will lead to regurge, stress and eventually death. If they survive being baked, overheating causes untreatable severe neurological damage (brain damage), dehydration (yet another symptom or cause of regurge), bad sheds...really bad sheds...overall not a very happy, healthy animal for hever long it can hang on to life with a fried brain.

Handling a boa while it is trying digest it's meal within 3 or 4 days of eating could cause regurge depending on how you handle it and for how long...and what level of stress your snake can take before wanting to empty it's digestive tract. Snakes have absoulte control over regurging btw. They decide to puke for whatever reason and they do it. Many times, it's to keep the food from putrifying and killing them because for some reason, things in the gut aren not going right and they need to get it up and out.

	Boa Constrictor Constrictor Red Tail Boa Constrictor (Boa constictor constrictor). Refers to "true" red tail boas such as the Guyana and Suriname locales.

[amercnwmn]

Thanks for the info guys, I wasnt getting my point across very well, Im afraid..

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[joe_57]

Temps vary from the hot side the cool side.The hotttest spot is 95,the warm spot is 82-85 and the cool spot is 78-80.He is 9 feet long and I only feed once a month.I did not put the rabbit in the micowave but Im not exactly sure of the temp of the rabbit,but I know it wasnt frozen.Went to take my snake to the vet and found that he has died!

[amercnwmn]

Originally Posted by joe_57

Temps vary from the hot side the cool side.The hotttest spot is 95,the warm spot is 82-85 and the cool spot is 78-80.He is 9 feet long and I only feed once a month.I did not put the rabbit in the micowave but Im not exactly sure of the temp of the rabbit,but I know iy wasnt frozen.

Yes, JS is saying your warm side is too hot, and I agree.
You asked for help/ideas on why your Boa regurged...and these are the possibilitiess..Only a vet looking at the snake with all the data in hand could give you a definite answer. We are just going on the info you are giving us...And trying our best to help you solve the problem for the sake of your snake..

[joe_57]

I edited my post saying the snake has died.I know everyone was trying to help and I appreciate it.Thanks all for the help.

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[amercnwmn]

Awww, i am really sorry about the snake. I wish we could have done more to help you...seems somewhat sudden? Are you going to take it to the vet and have them look at it, so maybe they can tell you what went wrong??

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[joe_57]

Yes this is very sudden the snake seemed fine Monday,Tuesday he regurged,Wed. he dies?I am going to call the vat and see what he says about checking him out.Thanks again