New Red Tail--regurgitating mice : (

[northernsiren]

Please forgive me, I know this is a common question, but I keep getting database errors trying to reference older posts. If anyone had a moment to help, I'd greatly appreciate it!
Species:Mexican red tailed boa
How long have you had this animal? 3 wks
Ambient Temps: 80-85
Basking temps: 90
Size: 18 inches
Diet within the past year for snakes--the past 6 months for lizards: frozen (thawed) mice
Last time this animal ate: tried last night (see below) ate and kept it down, 5/28
Frozen thawed/ live/ stunned/ freshly kiled? frozen thawed, left in tank with snake no longer than 1/2 an hour to avoid spoiling
Bulbs if any utilized (be as specific as possible--look on bulb to get make and wattage): N/A
Heat sources (makes and wattage): heat pad
How are you measuring temps? thermometer on side of tank
Cage size and type: 20 gallon tall aquarium
Substrate: Wood shavings (same material as breeder used)
Symptoms: I got Isis from a breeder a few weeks ago, who also gave me the frozen mice she had been eating. The first two times she ate, it was no problem. I put her in a separate tank, and dangled the thawed mouse in front of her. She snapped it right up. First time, fine, the second time, she ate it the wrong way. Then I tried to feed her last Sunday, and she ate, but threw the mouse up within 24 hours. I waited until yesterday, and tried again, and she wouldn't eat it though she sniffed it at length and hovered near it, and struck at it when I lowered it into the tank. But I left it for 1/2 an hour and she didn't eat and for fear of it spoiling, I removed it. Other than that, she is extremely active, and looks fantastic. She gets handled by me regularly and is docile.
Can you upload any pics? Unfortunately, no, but there's no visible problem...
Comments:[/b]

[morti]

Did you handle the snake at all after you fed her?

[northernsiren]

just to move her from the feeding tank to her regular tank, which is right above it. I picked her up carefully and put her down the same way. We had done this each time previously too....
thank you so much for responding, I'm worried!

[morti]

How frequently did you feed her leading up to the regurge?

	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!

[razeraze]

Basking spot is a little low. The cooler the basking spot the longer digestion takes.

[northernsiren]

I was feeding her once a week. We also have a ball python and another red tail (big ones!) that eat on this schedule just bigger mice/rats, so we thought that would work.

So turning up the heat would be good? It's summer here, and most days are low 80s naturally. should I put a heat lamp on anyway?

I haven't figured out how to officially thank yet, but thank you!!!

[morti]

Bumping the heat might be helpful, but this might also be a symptom of something far worse. Is the snake quarantined from your other snakes?

Have you contacted the breeder you got her from about this problem?

[northernsiren]

She's in a different room from the other snakes, and there's no cross contamination. It's a relatively new problem, just started Sunday, so I didn't know if it was premature to call the breeder. I was afraid she might have injured herself internally with the mouse going down the wrong way the second time she ate, or if it just plain old hurt, and now she's afraid to eat. But she's acting like she's hungry (was trying to escape Monday night, pushing on her cage top for the first time) and again, struck at the mouse when I dropped it in last night, just didn't eat it.

Should I call the breeder, try to feed her again? How long should I wait? When do I KNOW I have a problem?

A thousand thanks!

[TimOsborne]

bump the temps a bit.. Don't try to feed for a few weeks. Regurges can take a lot out of the snake and you run a risk on damaging the throat.

In a few weeks, try again w/ a small prey item in relation to the size of the snake.

Alot of things can cause a regurge, I would certainly make the breeder aware of the situation. Being that you have had the snake for several weeks, they may or may not do anything - will depend on the breeder - but I would atleast bring them into the loop. Something along the lines of "hey.. this is what is going on, here is the whole story. I am going to try this and so on.. but I wanted to let you know what was happening". That way if it does end up being something that was pre-existing, at least you have the history laid out.

	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!