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#2075668
Phillip1963
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Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse 
boa regurgitated a mouse and will not eat now....
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09/23/09 09:01pm
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#2075825
Bciaddict
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2075668
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
After a boa regurgitates, don’t try feeding it again for about a week. Leave it alone. Especially since you were having difficulties with defecation recently....you don’t want to stress the poor thing out even more.
I would re-check your husbandry...what are your cage temps? Have you corrected your humidity?
Amie
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09/24/09 07:11am
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#2075976
Phillip1963
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Message To: Bciaddict In reference to Message Id: 2075825
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
humidity is at 60%, his hot spot is 92, cool side 83 i waited 5 days before trying to fee him again. he always has fresh water, he has two hide spots. and a limb to climb on. I feed him every 6 days. The only thing i could think of is that the mouse was a little to big. Anything im missing???
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09/24/09 03:23pm
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#2076242
Bciaddict
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2075976
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
Hmmm....
Amie
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09/25/09 08:46am
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#2076419
Phillip1963
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Message To: Bciaddict In reference to Message Id: 2076242
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
ive been having so many problems with him lately, it probobly sounds like hes my first snake,but ive just never had problems like this with other snakes in the past. Ive heard it smells terrible when they throw up, but the mouse didnt smell at all, thats the reason i think it was just to large for him.
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09/25/09 03:50pm
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#2076729
Bciaddict
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2076419
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
If a mouse was freshly regurgitated it wouldn’t really smell "off". The smelly regurge is more common if the boa has started to digest the meal. Or it’s the smell of decomposition because of the rodent being left in the cage overnight before the keeper noticed it.
If you’re having a bunch of problems all of a sudden, than something is not right...has anything changed? A boa doesn’t suddenly get constipated and not eat. There must be some underlying reason for it.
Amie
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09/26/09 08:04am
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#2077014
Phillip1963
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Message To: Bciaddict In reference to Message Id: 2076729
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
heat and humidity maybe? he has a screeen top right now which i know doesnt hold humidity and heat, so im working on his new enclosure. And i did have to buy a hotter bulb after a few days of having him because it wasnt warm enough. But now its pretty consistant.
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09/26/09 10:55pm
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#2077468
Fairy Frog Mother
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2077014
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
Next feeding try the next size smaller and see if thats the issue.
That is slightly on the warm side for them, but only by a couple of degrees at most...so it shouldnt be the issue as long as the humidity is good and it has access to clean water at all times.
Substrate? Sounds like you know what you’re doing. If its the same snake that had issues poopin ( I dont remember if it was you or someone else), Id say a vet trip is in order again, might be it has some sort of intestinal issue- partial blockage or infection...who knows. And if the rat didnt stink to high heaven, then it didnt get it down very far to start the digestive action...cause man...does that stink. One of the corns I was babysitting for the summer regurged a couple times and Oh...My...God... Sadly he passed away because he stopped eating and couldnt keep down food. The other two are being tested for intestinal issues because they never had a solid poop with me. Thank god I quarantined em away from my snakes!
Good luck
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09/27/09 11:29pm
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#2077507
Phillip1963
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Message To: Fairy Frog Mother In reference to Message Id: 2077468
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
The pooping thing wasn’t an issue. He goes regularly, that was stupid of me not just soaking him in the first place. Because ive known that for every reptile ive had. And for substrate he just has some ground up wood pieces from the pet store for now but ill use paper towl when hes a little bigger. but for now he doesnt even eat in his enclosure so substrate shouldnt be a big deal. I dont hink he really has anything really wrong with him based on how he acts. Ill let you know if he eats tommorrow.
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09/28/09 01:08am
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#2077774
Phillip1963
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2077507
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
ok im just gonna put this out there. I fed him just now and he wouldnt grab the mouse so i just dangled it in front of him and he took it and ate it. Is there anything really wrong with doing that?
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09/28/09 04:10pm
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#2077796
Bciaddict
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2077774
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
Were you just dropping the food item in before? Sometimes a boa just needs the food item to move a little.
I would suggest using tongs to do the dangling from if you weren’t already. :)
Amie
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09/28/09 04:40pm
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#2077950
Phillip1963
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Message To: Bciaddict In reference to Message Id: 2077796
 Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
well the mouse was actually alive and he wasnt really putting in any effort to go after it so i just picked it up and put it infront of him an he grabbed it... :)
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09/28/09 08:45pm
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#2079332
ReptileJay
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2077950
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
him grabbing at a live mouse dangled in front of him could have just been a defensive strike, that he decided to turn into a feeding session. How big is your snake and how big is the enclosure. A young boa put into too big of a cage can become scared and refuse to eat, or regurg it’s food right after it has eaten. other than that, the only other reason a snake will regurgitate is to lighten its load to get away faster if you scare it. get tongs and make the switch to frozen/thawed mice. safer for the snake, easier and convenient for you.. he doesn’t eat, throw the thing back in the freezer... no live mice to deal with when you have a finicky eater.
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10/02/09 01:32am
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#2079360
Bciaddict
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Message To: ReptileJay In reference to Message Id: 2079332
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
Never refreeze previously thawed rodents!
Amie
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10/02/09 06:28am
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#2079410
ReptileJay
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Message To: Bciaddict In reference to Message Id: 2079360
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
yeah, i don’t know what i was thinking.. i meant throw it in the trash. it was late, i was tired. i never re-freeze my mice.
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10/02/09 11:39am
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#2080062
Phillip1963
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Message To: ReptileJay In reference to Message Id: 2079410
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
10 galon enclosure, I dont know his exact age but hes young. no bigger than 20 inches. and he did it again today. I left him with a mouse, and he never touched it. I tried frozen he wont take it. but the live he only took when i held it infront of him
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10/04/09 01:06am
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#2080064
ReptileJay
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2080062
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
wow.. well a ten gallon is definitely small enough to make him feel secure. my boa is about 25" and he’s in a 20 gallon and he has no problems. I would say black out the cage. Get some construction paper (thick and blocks out light, black is best) and cover all the sides of the tank so he can’t see anything outside. This can help him/her feel more at ease. Leave it alone for at least 3-5 days and then feed again. Hopefully he won’t regurgitate again after that. The most likely reason for regurgitation is he doesn’t feel safe or comfortable. I’m not trying to insult you at all, so please don’t take it that way, but he does have a hide right? a dark warm place to digest the food is necessary . I’m sure you have this. I say try that, and if it continues, you’re just going to have to find a vet that deals with snakes. impaction or parasites may cause this, but i doubt it. as far as dangling live, if that’s all he’ll take, then so be it. if you get this problem solved, i would definitely get yourself some tongs and get him to switch to frozen. sometimes just starving him for a little will get it done. i have a milk snake that refused to eat frozen. well after three weeks, he ate a frozen, and it took like two seconds without tempting. i digress. block out his cage, leave him alone and then feed again and see if he handles it. make sure your heat is good too. basking area should be high 80s low 90s, with an ambient cage temp in the 80s. Also, what size mice are you feeding? I give my guy large fuzzies. If you’re feeding hoppers or small adult mice, you may want to drop down to fuzzie mice. Good luck.
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10/04/09 01:17am
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#2080065
ReptileJay
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Message To: ReptileJay In reference to Message Id: 2080064
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
i just read where you said you have two hides. should have paid attention to that first. block out his cage and think about the size mouse you are trying. if you think the mouse is appropriate than it could be he’s a nervous snake. if blocking out the cage doesn’t work, then you seriously need to seek a vet.
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10/04/09 01:20am
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#2080075
Phillip1963
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Message To: ReptileJay In reference to Message Id: 2080065
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
alright thanks, ill black it out, and is a 3 foot by 18" by 18" to big for a snake that size? because thats the enclosure size i designed for him. If its to big ill just wait.
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10/04/09 01:49am
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#2080081
ReptileJay
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2080075
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
I don’t know, since you’re having problems with him, you might want to just keep him in that ten. I would say no, cuz the 20 gallon mine is in is 30x12x12, so a six more inches all around wouldn’t matter. If I were you, I’d keep him in the ten, and rethink your design. Simple thing is, he’s going to outgrow that ten gallon in about six months, and he’s going to outgrow that 36x18x18 in about a year after that... so you can build the cage if you want, but you’re just going to end up needing to build him another one shortly after. That’s why i got mine the 20gallon critter cage. I’m hoping he can keep in there for at least a year and half, and by that time he’ll be big enough to deal with the 6’x3’x3’ that I’m planning. Its your choice though. i just don’t want to see you put all the time, money, and effort into building a cage that he will shortly outgrow.
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10/04/09 02:10am
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#2080084
ReptileJay
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Message To: ReptileJay In reference to Message Id: 2080081
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
Also, as far as your screen top letting out heat and humidity, just cover half the top with plastic wrap, folded a couple times to keep it from ripping, and scotch taped to secure it. I do it on the cool side of my cage, cuz if I do it on the hot side, the log he hides under starts to grow mold, and then i hate to bake off the stick and its a pain in the butt. but doing it on the cool side keeps my humidity above 70% and the ambient temp in my cage is 82 with a hot spot of 89.
Nero
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10/04/09 02:15am
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#2080397
Phillip1963
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Message To: ReptileJay In reference to Message Id: 2080084
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
ill have to try that too, thanks for the tips.
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10/04/09 11:58pm
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#2080414
ReptileJay
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Message To: Phillip1963 In reference to Message Id: 2080397
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
no prob. make sure you let me know if he is able to keep his food down after this.
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10/05/09 01:04am
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#2080486
Fairy Frog Mother
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Message To: ReptileJay In reference to Message Id: 2080414
Help!.. boa regurgitated a mouse
And yes, dangling the frozen thawed mouse may be what he needs.
My female needed to be left alone to feed for a couple of months when she was about that age, Id just leave the F/T next to her favorite hide on newspaper or paper towels, and she ate like a trooper if I stayed away. Never had regurg issues with her though. Now she eats like a trooper!
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10/05/09 12:58pm
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