red tail cant seem to hold the food

[yankeefoxtrot]

I have been having problems with my new baby red tail. he cant sem to hold his meal down for more than 4 days. I have been feeding him full grown live mice because we wont wat anything else. After 4 days he throughs it up. This is the secound week this has heppened. Im a little bit worried about it. His temps are a constant 85 degrees and he has a couple hides to get out of the light if need be. If anyone can give me a little advice on the matter i would be verry happy. thanks!!!


Lucas out

[Tim and Julie B]

How big/old is it?Try a smaller food item. A baby shouldn't be feed full grown mice, especally not live. Please do not feed any snake live food. Use frozen/thawed. If you use a smaller item your snake will have an easier time digesting it. Did you get it from a good breeder? Petstore?

[yankeefoxtrot]

I got him from a good breeder yes. i have tried f/k and f/t he just wont take them. I have tried to wait a few extra days then usual to see if he would take it and he wont. i will try the smaller mice and see what happens. he is just really stubborn as it is. thanks for the reply. i would really like to get hom ok f/k or f/t sometime soon!!!

[Tim and Julie B]

Two ideas. One have you tried nicking the brain? Or the chicken broth approach (it works for other species of snakes so why not boas)? Just a couple of ideas.

[yankeefoxtrot]

ckicken broth sounds like a good idea i will try that also and keep you posted on how its goin. im gunna try again tomorrow with smaller f/t f/k mice thanks for the help!!!!

[Tim and Julie B]

No problems! Good luck! I had a snake that just wouldn't eat. Tried brain nicking and he eats every time now.

[killaclown]

ok what does live or dead have to do with the throwing up? If he throws up one he killed on his own he will probably throw up one that was killed for him thats all im saying

[Tim and Julie B]

Yeah but you might as well address all the issues at once but it turned out it was only tried after everything else so it's not even an issue.

[Jeff_Favelle]

After they regurge, they get dehydrated. Unless they get their fluids back, they will continue to regurge (which is why its ALWAYS advised to NOT feed again soon after the initial regurge).

There's a million ways to rehydrate. The best is to feed them a soaking wet rodent that's a bit smaller than the food item they threw up in the first place. If it threw up an adult mouse and that's all it will eat, then get it a runted mouse. They are about 1/2 the size but they smell and taste the same.

Problem solved.

Well, provided its not a husbandry issue that caused it to regurge in the first place.

[C.Marshell]

You say the temps are being kept at a constant 85....are you refering to ambient(background)temps? is there also a basking spot ?
Remember,baby boas,or baby snakes of any species, heat up way faster than an adult does,too much heat is just as bad as not enough and in some cases worse!
If you are using background temps that are that high(day and night)what may be happening is the food item being fed is decaying at a faster rate than the boas body can process.

[dblhet]

Lucas..the first thing you need to do,is go to the grocery store,and buy some pedialyte..its in the baby food isle..warm it up a bit,and soak him in enough to just cover about half his body.for an hour..do this every other day.
Dont try feeding him for 10 days or so(lots of stomach acid after regurge)
when it comes time to feed..try a hopper mouse or pinky rat,and try feeding him in a rubbermaid shoe box..If you dangle it at him,and he backs off,just leave it there for a couple hours..if he still dosent eat..try again 2 days later (chichen broth does work sometimes)
There is a product called Nutri bac,available from fowler foods in arizona,that is used to replace beneficial micro flora to a snakes gut..most often used after illness or parisite meds,but a breeder told me ,he saved 4 guyanas with chronic regurge syndrome,with this stuff..Its a powder,you just rub the ptey items rear in it,and feed regularly.email me if you want,and i will send you a little.
and by the way,to hot is as bad as to cool!!

[moperri]

Well rehydrating the animal makes sense after a regurge however I fail to see how soaking a snake would help the rehydration process,their skin doesn't absorb water and following Jeff advice would probably be best. Also the rehydration is not really solving any problems and will not make the problem go away, specially if you have an ambient temp of 85, I agree with Chris when he says that the food item is probably decaying to fast and you should make sure that the temps are kept at a proper range if you want the problem to go away.
Best of luck to you!

[yankeefoxtrot]

Thanks for all the tips, i have my temp down and i got him a night lamp too! Gunna feed him a nice wet runted mouse and see what happens. thanks again!


Lucas out

[dblhet]

Glad to here it Lucas....And by the way,they will rehydrate through the skin..with the added bonus of maybe drinking the stuff!!!

[Linds]

I agree with moperri in that there are more efficient, effective methods than soaking your snake to rehydrate it. Unflavoured pedialyte works quite well to replenish the animals electrolytes, however it is best administered to the animal orally. I usually jsut inject a rodent with the stuff, or if the snake is not feeding then with a syringe. **snakes are MUCH smaller than people... please keep this in mind when administering it... 1/4cc or so would probably suffice for a neonate**

As for the regurge... have you had the little guy tested for parasites? As Chris mentioned, baby boas are susceptable to the effects of high temperatures. Does your snake have a gradient? He should have a cool and warm spot to regulate his own body temperature.

Good luck with the little guy, keep us updated :)

[paul_le_snake]

i had an emmy that threw up food for about 5 weeks, and i really thought that he was gonna fade away, but after spraying him 3 times a day and ensuring his temps were constant and correct he came through and ended up being a great breeder. i guess that for the more humid loving species that after a regurg they really need a good soak. and as much peace and quiet as they can get
cheers
paul

[yankeefoxtrot]

Well i tried everthing you guys and gals said and i i soaked him, and fed him a soaking wet mouse, a little smaller this time, and he is doin great!!! I also took him in to the vet and he tested totally clean as i thought. Tanks a buch for all the help!!!

Lucas out

ps. This is a great pic of him check it out.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/showphoto.php?photo=8052&size=big&papass=&sort=1&thecat=500

[tHeGiNo]

Hey there! I'm glad to hear of the improvement of his health, however I am curious to know if, as Linds asked, you have hot and cool spots, a basking spot and a retreat in other words. If so what are the temperatures on either side? If not, well you should have done more studying before you got the snake and get that fixed immediately! lol

[yankeefoxtrot]

Alright, i have hides on both hot and cold sides witht the basking spot on the hot side that sits at a constant 84. The cold side is around 80 sometimes 79 at night.

I have had betty, my other BCI, for 10 years and i have never had a problem with her. Im not clueless on the subject...

Lucas out