Underweight

[Strutter769]

Hello Ssnakers!

I just received 1.0 BRB who is pretty thin. He's estimated to be 2-3, and has a rather prominent spinal ridge. Should I keep him on a normal 7 day feeding schedule, or Maybe every 5 days?

I also have my second URI since 1996. One of my Suri's is blowing bubbles. Vet visit, or can I treat it? Nautilus, of that stuff you vaporize? F-- somethin'?

Any other tips would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Make it a great day!

[MrBD1980]

Can't help with the RI but how Heavy/long is the BRB? I have heard many people say that catch up feeding isn't a great approach and just to feed appropriate for size/weight and the snake will 'catch up' on its own given time.

Brian

[Strutter769]

Thanks. That's what I thought too. If it were 5 days, the meals would be smaller of course.

Thanks for reading.

[Snakesitter]

I just received 1.0 BRB who is pretty thin. He's estimated to be 2-3, and has a rather prominent spinal ridge. Should I keep him on a normal 7 day feeding schedule, or Maybe every 5 days?

Do you have a weight for him, or pictures, Roy? Either would help.

I have three thoughts.

The first is that his weight may be a symptom of an underlying issue such as parasites, so just to be safe get a fecal done.

The second is that if this is due to being underfed over the long term, he may not be used to larger meals, and any attempt to deliver tons of calories may overload his digestive system. Best to start slow and steady and work your way up.

The last is that I would never push a young adult to eat more often than once a week, and then only for a short period. I feed my juvies every other week, and my adults every third. If I was trying to get extra food in, and knew a snake could handle it (see above), I'd alternate a one-week/two-week schedule at best at his age. Remember snakes are designed for low-prey survival, so there is no need to rush it. He'll recover his weight gradually if provided with the proper feeding conditions.

BTW, I assume the source disclosed this condition in advance?

Good luck,

[Strutter769]

Thanks Cliff, I'm quite sure the weight issue is due to poor husbandry. The seller did have a fecal done, as they were also concerned about parasites as well. All tests came back negative. I asked that they send the test results, they agreed, but it's not in the box.


Yes, his weight issue was disclosed by the seller.

Thank you for sharing your feeding schedule. I've been feeding babies once a week, and juveniles about every 10 days. I will be following the schedule you provided.

[millertime89]

misting f10 is what I used to treat an RI coupled with a boost to heat and humidity.

[Strutter769]

That's the stuff I was talking about. How does one "mist?" We have a "Tropic Aire humidifier/air exchanger." Any way to use that?

[millertime89]

I dunno, don't think so though. What I did is put 5cc of f10 in a repti fogger bottle, filled it with distilled water, put the snake in a container that was just big enough for her with a little extra room and put the hose through a hole in the lid and turned it on for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes I shut it off but left her in the enclosed environment for 20 more minutes, then put her back in her enclosure. Luckily for me her hide consists of one of these which just happens to come with a lid that was PERFECT for this task.
Walmart.com: Mainstays Large Cereal Dispenser: Kitchen & Dining (http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Large-Cereal-Dispenser/16206980)

I might do a video of it tomorrow night.

[Strutter769]

Awesome. Thanks for the tips, Kyle.

[Strutter769]

Here are a couple shots of him today..

[Lankyrob]

I dont really "know" boas but that does look a little skinny :)

[Rogue628]

He is a skinny little thing. Poor boy. Even if the seller disclosed his weight issue and said the results came back negative, I think I'd have him retested anyway if he doesn't slowly start gaining weight back soon.

I'm not sure what I'd do about your suri blowing bubbles as I've only had one a long time ago that had an RI and when I realized he was sick, I took him to the vet. If I suspect an RI (constant popping when breathing...and I check my animals almost everytime I take them out, even if it's just for cage cleaning), I always bump their heat and humidity a little and it seems to do the trick.

What is this f10? I'd like to learn more about it for future reference.

Good luck with him. I hope a steady diet gets some weight on him and you get your suri's RI cleared up soon :)

[millertime89]

F10 is an anti-bacterial typically used as a cleaning solution but works really well fighting RIs, I just double checked my Burm and she was clean. I realized after shooting the video that I really have no way to edit and upload it because my computer crashed.

[Strutter769]

Yeah, he's thin, but *MAN!*

[Snakesitter]

Any updates? Assuming there are no medical issues, he should slowly increase to a more normal size with proper care and feeding.

[Strutter769]

Well, he regurged his first meal with me, so I'm not at all happy about that. He's in she'd now, so I won't attempt any more feedings for a while. Or should I still try another small meal anyway?

[MrBD1980]

Damn! Sorry to hear that man!

Did he regurge from the throat or did she keep the food down for a while?

I presume all temps and humidity is on point now?

If he has kept the food down for a while then I would leave it for a week as i believe it takes time after a regurge to generate the digestive juices again. Maybe try again in 5-7 days, my BRB eats right through the shed process without problems so I don't think that's an issue.

Hopefully one of the more experienced keepers will chime in as well!

Good luck with it all man!

Brian

[Rainbowsrus]

And go SUPER small on the subsequent meals. Regurges can significantly reduce the intestinal bacteria required for proper digestion. Followed by another meal they simply can't digest and puke that up as well. Needs a little time to recover and very, VERY small meals to help build the bacteria back up. I've heard of a product called benibac (not sure on spelling) that is supposed to add essential bacteria to the prey item. Never tried it myself but could help.

[Strutter769]

Thanks Dave. The regurged meal was a fuzzy, should I drop to a pinky now?

Thanks Brian. I'll give him about a week before trying again.

[Snakesitter]

Roy, whatever her usual feeding frequency and size is, move both down by one notch. For example, if she was eating a fuzzy weekly, now offer a pinkie every other week. Keep this schedule for the next two feedings. Assuming all goes well, increase the size back to normal while keeping the frequency lower. If she keeps this down for another two feedings, go back to normal. I know it sounds tedious and like overkill, but as Dave said those bacteria need time to regrow. On the rare occasions I've experienced a regurg, this method always seems to work. Good luck!

[Strutter769]

All that makes perfect sense. Thanks for the detailed instructions!

[Snakesitter]

Any time. :D

[Strutter769]

Well, he had a pinky last night.... I haven't yet checked on them today, but fingers crossed I don't find any rodents at all.

My two smallest have both lost weight in the past month also. They're tiny tl begin with, so I think I may keep those two on a 7-day schedule.

Stay tuned!

[Snakesitter]

No need to change the schedule to less than weekly for a baby that did not regurg...just the one that did. Fingers crossed for her keeping it down!!!

[Strutter769]

3 days, so far he's kept down a pinky! :-)

[Snakesitter]

*Like* !!!

[millertime89]

Promising sign!