Jerkface Regurged Again.

phenyx · 06-22-18, 02:47 PM

Well, after taking 3 successful feedings since his second regurg, Jerkface has regurged yet again. This meal was identical in size to the one before that he kept down just fine. It's a definite pattern though; he'll keep down a few meals just fine but then the next one is a regurg. The 3 regurges have been almost exactly a month apart each time - 4/20, 5/20, 6/22.

His temps and humidity are 100% on point. He's got his tiny hides and his foliage. I really thought we were out of the woods when he got so much more active.

We have an appointment with an exotics vet next Tuesday.

ClockwerkBonnet · 06-22-18, 03:28 PM

Ummm... what exactly does "100% on point" even mean?

phenyx · 06-22-18, 03:56 PM

Humidity 90+%, Hotspot 83 degrees, Ambient air 77 degrees. Which is exactly where they should be for a baby BRB.

craigafrechette · 06-22-18, 07:27 PM

Have you tried upping your hot side temps at all? I don't have a BRB (yet) but from what I know mid 80s up to about 87-88 is suggested for a hot side temp.

**EL Ziggy** · 06-22-18, 10:19 PM

From what I've read BRBs shouldn't be exposed to temps higher than 85F. You may even want to consider cooling him off a little more. Are you measuring your temps with a temp gun? I'm sorry he's having these issues phenyx but if he's having chronic regurgitation problems a visit to the vet is in order. Let us know how it goes. Best wishes.

https://www.reptilesbymack.com/brazi...oa-care-sheet/

phenyx · 06-22-18, 10:31 PM

Yes, I'm using a temp gun.

phenyx · 06-26-18, 05:41 PM

Took Jerkface to the vet today and from all outward appearances he’s doing fine - no mites and his mouth looks good. Vet agreed with me that no way was he 2-4 months when I got him in Feb if he’s only 36 grams now. Fecal testing is on hold until he provides a poop sample.

Vet did mention the possibility that I’m not warming his prey items long enough to take the chill completely off the deepest insides of the fuzzies so I’m going to let them soak longer in the warm water going forward. Thinking back I may well have rushed the thawing/warming process the last time he regurged. Until he poops and I can have it tested that’s all I can do for now I guess.

ClockwerkBonnet · 06-26-18, 07:21 PM

My, that would make sense. Hope it works out!

akane · 06-27-18, 01:46 AM

That's why I sometimes toss the rodents in the fridge the evening before and then just bring them up to temp after they thaw overnight. If you leave it sit away from heat for a minute and check the temp it will drop a lot faster and possibly below room air temp again if the middle is staying too well insulated. After paying attention to it a few times you can kind of tell when you failed to thoroughly warm it but it's much easier when they don't start frozen on the inside and with less exploded abdomen risk from trying to get them warm quickly.

**EL Ziggy** · 06-27-18, 08:07 AM

Wow, why didn't I think of that? I guess it's sometimes easy to overlook the obvious. I thaw my prey items in a ziploc bag that's submerged in warm water. Once I know the prey is completely thawed I blast them with a hair dryer for about a minute then serve them to the snakes. I try to heat the prey items up to about 100F.
I hope the regurge issues are behind you now phenyx.

**Andy_G** · 06-27-18, 11:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EL Ziggy

Wow, why didn't I think of that? I guess it's sometimes easy to overlook the obvious. I thaw my prey items in a ziploc bag that's submerged in warm water. Once I know the prey is completely thawed I blast them with a hair dryer for about a minute then serve them to the snakes. I try to heat the prey items up to about 100F.
I hope the regurge issues are behind you now phenyx.

It is extremely unlikely for this to happen with mouse fuzzies. The volume and bone mass just isn't there to leave much to question and it should not take much time to thaw something so small properly. It would make sense with a larger prey item, but with pinkies or fuzzies, I really doubt that to be the issue. There's no harm in erring on the side of caution, however.

phenyx · 06-27-18, 03:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Andy_G

It is extremely unlikely for this to happen with mouse fuzzies. The volume and bone mass just isn't there to leave much to question and it should not take much time to thaw something so small properly. It would make sense with a larger prey item, but with pinkies or fuzzies, I really doubt that to be the issue. There's no harm in erring on the side of caution, however.

In any case, I dropped off a fecal specimen today for testing. The little jerk pooped shortly *after* we got home from the vet yesterday.

kudzu · 06-27-18, 11:39 AM

Glad he checked out okay so far. Hopefully it was just a defrosting problem. [crossing fingers for that] That would be an easy fix.

phenyx · 06-28-18, 03:17 PM

Just heard from the vet on Jerkface's fecal test. Really surprised at the quick turnaroud! Anyway, his fecal was negative for parasites. I'm not sure what else to do to find out why he's regurging. I'll just make sure I soak his prey for a really long time to make sure it's warm all the way through, I guess. Maybe get a dedicated meat thermometer to check the internal temps? I'm really at sea on this. I thought that the vet would be able to give me some definitive answers but I'm almost as much in the dark now as I was before I went.

riddick07 · 06-28-18, 03:48 PM

Maybe it’s the milk bands. Some boa breeders have had random babies with digestive issues when given feeders with milk bands. When they switched it to ones without them the issues stopped. So maybe try to feed rodents with little to no milk bands or ask for the tiny hopper mice when getting feeders. I’ve gotten hopper mice that are just as small as fuzzies before, I just have to ask my guy for that size and he will try to give me as many as he has available. If you can’t get the frozen feeder guy to do this for you then buy live babies and keep them until the milk band is gone before feeding it to the snake.

How often are you feeding him? Maybe stretch it out more. I had a rat snake hatchling with the same kind of random rergurges even though everything was always just fine with the husbandry. I ended up keeping her on ridiculously small food for her size (well once she actually gained some size of her own lol) and stretched out at 10-14 days. She grew really slow but stopped regurging on me.