Rainbow boa regurgitating- HELP!!

Will0W783 · 07-29-09, 09:54 AM

I have a yearling male Peruvian rainbow boa. He's been super healthy and I never had a problem with him until two weeks ago. I've had him since March. I had had a problem in the room with the timers on lights, and it got 87 degrees in the room, so it was around 87 or 88 in his cage. He had eaten three days earlier and regurgitated his undigested food item. I was very upset, but I fixed the lights and figured it would be fine. He puked on Tuesday. I fed him again the following Sunday night, and the temps were all fine. He puked again yesterday (Tuesday again). I checked his temps at various points during the day and it was between 83 and 85 degrees in his cage. I am a bit concerned about this regurgitation. My guess would be that he puked the first time because it got too hot, and then I didn't wait long enough before feeding him again, so he got sick again. Does anyone have any experience with rainbow boas puking? Anyone have any advice? I'm rather worried about the little guy.

Chu'Wuti · 07-31-09, 12:54 AM

Wow, Kimberly, what a frustrating problem. Wish I could help, but I don't know anything about those snakes. Even so, I think it might help to give him a break--he'll be OK not eating for a couple of weeks while his system settles down.

Does he appear to be ill at all? Do you have any pine or cedar items in the enclosure? Could anything other than the temps be causing the problem?

Good luck--I hope after the break he eats and keeps his meal down!

Will0W783 · 08-03-09, 08:31 AM

I have no idea. He is on cypress mulch and has been since I got him. I don't know if anything other than temperatures are a problem. I emailed Kyle since he has a BRB and seems to know about rainbow boas a lot, and he said just leave him alone for a few weeks. He does seem a bit less active than usual. He is just hanging out under his hide 24/7 but if I pull him out he is as perky as ever.

citysnakes · 08-03-09, 08:38 AM

just stop feeding and all handling for a few weeks. unless its something more than a simple regurgitation he should be fine.

Will0W783 · 08-03-09, 08:43 AM

Thanks Julian. I hope that is all it is. He is a gorgeous little guy.

gonesnakee · 08-03-09, 01:54 PM

Ok well likely orginally puked due to temps being too hot.
Rainbow Boas prefer cooler temps like around 75-80F so hot temps are the cause IMHO
Also after ANY regurge for any reason you should always wait AT LEAST 10-14 days prior feeding again & then feed a much smaller meal than you normally would.
Feeding prior correcting the husbandry issue or feeding too soon after a regurge just results in more regurges. Some folks will continue to feed weekly only to have their snakes puke every meal, getting more & more dehydrated every time.
LOTS of fresh water & try to cool the temps down some for it.
Make sure to wait a good 10 days before trying again & feed it only a small meal.
It needs to build up its stomach fluids for digestion again slowly over the period of a few weeks with smaller than usual meals. Smaller meals more frequently is always better than large meals less often with ANY snake in ANY situation IMHO.
Cost more in time, effort & $ but pays off in the long run. Mark
P.S. key reasons for puking meals are too hot, too cold, too large of a meal, stressed out by handling too soon after a meal & internal parasites & of course feeding too much too soon after a regurge

Will0W783 · 08-03-09, 02:25 PM

Thanks Mark. It is much cooler in his cage now, but I am not feeding him for 3 weeks after his second regurg, so that would be 2 weeks from now.

gonesnakee · 08-03-09, 04:49 PM

Make sure lots of fresh water is available as the regurges dehydrate them considreably, Mark

siz · 08-03-09, 05:48 PM

Hope everything works out for Picasso, Kimberly!

Will0W783 · 08-03-09, 06:17 PM

I do too. He has a large bowl of fresh water available all the time. Should I soak him to help with dehydration?

gonesnakee · 08-03-09, 07:40 PM

You could potentially but unless he actually looks dehydrated I wouldn;t worry about it.
Being a higher humidity snake husbandry wise anyways it shouldn't be an issue.
If one has a snake that appears very dehydrated you can also get pedialite (sp?) a liquid product found at most drug stores usually used to rehydrate sick babies. Mark

Will0W783 · 08-04-09, 05:59 PM

He doesn't appear dehydrated. His skin is smooth and falls back into place when I gently pinch a bit. I just fed the others this past Sunday, and I feed them every other week. Should I wait until the next scheduled feeding, or try him this weekend?

gonesnakee · 08-04-09, 08:20 PM

If its been at least 10 days go for it BUT with smaller/less prey as mentioned, Mark

Will0W783 · 08-05-09, 10:50 AM

Ok. I figure when I do feed him again I'll give him a rat pinky instead of his usual weanling.