New Boa Regurg/Vomit

[XSPWR]

So I just recently bought a Guyana BCC from an online seller. They unfortunately fed her either the day before shipping or the day of, because within 16 hours of getting here she regurgitated a very undigested mouse.

I waited exactly 2 weeks before feeding her again. The mouse I fed her was probably about 60% the size of the widest part of her body. She did great and kept it down no problem.

One week later (this last friday) I fed her the other mouse that came in the 2 pack with the first, same size. About 2 and a half days later I found that she had vomited up that mouse. It was pretty well digested, save for the tail.

I'm kinda at a loss as to what the cause may be here since she did fine with the first mouse I fed her... Her cold side surface temp is right at 80 degrees, the ambient is 83 and her warm side has a UTH that is set to 92 degrees (also has 2 layers ZooMed EcoCarpet, so after laying on it a bit it warms up to around 90, but surface reads in the high 80s).

About 3 days before feeding her I added a humidifier to bump the humidity up from 45%~ to 60%~. The humidifier puts off a very mild hum/vibration, so I'm not sure if that upset her (though I would think that she would regurg more quickly if that's the case, instead of vomiting days later).

We also have 2 dogs and 2 cats. One of the cats has recently taken to sitting on top of the wood we have for the cage cover, and our dogs are very rambunctious, always running and jumping around the house. Not sure if this stressed her out, but once again I would think she would have very quickly regurgitated if that were the case...

Nonetheless, I'm kinda lost as to what the cause may be... If any of you have some experience here, please chime in. It's my first snake, and though I've read a Lot about snakes and boas in particular, I'm very much looking for some insight here.
Thanks guys!

[dannybgoode]

A week between feeds with a true BCC, particularly one that is still settling in, is ambitious. Yes, dogs charging around won't help.

Try and ditch the humidifier in favour of a substrate that retains moisture (coco coir/orchid bark mix for eg).

BCC's are known to be quite delicate on the digestive front...

[Albert Clark]

A re you thawing the feeders thoroughly? And also are you warming them completely and adequately? The normal internal temperature of a live mouse is about 100 degrees. Also, what temperature is your thermostat set at? I see you said the uth is set at 92 degrees did you mean the thermostat is set at that degree?

[XSPWR]

What would you say to slow down the feeding to, something like once every 10 days or so?

I'll try to figure something else out for the humidity. We may just get a larger humidifier so as to bring the entire household humidity up to the 50s since that was recently recommended by my own doctor (lol..). If that doesn't pan out, I'll try using a different substrate as you suggested, though I do really like the carpet stuff with my UTH. When I tried using aspen shavings it seemed the UTH really couldnt do anything to penetrate the substrate.

Hopefully it's something as simple as feeding again too soon. Just sucks that I have to wait so long before I can see the effects of changing the variables. Used to mammals and their super fast metabolism... Thanks for your input Danny!

[XSPWR]

Yes, the feeders were thawed in room temperature water for about a 1.5 hours in a vacuum sealed bag, then put into warm water for about 10-15 min.

I have my HerpStat set to 92 on the UTH, with a second thermometer there for reassurance. The high 80s surface temp is taken with a infrared thermometer. Once something lays on the carpet there for a short time it heats up to around 90 though (checked by putting thermostat under a couple paper towels on top of the carpet).

This is partly why this vomiting incident is bothering me so much, because I've spent so much time and money ensuring her habitat is tuned in just right according to the information I've found... :(

[Andy_G]

I would wait 3 weeks to a month with a BCC after a regurge, and I would use a VERY small prey item. Furthermore, after it's kept food down the first time, wait 2 weeks and repeat the smaller food meal. Do this 4 or 5 times and then work your way back to a more appropriate food item.

I would also move the enclosure into seclusion within your home in a low traffic area so that it won't be bothered by large mammals that it would percieve as predatory...including humans.

You may want to ditch the eco carpet and use newspaper or paper towels to reduce any bacterial growth, they are a pain to clean and can sometimes take on quiter a residual stink no matter what you do. Disposable substrates are a healthier option, and most of them will transfer heat better as well.

Warming the rodent to normal levels would have absolutely nothing to do with a regurgitation as boas can and will occasionally eat dead prey if they come across it in the wild, but with a predatory species it is less likely so. The only influence a cooler prey item would have unless parts of the rodent are still frozen would be feeding response.

The fact that the seller would feed the day before or day of shipping is absolutely disgusting and I hope in the very least that you discuss this with them. That kind of practice is BOI worthy in my opinion, and a very bad practice with questionable ethics unless whoever sold the animal was completely oblivious and BRAND new to keeping snakes.

[XSPWR]

The fact that the seller would feed the day before or day of shipping is absolutely disgusting and I hope in the very least that you discuss this with them. That kind of practice is BOI worthy in my opinion, and a very bad practice with questionable ethics unless whoever sold the animal was completely oblivious and BRAND new to keeping snakes.

She came from a very large and popular online reptile seller. When I contacted them about the regurg, their only response was 'that's unfortunate' and 'we feed on fridays,' but the snake arrived on friday... So not sure how that works out... I also asked about her DoB and whatnot, but were unable to provide me with this information either, 'we got her from a local breeder, so we don't have any information on her.' :Wow:

[dannybgoode]

True red tailed BCC's are not always captive bred. If they can't provide much info on her there is a chance she's wild caught.

I'd suggest a vet visit for a full examination / faecal test to see if she has parasites etc.

BCC's are truly stunning snakes and I'd have one in a heartbeat but they are fussier and a little more problematic than what people commonly call a red tail boa bit which is in fact the Boa (constrictor) imperator or BCI.

A little more care is needed to ensure they thrive.

Andy has given good advice and hopefully others will chip in too but definitely with the vague background a vet check is a prerequisite.

[MartinD]

She came from a very large and popular online reptile seller. When I contacted them about the regurg, their only response was 'that's unfortunate' and 'we feed on fridays,' but the snake arrived on friday... So not sure how that works out... I also asked about her DoB and whatnot, but were unable to provide me with this information either, 'we got her from a local breeder, so we don't have any information on her.' :Wow:

As Danny said it 'could' be wild caught. I have 5 ball pythons and 2 boa's and I have the lineage of all of them because they came from 'reputable' breeders. There are breeders and there are breeders and nearly every breeder I have come across can show me the parentage of their snakes.

If your unsure about any breeder ask friends or other keepers who they would recommend as I find word of mouth is normally more reliable when looking for a breeder.

[Albert Clark]

I would wait 3 weeks to a month with a BCC after a regurge, and I would use a VERY small prey item. Furthermore, after it's kept food down the first time, wait 2 weeks and repeat the smaller food meal. Do this 4 or 5 times and then work your way back to a more appropriate food item.

I would also move the enclosure into seclusion within your home in a low traffic area so that it won't be bothered by large mammals that it would percieve as predatory...including humans.

You may want to ditch the eco carpet and use newspaper or paper towels to reduce any bacterial growth, they are a pain to clean and can sometimes take on quiter a residual stink no matter what you do. Disposable substrates are a healthier option, and most of them will transfer heat better as well.

Warming the rodent to normal levels would have absolutely nothing to do with a regurgitation as boas can and will occasionally eat dead prey if they come across it in the wild, but with a predatory species it is less likely so. The only influence a cooler prey item would have unless parts of the rodent are still frozen would be feeding response.

The fact that the seller would feed the day before or day of shipping is absolutely disgusting and I hope in the very least that you discuss this with them. That kind of practice is BOI worthy in my opinion, and a very bad practice with questionable ethics unless whoever sold the animal was completely oblivious and BRAND new to keeping snakes. I am referring to adequately warming the rodent so that there are no frozen areas within the deep organ areas, such as the thorax and abdominal areas. So warming is a important consideration in avoiding regurgitation. A carcass is definitely not going to have frozen areas around its body. Even though a animal is thawed doesn't mean it can't have areas that are still frozen. The wild and captivity both have different considerations......

[Albert Clark]

Warming the rodent to normal levels would have absolutely nothing to do with a regurgitation as boas can and will occasionally eat dead prey if they come across it in the wild, but with a predatory species it is less likely so. The only influence a cooler prey item would have unless parts of the rodent are still frozen would be feeding response.

@ Andy G.
At the end of the day proper and adequate complete thawing and rewarming has everything to do with avoidance of regurgitation.....
Another thing is wild populations are loaded with high endoparasitic loads which is a condition that surely causes regurgitation. Captivity has pretty much decreased parasitic loads significantly...

[Andy_G]

I am referring to adequately warming the rodent so that there are no frozen areas within the deep organ areas, such as the thorax and abdominal areas. So warming is a important consideration in avoiding regurgitation. A carcass is definitely not going to have frozen areas around its body. Even though a animal is thawed doesn't mean it can't have areas that are still frozen. The wild and captivity both have different considerations......

Completely thawed, certainly...but the prey can be room temp throughout without causing a problem.