My One Month Old Baby Columbian Red Tail

Question
QUESTION: I Recently bought a Month old red tailed boa who is about 22 inches long stretched out.  The Shop told me that she had eaten two times prior to my purchase and i should feed her in a week because she just ate three days earlier.  Basically I Bought a fuzzie and fed her.  However I Handled her the next day for about an hour and a half and she ended up throwing it up that night. Obviously stressed.  I Waited for about 4 days before feeding her again, this time a little larger of a mouse which i had to pre kill in order for it not to bite her.  She ate the mouse, and in order not to stress her out again I Waited about 45 hours before handling her. I Picked Her Up for about 20 minutes, put her away, and a couple hours later .. there was the mouse !  Whats Wrong ?? My Cage is at anywhere from 84-91 on the Basking Side, between 70-80 on the cold side with water .. humidity stays at 70 even  withing only One or Two Notches up or Down .. with the exception of night when it drops between 50-60 .. She ALWAYS is in her hiding rock with the thrown up food .. she wont throw up in the open .. shes just coiled around it .. Anything You can think of ?

ANSWER: Hi Anthony,
   I had the same problem with a Hogg Island Boa. She eventually died and I have no idea why. It would seem that you are not getting bad food if they are alive / fresh killed. It also appears that you have proper husbandry. What are you using for substrate? I suggest cypress or aspen. In summary, it appears that you are doing everything right. If it is a local shop, I would ask them for help. Explain the problem and see if they can get it to keep food down. I do not think that the handling has anything to do with the throwing up. I would try the shop or take the snake to the vet. It could have a parasite or other problem that can be fixed. Soak the snake and keep it well hydrated as water is the most important thing. A boa that size can probably go 2-3 months without digesting food, but now is the time to take action to fix it.

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QUESTION: Yeah I Dont Know Whats Wrong. Today is Day Saturday And She Threw up the Second Mouse Last Monday so Its Been about 5 days Since she Threw Up.  On Tuesday and Wednesday I Found her Soaking in her Water Bowl for the Entire Day and a Half .. I Was Surprised because I Have not seen Her Even Touch her Water before that.  I Let her Be however, and Took her out after the day and a Half because I Needed to change the Water and check for Parasites/Ticks .. I Did check her and Found no Indications of anything Wrong With her and No Ticks in the Water Bowl.  Heres Another thing, when I Originally bought her 3 Weeks ago, I Noticed she Just finished Shedding, and had Little Pieces of Skin Still around her Neck that handnt come Off Yet .. Guess what .. they Are Still there.  A Problem ? They didnt even come off With the Day and a Half Bath.  Hmmm .. I Had her out last Night .. And She Was Really Active at about 11pm .. Her skin felt a little Rougher then Usual .. Maybe it was the Water .. But she Seemed really Healthy and Happy .. I Also noticed that She Got about 3 maybe 4 inches Longer it Appears ! Amazing .. Im Thinking that She Must have Digested Some of the 2nd Mouse at Least .. and if anything 1) I Fed her too Soon after the 1st Reguritation and Her Stomach Enzymes just werent Re-Established .. or 2) The Mouse was just too Big for her and She Couldnt Digest Faster then the Mouse was Rotting .. Ill Definately keep You Posted on the Next Feed and See How that Goes .. In the Meanwhile .. Should I Be expecting her to Shed Soon ?

Answer
Shedding depends on a lot of factors. When her eyes have a blue haze on them, she should shed within a week. I do not think that a bad shed can cause her to regurgitate. I would try to feed her again the middle of next week. Knock the mouse or rat out or pre-kill it, don't give it a chance to hurt her. Once she eats, make sure your husbandry is right, maybe a little on the warm side. Feed her a mouse that is 3/4 the size she would normally eat or even smaller. The key at this point is to get her to keep something down. Let me know if I can be of further help.

Regards,

Kevin L. Ogle