Bitis rhinoceros regurging issue

[Scortched]

Hi all,

Last May I acquired a beautiful pair of captive bred B. rhinoceros they were both doing great till late October. My male is still going strong never says no to water or a feed and had a beautiful shed early October however my female who I keep at the exact temperatures and housing has yet to shed, and (the worst part) regurgitates every meal.

I feed every two to three weeks male holds down everytime, she will hold 3 - 4 days even 5 then regurgitates. I then leave her for a week to week and a half, and offer much smaller prey items else up till next feeding two to three weeks later and give a her a smaller meal then. Then the stress factor came to mind, she is kept separate from everything cannot see any movement or any animals or people the only time she sees me of late is when I guide her ever so gently to the water bowl where she drinks everytime and later when I feed her and she smashes it like cobra everytime. And then 3 - 4 days.... well I'm pretty sure you all get the point. All I can think of is maybe some form of illness or parasite causing this, but for the that I don't know where to start. I float them as well if that rules out constipation. And feeding thawed out mice.

p.s my temps are at 27 day and drops to around 23 at night 55% - 65%

Any help and advice would be much appreciated or things I can try that I haven't already.

Kind Regards

[Axanthic]

Hi Scortched, have you checked your snakes mouth? if not please do so, be on the look out for red or purple spots, if you find anything please let me know and we will take it from there

-Please note that all advise given on a public forum is not necessarily good/safe advise- Wes

[Kakibos]

I had the same thing with my male, my temps are now set to a hotspot off 30 and I do not place him in water to drink any more. I just give him a shallow dish to drink out. No more regurgitation for the past 8 months.

[Scortched]

Thanks for the replies so far guys

@ Axthanic no spots or any other signs of stomatitis in her mouth

@ Kakibos I could possibly maybe up her temp gradually to help speed up her digestive period? Only problem our weather here is so unpredictable 30 may be hot, worth a try. Thanks

This might be an odd question but what about bacteria from mice, there's such a shortage here in EC we have a different batch from different province every week almost? I'm desperate just thinking outside the box

@ Wesley thanks for concern, I don't plan on her tasting my finger, tho if she would keep it down lol just kidding

[Francois van straten]

My little girl does that as well... She keeps rats in but mice always come back up

[michael]

Are you sure this snake was captive bred? Why is the breeder not assisting you? I suspect that you could have internal parasites as your problem. I would get a sample of any fresh fecal matter to a vet to test.

[Ruan Stander]

I second Michael.
As for contamination of the mice, possible, but your male would probably have been having the same problem.
Is she not drinking too much water within a day or two of feeding ? Try increasing the temps like Kakibos said, I think it will help or even solve the problem, unless it's a parasitic issue of course.

This is very unorthodox, but I'm thinking out of the box- try feeding live, so that her venom can circulate and do what it's designed to do, aid digestion. Any thoughts on this from you guys ?

Very interesting situation you have there Francois.

[Axanthic]

Great to hear, really sorry about that one, wanted to say be on a look out for red/purple spots and theeth but I thought it to be silly or even a bit cocky, after all he keeps gaboons, but thanks Wes I will keep it in mind next time I fully understand the point made! , the last thing we need is missing body parts or worse, because of some idiotic advice . I have dealt with a few stomatitis cases, with regurgitation being apparent before the other symtoms can be seen. I do agree with you on the damage causing bacteria on mice and rats, I have dealt with this aswell, but I still use the same thing that was given to me with mouth rot cases, nystacid oral suspension does wonders, its an anti fungal aswell as antibiotic, one to two drops a day for snakes above 1kg for a week (if it takes that long) and its done. If I get a snake with regurgitation, I feed a small prey item with two drops injected under the skin, on the third day of treatment, never has that fuzzy come back up, you need a prescription though. I do wish you luck with your snake, will be holding thumbs for you!