Adopted sav- returned after regurge?!?!

[Rescue_Herps]

I posted this over on that dreaded kingsnake since that monitor forum gets more traffic- the "breeders" there turned it into a bit of a pissing contest. so I will be patient here and hopefully get a 1/2 way decent answer.... I did feed him earlier this evening with much success- he's not lost anything yet. so we'll see in the morning how he's doing.


We adopted out a baby sav a while back- I got a call from the lady today- didn't want it anymore b/c....
It threw up. She fed it a f/t mouse- one she bought from me that I got from rodent pro (so not worried about parasites or poisoning or anything).
She fed it the mouse yesterday and today it was in the water bowl. I have seen snakes regurge but and I never thought i'd see something worse. She doesn't live far from me so when she called me to ask what may have happened- i just went over.
He had pooped in his bowl as well- which is normal. I'm not really sure why that would have happened. Her temps were a bit low but they were by no means WAY off. The ambient was about 89 and the basking was about 119 when I got there- but the lid was also open. The sav is now back in my care for a bit while I figure out whats going on with him. She works all day so I can watch him a bit closer. He's still active- walks around, got a drink and is now laying half in half out of his cave....

And before anyone says it- he does have room to burrow- both in my care and in the adopt-ees care. We provided him with the store bought cave things after he repeatedly burrowed under the basking rock and water bowl- only to have them both collapse under the weight of the bowl/rock. He very much likes the caves- he burrows right around the edge of the cave- so the cave is still sitting on the surface but he's got a hidy-hole under the cave. more head room I suppose....
I know how to care for monitors and have done so many times so please don't turn this site into another "kingsnake" (that name really is appropriate there- everyone tries to eat eachother.... like kingsnakes....lol). I'm not looking to get jumped on- I'm looking to see what may have happened to this guy and considering my vet is out for the week- I'm not looking foward to a 2 1/2 hour drive to another reputable vet- but if needed, I will (of course).
I'd like to know if anyone else has seen this happen or have any ideas for me....
thank you
Beth

 

[draigen]

he was probably just stressed out and couldn't keep anything down. usually when somebody just gets a monitor its a good idea to not feed it for a couple of days to let it settle down. he could also have been compacted and just had no room in his tummy for anything else, although savs are pigs so its hard to imagine them regurging. the one i have now did that the first day we got him, regurged EVERYTHING the guy stuffed him with, a mouse and like 10 crikets. then we found out that he just got the sav himself so we decided to acclimate him instead of feeding him again. we left him alone for about 5 days with plenty of water(he was also very dehydrated looking, bony legs and tail) after the 5 days we offered him silk worms, i raise them to spin their silk and they are very high in protein and softer and easier on a would be upset tummy. but if you had the sav before her and it ate for you i would chalk up to stress in a new place. you could probably let him chill for a couple days, give plenty of water and just leave him to his solitude for a bit. then i would slowly offer him small meals, don't worry about stuffing him, its just to see if he's settled down and can keep stuff down. then when he's responding well to the small stuff, bump it back up to what he should be eating and he should return to normal garbage disposalness. hope this might help you a bit...

 

[hhmoore]

if ambient temps were 89, with a basking area of 119 with the lid off (depending on what type of cage & lid) it could just have gotten too hot - hard to believe for a monitor, but it is possible. Younger ones are more prone to difficulties with high temps, and combining it with stress (and possibly other unknown factors) is enough to knock them for a loop.
Also, depending on the cage size, I feel it is better to run narrower temp ranges - in other words, if there is not room to provide a good gradient, don't let the temps go as high or low...strive for a happy/healthy medium.
Nothing personal, and I understand that you claim to know how to keep monitors (so does just about everybody that has one, lol...and I am not going to go into Monitor Keeping 101), but husbandry issues are first suspect. Double check everything, give it a couple of days, then resume feeding small meals