Treatment

The regurge gods hate me.

Elinor regurged last night. Identifying the cause is making me crazy, so I'm planning to treat it as a mild "stomach bug." I did put a pinch of Nutribac in her water dish. The question that occurred to me regards using Nutribac and grapefruit seed extract (gse) together.

Nutribac repopulates the 'good' bacteria in the gut. But since gse has mildly antibiotic properties, wouldn't adding that to her water defeat the purpose?

Also, I added a single drop of gse to a quart of water and it tastes like someone put soap in it. That sh-tuff is nasty! Before I fill her dish with it, do snakes have a sense of taste?

The last thing I want is a regurging AND dehydrated snake!

We could guess as to what the reason for regurge is and never get it right, but the treatment is the same. Make sure the temps are good, low to mid 80's on the warm side. Wait 10 days to feed a smaller food item, cut the back for the snakes digestive juices to get into the mouse easier and leave the snake alone for the full 10 day period.

As for the Nutribac and gse, I dust my snakes food once a month with Nutribac and always use gse in the water. I put 3 drops into a 1 liter bottle of water; they've never refused it.

Good luck!

The question that occurred to me regards using Nutribac and grapefruit seed extract (gse) together.

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Ones an antibiotic and ones a probiotic.. It would stand to reason they might be disruptive towards each other.. Great question Kitty, maybe some else might have some more input..

I don't know if you discussed the gurges before, but how long has it being going on for?

Regards. Tim of T and J

I have wondered about the gse and the good microbes myself. I don't think it is too disrupting to them or people would not have had such good luck using it in cattle and other animals. My feeling is that natural antibiotics do have a larger range of microbes that they will affect, but they are not as good as prescription antibiotics at killing a specific group of "bugs" - they are just not as strong overall. But just to be sure, I use the gse first for a few days, then discontinue it and use the NB for awhile.

I once used the gse too concentrated in the water bowls, and got some dehydrated snakes. So I started mixing some in a glass and tasting it to see what I could stand to drink. The snakes seemed to have at least as much tolerance as I did. I was able to put about 3 or 4 drops in a medium water bowl and they still drank it. I also have a spray bottle with a much higher concentration that I use to spray surfaces that need disinfecting.

Dwyn, I put 3 drops in a quart of water and almost gagged on it. But I'm using a triple-strength one called "Liquid Gold." One drop leaves an aftertaste (but I could blame that on the fact I despise grapefruit). Thanks for the input!

T, last night was the first for Elinor. Zoose was my first-ever about four weeks ago, but his was related to preference for the coldest spot in his viv. Moving him to a smaller, warmer viv has gotten us through his rough spot so far.

Kathy, I'll switch to gse-water alone for three or four days before going back to NB. Thanks!

If it doesn't go well, I'll be crying on the boards, I'm sure. So, no news will be good news.