Regurge......

[snunior]

Hi,
My ball python (eskimo) has been eating quite well i started off with hoppers and have moved up to adult mice (once a weanling rat). But last monday it ate the mouse but 1st and it had a bit of a hard time killing it. She didnt miss when she struck but the mouse didnt wanna die There seemed to be no scratches so i put the next mouse in she killed it in no time ! The next day i wanted to check how she was digesting and the lumps were still in ther stoumach. So the next day i checked again and the lumps were still there That day (wendsday) she regurged both mice . I stayed calm and clean the enclosure. I asked around what couldve caused this and people said husbandry issues but the hot side is at 88 and the cool side is at 79 constantly. Im still not sure why she regurged it could she have been stressed?

So up until moday i didnt take her out or anything other than water changing. I decided to feed her to keep a good schedule. She took 1 of the mice i offered

I hope all gos well.
And i still am not sure why she regurged the mice?

[mannannan]

Hopefully she will go back to her regular feeding habits.
Did she have a nice warm hide in which to digest her food? maybe the 'checking' on her, stressed her out if she didn't

[Corrupt_Kitten]

Will she only take live prey ? Maybe the struggle with the mouse that "didnt want to die" was a bit much on her. And perhaps mannannan brings up an interesting point about "checking on her" so often. Or maybe she should just be eating one mouse ? Im not sure why she brought her food back up but maybe these things are just something to think about...

I really hope that she gets back to her regular feeding habits.

[JAdkins2451]

For one after a regurge you should wait at least a week or two before you offer food or your BP my make it a habit to regurge.

Also bump your hot side to 92 or 93.. I have mine at that temp and have never had a regurge.. ( knock on wood)

Jamie

[gonesnakee]

Second the comments on skipping the next feeding & waiting a week or 2. After a snake regurges it needs time to build up important digestive juices in its stomach again. Feeding a snake too soon after a regurge will result in another & another if you continue to do so until the snake will finally be dehydrated & becomes very ill. Some folks will let them regurge themselves to death even. After any regurge skip the next meal for sure & wait at least a week to 10 days after the regurge before feeding again & then offer a smaller meal than usual so it is easily digested. If the smaller meal works out OK go back to the regular feeding schedule again after that. One must always look at husbandry etc. to make sure that it is not a factor in the regurge to begin with & correct it if it is. Also why live? Seriously recommend switching the snake over to FT prey, preferably rats. A dead rodent will never injure your snake, live ones can & will. Why deal with wounds & secondary infections or maybe your snake even losing an eye when you don't have too. Mark

[zero&stich]

Maybe I didn't catch it, but how long are you typically feeding? I usually feed every 7-14 days pending on the time of year and the size of the prey. Also, weanling rats IMO are larger then adult mice, so I would think it would take a bit longer to digest a rat then a mouse. Larger skelatal system in rats. Second, assuming your using an accurate way to check temps, not sure the girth of the snake, but if your feeding too often and uping larger food items like the weanling, that can cause a regurge. Some snakes will consume whatever is thrown in front of their nose. This doesn't nessassarely make it a good practice, to feed like that. Just keep in mind, as you know, snakes have a slow metabolism. So no need to feed too often.

I third what gonesnake and jamie said to. Good advice they gave. :)

[cristine]

stress,is the area quiet without traffic? is the mouse too big? are the feedings too soon? just some things I have to think about with mine.

[End Times]

Your temps should be 92 hot side, 82 cool side. That's probably why she regurged.

[zero&stich]

Your temps should be 92 hot side, 82 cool side. That's probably why she regurged. Not nessassarly. I've had my temps dip to 85 in the warmer months on occasion; I've never had a regurge with my pythons. Perhaps, I've been lucky though. But I'm a firm believer that snakes are likely to regurge a larger meal, and while digesting such a meal, IF the temps are too low for the snake to properly metabolize - digest the meal currently in their stomach, is when regurgatation is most likely to happan, IMO. Just my .02. Just wanted to kinda clear up a misconception.

This is purely my own opinion, and is not set in stone, as everyone has their own opinion.