A little concerned about a feeding lump....worried.

[ReticMan123]

I fed my retic on monday. Hes only like 4 1/2ft and 600 grams. Well the pet shop gave me a "medium rat" that wasnt so medium and I hadnt really noticed until I got home. The rat was almost 300 grams. Anyway my tic did his thing and went to eat it but then stopped eventually. about an hour later io came back and it was gone so he must have ate eventually and the lump was HUUUGE! Asd you can see I took these pictures today 4 days later and it still looks quite large. Im pretty sure hes past the point 4 days later where he might regurgitate but I just wanna kno wwill he be ok? Is this normal? I deciced I wont feed him again until after he sheds which is usually like clock work around the end of the month, Any help would be gerat guys thank you:)

[ReticMan123]

here he is normally...

[rmfsnakes32]

I think you could wait 2 weeks in between feeds if you dont already do that and make sure he has plenty of heat to help him digest his meal he should go into shed pretty quick after that large of a meal! Looks more like a large rat he will probably leave you a nice big present in a week :)

[iBaman]

Agreed with rmfsnakes32. I've recently started feeding mine huge rats, I just wait 2 weeks between feedings now =3 Looks like a great lump, though!

[stephanbakir]

Honestly, with hatchling retics you really want to feed them every week. Feed him a little smaller but not too much smaller and every week. The biggest thing with baby retics is humidity and water, make sure he/she always has clean water and keep that humidity up.
Regarding the meal size, it was a little big, but not by much.

[Rogue628]

I've done that with my burms a couple of times. They were in between different sized feeders.

Aside from making sure he has fresh water and his temps and humidity are good, is he laying on his hot side? What's the temp? Heat helps with digestion so if he's not at optimum temps where he's laying you'll need do whatever's necessary for him to be at optimum temps for digesting. I bumped the heat up a couple of degrees for my burms and it helped with no ill effects.

Since it's the fourth day, I'd suggest waiting for his feed bump to disappear and feed on the 10th day after you fed. Then keep him on a weekly schedule since he's so young.

[shaunyboy]

theres nothing wrong with a feeding bulge that size mate

thats how ALL my carpets look after a feed.wait and see,that bulge will be gone within 3 days

good looking retic you have there

cheers shaun

[MoreliAddict]

That's a gorgeous Retic.

[Lankyrob]

I am with shaun on this one, my jcp can barely get up onto his perch after eating his rat, that lump may be slightly big but certainly nothing to be concerned about imo

[MoreliAddict]

I am with shaun on this one, my jcp can barely get up onto his perch after eating his rat, that lump may be slightly big but certainly nothing to be concerned about imo
These pictures are 4 days after eating.

Anyway, it's not a big deal at all. Wild snakes eat HUGE prey sometimes. Not saying that's what's best, but huge prey once in a while is okay, your snake can take it.

[Gungirl]

As long as your temps are good your snake will be fine. Seeing as these pics are 4 days later I would down size his food Item a bit.

[shaunyboy]

larger species of snake eat large meals,these meals take a little longer to digest

i honestly would not worry about the bulge or the time digestion is taking

cheers shaun

[Ivanator]

Has the bulge shrank at all though during the 4 days? I wouldn't be worried at all. Like everyone else said, one large meal every once in a while aint gonna hurt him, but if the bulge hasn't shrank in size at all, you might wanna crank up the heat.

[jaleely]

Should be fine! It's good for large snakes to have a large meal every now and then. You could wait a little longer than usual to feed again, but it shouldn't be a problem. If the snake is uncomfortable, it just won't eat what you offer : )

I worried about my ball python once.
http://i1143.photobucket.com/albums/n640/jaleely/snakes/IMG_20120124_232729.jpg

Little brat wanted more as soon as possible, and that lump was there for a long time! Like everyone said, as long as there's a good hot, hot-spot, they will metabolize fine. Let us know! : )

[ReticMan123]

Thanks everyone. I feel much better about it now. He has good temps. an ambient of about 78-83 and a hot spot in the mid 90's. The lump was so big it hasnt seemed to go down much but now that I know its not of concern I will just leave him alone for a couple more days.:) Thanks again for the re-assurance