My BP regurgitated her meal hours after eatting

Wykyd · 07-10-14, 04:15 AM

My BP has been eating adult mice once a week for just over a month now (I've had her for about 2 months). She shed 2 nights ago (didn't want to feed her during shed, normal feeding day was Sunday) and last night she was out "hunting" so I thawed out a mouse and fed her. She took it down like a champ, slithered back into her hide and I went to sleep. Woke up this morning (6-7 hrs after feeding her) and she regurgitated it back up. I have to go to work now but I wanted to start on this process now so I can deal with it when I get home. Temps are good (hot hide is 93F, cool hide is 84F, ambient temp is 81-84F and humidity is 70% (still high from misting for shed). Not entirely sure what else could have caused this. Any help would be awesome.

nazanova · 07-10-14, 05:33 AM

Maybe the mouse was just abit too big for her. I know you said you've been feeding her adult mice for a while now but maybe one out of the pack was just abit big for her to stomach? Other then that I don't know because the other thing would be temperatures but yours sound absolutely fine.

Or maybe because she only shed 2 days ago she wasn't ready to eat again. Some snakes can be funny when it comes to feeding after shedding.

franks · 07-10-14, 05:59 AM

If she took it, she was ready to eat it. I don't think this has anything to do with the shed. Can you post pics of your setup for us? How are you measuring your temps? Regurgitation is generally indicative that something is either wrong with your husbandry or with your snake. (Does not have to be the case). Is it possible that the mouse was not fully thawed when offered?

Also- with a warm hide at 93*F I would lower the cool side temperature to 79*F - 80*F

Mikoh4792 · 07-10-14, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franks

If she took it, she was ready to eat it. I don't think this has anything to do with the shed. Can you post pics of your setup for us? How are you measuring your temps? Regurgitation is generally indicative that something is either wrong with your husbandry or with your snake. (Does not have to be the case). Is it possible that the mouse was not fully thawed when offered?

Also- with a warm hide at 93*F I would lower the cool side temperature to 79*F - 80*F

+1

Pics of setup

Wykyd · 07-10-14, 10:52 AM

I will get some pics when I get home. I check hide temps with a probe tstat daily. My cool side (she's almost never in it) stays warmer because I have the bottom of the tank insulated (air gap between tank and stand but stand is sealed with foam about 1 1/2" from bottom of tank). I spoke with a BP breeder at That Pet Place and he told me I could remove the insulation from the bottom of the tank. He thinks it was just one of those fluke things.

Wykyd · 07-10-14, 10:59 AM

Forgot to add that I check the food thoroughly before feeding, was quite thawed. I soak it in a sandwich bag submerged in 125F water til water is luke warm (normally 30min), change the water and soak it for another 5 min so it retains temp. Check up under the ribs and between the hips to make sure it's nice and squishy. Dangled it for 30 sec or so and she hit it and coiled. Mouse was in her belly in about 10 min.

Chris72 · 07-10-14, 11:43 AM

It doesn’t sound like you are doing anything that should cause the animal to regurgitate. Sometimes that is just the way it goes. (Do you have a heat you use to take a Temp right before you offer the meal?)

Pictures of the set-up would help...it could be stress related depending on the setup.

An adult mouse is a fairly small meal for any Ball Python so assuming the rodent is sized properly (roughly the same as the thickest part of your snake) there should have been no challenge getting the small mouse in there.

Until we see those pics......

If its a fairly young snake try fighting the snake for the rodent (with your forceps) to get the feeding response rev'ed up as much as you can before leaving the room.

Hopfully it stops. I have one animal that decided to yack up her rat every other week...did that for two months, then stopped like it never happened.

C.

Wykyd · 07-10-14, 11:58 AM

I always toy with her for a few min after she coils up. Have not been taking temp of the meals just going by feeling (not hot but has some warmth to it. I have checked the water temp after the first soak and it was around 80F.

franks · 07-10-14, 05:04 PM

Chris brings up a great point regarding security. If your hides are too big or the enclosure is too open it can cause a BP to regurgitate.

Chris72 · 07-11-14, 04:29 PM

Wykyd:

Ok, I was asking about temp on the rat incase it's actually 110+ deg inside. If you are using 80deg water you should be ok.

Wykyd · 07-11-14, 08:27 PM

Man, been busy as anything. Here are them pictures of everything. As far as the mouse, I make sure it feels "normal". Tho a good mouse body temp is 98-100. The high side temp is hard to read. It's 93.7F.

Wykyd · 07-11-14, 08:29 PM

Last pic and a pic of Alice.

Wykyd · 07-11-14, 08:35 PM

I haven't noticed her acting "insecure". Normally once her night bulb comes on she comes out and chills either on the edge of her water bowl, on top of the thermometer or on the cold side hide. I have a decent sized piece of drift wood I'm fabricating for the tank now to add some clutter to it. Most of the time the basement she's in is chill and quiet, just me, my computer and my fish.

I feel bad for her right now... I know she's hungry. She's out "hunting" the tank, but I know she can't eat for a couple weeks. :/

franks · 07-11-14, 08:55 PM

Cover would help. Even if you could hang some fake plants to cover parts of the glass. She is very in the open right now and that is probably stressing her out some. I believe it's a possibility that the openness of the enclosure is the source of your problem.

I would like to suggest covering the top of the fish tank to provide a more stable environment for her. Your setup is pulling the moisture from your snake and releasing it into the air.

Wykyd · 07-11-14, 08:57 PM

The top is covered with 1/4" plexiglas. I just got over a fit of mites so that's why it's still empty. Never got a chance to add anything to it once I got it set up right. :/

I forgot to add that the back and sides are lined in 1/4 black foam board.