Issue today while feeding

[Tiny_loves_Roxanne]

So I fed my Ball today,same as I always do...but one thing was factored in today and it lead to something alarming yet not alarming and some opinions might ease my mind...

So I did as I always do (many spoke about my post on this in the 'Substrate' thread) I take my ball out of the cage and put her in a small beer box lined with paper towels...i drape a blanket over it and then defrosted the mouse...

I peel back some of the towel,dangle the f/t mouse in,she strikes,wraps it,puts towel back over it ( iwas told by the breeder i bought her from 3 or so months ago)

so I come back after about 10 mins and mouse is gone,and shes moving about the box like she normally does....I'm just about to move her into her tank when i get a phone call from a job im interviewing for, I step away and end up being on the phone fifteen minutes when i return, my ball has the mouse halfway down her mouth like shes eating it again,the paper towels have yellow spots all over and it smells horrible...

At first i thought she regurgitated...but i saw her moving her jaws to eat the mouse....so i watcher her eat it,then after it seemed down far enough i put her right on the hot side and she went into her hide...

my assumption is she ate...regurgitated...then ate the mouse again...

so my question is...is there anything wrong with this? or should I just think nothing of it and keep an eye on her for the next couple of days?

-Tiny

[mr. s]

I would keep my eye on her for more than the next couple days. Regurgitation can be very serious, but maybe you need to be more sure it happened. Yes, make sure you check hides and corners for a spit up mouse for a little while, but maybe make sure you watch a little more during feeding next time.
Also, it can be dangerous to leave a snake in an unsealed container like that for so long unattended. You should either be watching it constantly, or just get a sealing container from walmart, poke some holes in it, and do the same thing as you are doing now. I was honestly expecting you to say that it got out and was lost.

[DemmBalls]

If she is regurgitating...I would quit moving her during feedings. That causes more stress than it's worth.

[Sarin]

She probably regurgitated it back up because you moved her right after she finished eating... Just feed her in her enclosure and this won't happen again. (Assuming she isn't sick.) Regurgitation does a lot of damage to a snake so I'd say skip a week and then feed her again.

I was also expecting you to say she got out... The way you feed is very dangerous for your BP.

[mr. s]

I may be wrong, but I am going to guess that it is more than just moving to another enclosure to feed. Healthy ball pythons have no visible signs of stress from moving enclosures for feeding in my experience, unless something else is very wrong. Many other people think it is a big deal, but there really is no conclusive evidence in my mind on the subject. (This of course assuming that you did not scare the snake as soon as it closed its mouth).

[cinderbird]

I think its a true regurgitation if the snake gets the food item down to its stomach, THEN regurges.

If hes getting it half way down or part way into its mouth and then readjusting (spitting it out to swallow it in a different orientation) then I wouldn't worry. I have a few snakes that will spit an item out if its not going down well, and then start at the other end or in a different spot and get it down.

I would also second feeding him inside his enclosure. It really just seems to cause more problems than anything.

[Tiny_loves_Roxanne]

She probably regurgitated it back up because you moved her right after she finished eating...

re-read the post...I was about to move her to her to the tank when I got the phone call...she never left the box...

----

but as what others have posted,i'll just keep an eye out for the mouse around the tank,and if i find none a week from now i can guess it was nothing too serious

[Sarin]

Sorry, I guess I misunderstood. I thought you were in the process of moving her when the phone rang. Sorry.

I don't know what her problem was then, maybe she felt threatened? Who knows.. I still say feed her in her enclosure or in a more secure place if you still want to feed her outside her enclosure.