hoping all goes well.....

[cfiscel]

Well, yesterday i fed my 6 week old pastel a meal that i'm wishing i hadn't. I went to the petstore and saw some small rats that were probably as large as the biggest adult mouse i have seen. i compared their thickness to the thickness of the ball and decided that underneath that fur was probably a rat he could eat. I killed it, placed it next to him and he nailed it. It took him about 10 minutes to swallow it and I'm guessing his peristaltic muscles must have stretched the rat because now approximately 1/3 of his length is a large lump. The rat didn't appear that long before being swallowed. He managed to drag himself into the warm hide and hasn't emerged since. I looked at him today and he looks pretty miserable. I know, I shoud have fed smaller but this is what was available (not an excuse). So, has anyone made a similar bonehead move? Will he most likely keep it down? It's been about 30 hours since he ate this behemoth. Thanks and smack me on the wrist if you must. Chris

[Sadie]

I've heard some people recommend feeding between 1- 1.5 times the snake's girth. That said, I imagine "pet" rats are probably bigger than pups, which is what my ball ate at 6 weeks.
Now that he's eaten, all you can do is take good care of him. Make sure the warm side is warm enough to help him digest, and give him an extra day or two before disturbing him. I'd wait a good 10 days before the next feeding, won't hurt. I fed a big meal once and it was never regurged even though the snake still had a visible lump 2 days later.
Good luck! Let us know if it comes back up...

[wolfy-hound]

I've fed overly large meals with no aftereffects. The WORST that would happen(as long as it didn't choke) would be a regurge.
It should be fine.
Wolfy

[Kizerk]

just wait awhile before you feed him again

[frankykeno]

I've heard some people recommend feeding between 1- 1.5 times the snake's girth.

From everything I have learned that's pretty old school. Current thought (with a lot of real experience backing it up) from a good number of breeders on this site is to feed less than snake's girth or at most equal to but not larger than. Smaller meals seem to keep the snake's healthier in the long run and promote a more regular, aggressive feeding response with less incidences of prolonged fasting.

[tmlowe5704]

I would not worry, like it was already said, most likely the only thing that may happen is a regurge. If it has been down a day, chances are getting better that it will stay down. As I have also seen numerous times here, in the wild, snakes don't have rodents run past them that are the same size as their girth on every monday. It is okay if you fed larger, just don't do it again if possible.

[cfiscel]

Just wanted to update. I checked on him a few minutes ago and the lump appears to be shrinking. My anxiety level is as well. Lesson learned---Thanks for your replies...........chris