Ball Python Regurgitated...

I have a ~7 year old BP and today for the first time, he regurgitated a meal. It was a normal sized rat.
He regurgitated it sometimes between immediately or 5-6 hours after taking it. I didn't see it go all the way down then i came back 5-6 hours later and saw it in the viv.
I am quite worried but i am hoping it is just because i filled his viv with new, damp coco coir today and it usually takes a day for humidity to settle and perhaps also a while for the temps of his basking spot to come through. I've never fed him on a day when i';ve changed his coco, so i hope this is the cause.
I had him out earlier in the day when i was changing the coco and he seemed perfectly fine. I've not taken him out or examined him since he regurged, but he seems fine. When i took the rat out he still had a feeding response so i had to push him away with a cushion, otherwise i know he'd have went for me my the way he was behaving.

What do you think? Should i be worried or just try again in a few days when the humidity has settled?
The rat btw, after regurgitation, looked just like new and i didn't get too close, but it didn't smell bad either.

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Originally Posted by seercirra

I have a ~7 year old BP and today for the first time, he regurgitated a meal. It was a normal sized rat.
He regurgitated it sometimes between immediately or 5-6 hours after taking it. I didn't see it go all the way down then i came back 5-6 hours later and saw it in the viv.
I am quite worried but i am hoping it is just because i filled his viv with new, damp coco coir today and it usually takes a day for humidity to settle and perhaps also a while for the temps of his basking spot to come through.
I had him out earlier in the day when i was changing the coco and he seemed perfectly fine. I've not taken him out or examined him since he regurged, but he seems fine. When i took the rat out he still had a feeding response so i had to push him away with a cushion, otherwise i know he'd have went for me my the way he was behaving.

What do you think? Should i be worried or just try again in a few days when the humidity has settled?
The rat btw, after regurgitation, looked just like new and i didn't get too close, but it didn't smell bad either.

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From what I've been reading you're supposed to wait at least a week after regurgitation to feed again (I am in no way an expert nor claiming to know this 100% I'm just basing it off of what ive read)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by seercirra

I have a ~7 year old BP and today for the first time, he regurgitated a meal. It was a normal sized rat.
He regurgitated it sometimes between immediately or 5-6 hours after taking it. I didn't see it go all the way down then i came back 5-6 hours later and saw it in the viv.
I am quite worried but i am hoping it is just because i filled his viv with new, damp coco coir today and it usually takes a day for humidity to settle and perhaps also a while for the temps of his basking spot to come through.
I had him out earlier in the day when i was changing the coco and he seemed perfectly fine. I've not taken him out or examined him since he regurged, but he seems fine. When i took the rat out he still had a feeding response so i had to push him away with a cushion, otherwise i know he'd have went for me my the way he was behaving.

What do you think? Should i be worried or just try again in a few days when the humidity has settled?
The rat btw, after regurgitation, looked just like new and i didn't get too close, but it didn't smell bad either.

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I'm no perfectionist but i would wait 1-2 week before feeding after changing the terrarium stress is bad


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He may not have regurgitated, but instead spat it out.

Sounds like he got the feeder partially down then something might have startled him into spitting it up, he thought it was too large, etc.

What's your prey size like? Any changes there?

Did anything change around the terrarium while you were gone, like other pets, loud noises?

If it doesn't look digested, it's most likely this was a spit-up vs a full regurge, especially if he was still feeling hungry.

Still, wait a week before feeding again.

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Originally Posted by Aerries

I'm no perfectionist but i would wait 1-2 week before feeding after changing the terrarium stress is bad


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Well, i only gave him fresh coco. I just checked the temp on the warm side and my suspicion was right, it is only 84 on the surface of the substrate. The sensor had been pushed down so where it was, was 90, but as the substrate was damp and expanded, the surface was alot less. I don't think he's stressed, when i opened the viv (after regurg) he came out fast and excited like he was anticipating food. I think its just that, when he got the food he found there wasn't enough belly heat to digest it. I hope this is all it was, i'll try again in a week.

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Originally Posted by hollowlaughter

He may not have regurgitated, but instead spat it out.

Sounds like he got the feeder partially down then something might have startled him into spitting it up, he thought it was too large, etc.

What's your prey size like? Any changes there?

Did anything change around the terrarium while you were gone, like other pets, loud noises?

If it doesn't look digested, it's most likely this was a spit-up vs a full regurge, especially if he was still feeling hungry.

Still, wait a week before feeding again.

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I saw him suck down the tail and take it a good 6-8 inches down, i just didn't see it go into his belly. It was very average size, he's had far larger. There was no disturbance, no other pets and no loud noises. The rat just looks wet but no slime or any new colour on it, still plain white.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by seercirra

I saw him suck down the tail and take it a good 6-8 inches down, i just didn't see it go into his belly. It was very average size, he's had far larger. There was no disturbance, no other pets and no loud noises. The rat just looks wet but no slime or any new colour on it, still plain white.

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If you can't think of anything that would cause the flight response and saw it go fully down, then the issue may prove to be something that requires a vet, i.e. a blockage. If it came back up completely, it's wait a week then offer the next size DOWN food item from what they're on now. If he does it again, then you're going to absolutely need to schedule a vet visit to look into possible internal issues.

Also double-check your humidity and temps. Something may be amiss.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hollowlaughter

If you can't think of anything that would cause the flight response and saw it go fully down, then the issue may prove to be something that requires a vet, i.e. a blockage. If it came back up completely, it's wait a week then offer the next size DOWN food item from what they're on now. If he does it again, then you're going to absolutely need to schedule a vet visit to look into possible internal issues.

Also double-check your humidity and temps. Something may be amiss.

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Could it be caused by being near something smelly in the freezer? Like curry or something?
I'll do what you say, try him something smaller in a week and take him to a vet if the same thing happens. The only issue with that is that he usually goes off feed this time of year until after Christmas. He's never been i'll, he always starts again in January, but he's done it every year for his whole life.. so next week he might not eat and it'll just because because he's off food. I'll take him to the vets if he regurgitates again.

When dealing with a regurgitation you need to wait TWO WEEKS and I cannot stress enough the importance of this.

After that it will either happen again or it will not

If it does you need to consider the followings

Bad feeder

Low temperatures not allowing proper digestion

Stress

Internal parasites

Based on your description it looks like the rat was not even in the process of being digested so I would have to go with the rat being spitted back out which is generally due to disturbance or size.

Either way because you have limited experience and your description may or may not be correct I would recommend to wait two weeks.

I would wait 2 weeks before offering again.