Possible regurgitation & Shedding Problem

I got a 3 month old normal male ball python a few weeks ago. I fed him a F/T Pinky Mouse the second day i got him and he ate it like a champ. The Following week, i fed him a F/T hopper mouse on a friday and he ate that as well but i noticed when i was putting him back into his enclosure, his belly was pink/red. I know thats a sign of shedding. A couple of days later, on a tuesday, he started to shed and when he was completely done, he was very active. Climbing up on the log i have for him and using his nose to try to touch the screen lid. A few hours later, i see him with his mouth wide open for a good 2 minutes, his body was kinda moving around a lot like he was going into a seizure. After he was done, he just went to the corner of the enclosure and chilled for the rest of the night. I went to go check out what happened and i see a very compressed mouse/dropping on the floor. Now i don't know if he regurgitated it or pooped it out. Can you guys help me out? Did he regurgiate because he ate while he was on his shedding cycle or do snakes get all crazy when they are using the restroom?

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

I got a 3 month old normal male ball python a few weeks ago. I fed him a F/T Pinky Mouse the second day i got him and he ate it like a champ. The Following week, i fed him a F/T hopper mouse on a friday and he ate that as well but i noticed when i was putting him back into his enclosure, his belly was pink/red. I know thats a sign of shedding. A couple of days later, on a tuesday, he started to shed and when he was completely done, he was very active. Climbing up on the log i have for him and using his nose to try to touch the screen lid. A few hours later, i see him with his mouth wide open for a good 2 minutes, his body was kinda moving around a lot like he was going into a seizure. After he was done, he just went to the corner of the enclosure and chilled for the rest of the night. I went to go check out what happened and i see a very compressed mouse/dropping on the floor. Now i don't know if he regurgitated it or pooped it out. Can you guys help me out? Did he regurgiate because he ate while he was on his shedding cycle or do snakes get all crazy when they are using the restroom?

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If it wasnt still the shape of a mouse then its not regurgitation, one thing I noticed is you said you picked him up to put him back in the enclosure after eating. Why arent you feeding him in the enclosure? Also do you notice its mouth open slightly all the time, like its breathing with its mouth open?

Almost all of my snakes take a gnarly dump after a shed, I find the skin and then a huge pile next to it...

Hi,

The mouth open spasm thing however does not sound good.

What are the temps in his enclosure and how and where are you measuring them?

Can you describe your setup or even provide pictures?

Where did you get your little guy and do you know if he was captive farmed or captive born and bred?

And snake poop looks like poop (with lot of hair in it on occasion) - but if you saw a mouse with recognisable features like feet tail etc then it was almost certainly a regurge - the smell of those is usually unmissable though. :confused:


dr del

this is my first ever ball python. I read online that a lot of people feed there snakes in a seperate enclosure. So far its worked for me. I know that others feed in the snakes main enclosure so its just a personal preference. My set up is a 10 gallon critter cage. I have a UTH pad with coconut fiber as a substrate to help with the humidity and aspen on top to help the cleaning process be a bit easier. The Humidity level is always at 50-60. I have two heat lamps. One for the Day time that has the temp around 85 and a night lamp that the temp is around 80. As far as the Pop/mouse, it wasn't the entire mouse, it was just a ball of Fur with no smell. I am also interested in switching to tubs when the snake gets bigger but i'm not sure what to buy and how to really set it up. Can anyone link me to a Tub set up guide?

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

this is my first ever ball python. I read online that a lot of people feed there snakes in a seperate enclosure. So far its worked for me. I know that others feed in the snakes main enclosure so its just a personal preference. My set up is a 10 gallon critter cage. I have a UTH pad with coconut fiber as a substrate to help with the humidity and aspen on top to help the cleaning process be a bit easier. The Humidity level is always at 50-60. I have two heat lamps. One for the Day time that has the temp around 85 and a night lamp that the temp is around 80. As far as the Pop/mouse, it wasn't the entire mouse, it was just a ball of Fur with no smell. I am also interested in switching to tubs when the snake gets bigger but i'm not sure what to buy and how to really set it up. Can anyone link me to a Tub set up guide?

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I think before you go and start thinking about tub set up for when your snake gets older...read up on the proper care of ball pythons. Theres a great write up in the husbandry section. Your temperatures seem way off...and the poor thing is having "spasms" and possible regurges. Lets focus on keeping him healthy in the present, and not future cage setups.

It is my feeling that most people feed in their snake's enclosure. Ball pythons ambush their prey and do so best when they are in their enclosure. Mine always ambush from their hide! It is my belief that moving a ball python increases the chance of stress and so increases the chance for a regurg and for feeding problems. So feeding inside the enclosure is less of a personal preference for me and more based on what might be best for my snakes.

As for your temps, they seem a little low which can also affect feeding response, metabolism, and chances for regurge. Most members on this forum, and myself included, keep warm side temps between 92-94F and cool side temps between 82-84F with an ambient temp of about 80F. Your humidity looks great!

As for a tub set up, there are many ways to do this. Some people use a rack system and others just use a plain tub. It really depends on what your plans are and what your external environment dictates. :)

Hi,

Sorry for the delay - my search-Fu has gone wonky and I couldn't find my butt with both hands in my back pockets. :rolleyes:

Have a look at our caresheet.

And here are a few threads on tubs.

Thread 1.

Thread 2.

Thread 3.

Its the spasming and mouth open writhing thats bothering me as I have never seen any of mine do that and it is definately something that would worry me if I did. :(

You didn't answer the questions about how and where you measure your temperatures and its a fairly important question so I'd be grateful for the info.

Have you had the snake checked out at a vets to see if he has any parasites? (that's why I asked where you got him - to see how likey this is).


dr del

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Originally Posted by dr del

...Sorry for the delay - my search-Fu has gone wonky and I couldn't find my butt with both hands in my back pockets. :rolleyes:
dr del

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:rofl:You have a way with words :rofl:

so i checked my temps. The Hot side is actually 90-95 and my cool side is around 80-85 with my humidity being 50-60. I use the Acute Rite Temp/humidity combo that this site caresheet recommends. I've taken my Snake to the vet. They said he is healthy but couldn't explain about the spasms. So i'm just gonna keep an eye out to see if it happens again. He ate again on the 25th with no problem so the more i think about things. He didn't really regurg. Maybe he just took a huge dump and he was reacting to it?
As for me taking him out of his enclosure for feeding, yea i understand they like to ambush their prey but thats in the wild. I put him in a seperate enclosure because from what i read on other sites, it helps with the handling process. So far, i haven't been bitten/striked or hissed at and he's taken the f/t mouse everytime so its been working for me. My question to you guys now is, He's about 4 months old. The last few times i fed him, he's been eating hopper mice. I know the caresheet on this site suggest i feed him maybe a size smaller. So should i go back to fuzzys or should i stay with the hoppers?

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Originally Posted by thefnshow66

I know the caresheet on this site suggest i feed him maybe a size smaller. So should i go back to fuzzys or should i stay with the hoppers?

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Feed him a meal that is no wider around than the widest part of his body. That's usually a good measure to go by, until of course they are full grown. When adult size, their metabolism slows down and they do great with small meals every 7 days. I feed my adults a rat weanling every 7 days. Babies are fed every 5.