Regurgitation caused by?

Not yet, gonna ask next time I'm there.

Put a gerbil in a cage with your bp and you'll see exactly what I mean.

That sucks Godfather Bob normally loves his gerbils but has decided to fast for 3 weeks now the ding dong :evil:

He has never regurged ever though. A gerbil looks like a rat but they have a furry tail too. And yes under normal circumstances a Gerbil is like Steak & Lobster to a Ball Python unless they are just being a goofball.

Gee I'm not bitter about Bob fasting am I :wink:

Kara, Monty is once of those idiot balls who only wants live. I haven't tried switching slowly to f/t because he recently came out of a winter fast. I'm hoping to build him back up to size before trying to transfer him over, hopefully he'll do it for me. And I'm hoping that Goldy doesn't go down that road also, I might just setup a small gerbil breeding operation if need be. I'm sure a few females to one male can provide me enough to feed two bp's.

Man I hate this, why won't they eat the rats like good bp's do.

Just my 2 Cents.........I did a bad thing.......I purchased a WC Adult Female @ the Hamburg show. I am still kickin' myself in the butt. Just lookin for the cheap way out. DAH...
I got her to eat a gerbil a week ago. Then I checked on her a couple days later.........found a bloated gerbil....NASTY. Could imagine the smell right? Sorry, had to share that too. But I think temp and high humidity might play a role.
She has been captive since December, and laid some eggs for some guy. I don't even think he tried to give the poor girl a meal. I know she won't eat right away or even @ all, but I had to try. I just felt sorry for her I guess. She is a nice chocolate,1980 gram, treated,no mites, looks good and huge. You's could knock me about a WC, but when I was a kid thats ALL we had from pet stores. I have kept them with only finding ticks. They all ate for me then, why not now?
Well,anyway, the temp creeped up on me and she was soakin'( cuz she was probly freakin' dehydrated) in her water, got water all over the bottom of the cage(Rubbermaid) which raised the humidity to really rise I'm sure.....I believe thats why she spit it up. Who knows? Sometimes it is easier to hold back the tide than to figure out a Ball.:)

Hi Wendy...welcome to the forum!!

How long have you had this new girl? Since she regurged the gerbil, I would give her at least two weeks before attempting to feed again, to make sure her system has recovered from that trauma. And keep working on tweaking that husbandry until the temps and humidity are just right for her. :) Hopefully a few weeks of isolation and spot-on husbandry will perk up her appetite for ya!

Thanks Judy!
I have her since 4/24/04. I won't try to feed her for a while, the unappreciative beeyotch. I wouldn't call regurgitating traumatizing, Hell I've seen a ball regurgitate a mouse then turn around and eat it. I got a new (human) UTH, waterdish, and Rubbermaid for it today. I use cereal boxes for hideouts, hope she likes to look @ Captain Crunch(peanut butter, of course!). I'll set it up, get the temps good, bathe her & throw her in.Hope for the best. :) Then try to feed her in a week or two. Wish me luck!!

Actually, regurgitation IS traumatizing. Even though snakes can regurge, their bodies aren't really made to do so in the same manner that many other animals' are. Whenever a snake regurgitates there is a high risk of it aspirating (sucking) fluid through the glottis & into the lung, causing pneumonia or even suffocation. On top of that, regurgitation can lead to dehydration, so putting the snake into a shallow (we're talking not more than an inch of water or so, even for an adult snake), lukewarm soak for a few hours can be very beneficial.

If your snake has good body weight, don't even consider feeding her for a month post-regurge - her system needs time to stabilize & reestablish positive gut flora.

Also, while humidity *could* have been the culprit, I'd be willing to bet it was more likely temperature. You mentioned that the temp "creeped up on you" - well...keep in mind that when snakes are digesting food, their metabolism speeds up, effectively increasing their body heat. An overheated snake is a very real, very common cause for regurgitation, even in otherwise established animals. Ensuring that the snake has a large enough enclosure (while still maintaining a comfortable environment for the animal) with ample room to thermoregulate will help to rule out heat-related regurgitation.

Good luck getting her settled & on a solid feeding schedule!

K

i don't know if this is been suggested but you should keep the gerbils a little and let whatever is in them cycle through i myself would breed them because they must be expensive i personally buy a couple feeder mice and keep them for a while because my pet store doesn't keep good enough care of them and i over feed them to make them nice and fat. :)