First BP, need some serious help.

Okay back from the vet, have enough time for an update before work, he weighed 142g which the vet said was a little underweight, the friend said he was 4 months old when I got him so he's almost 5 months now?

The vet was okay with what she did concerning the situation, in an emergency like that with no vets open to take him to and having no idea how long he'd been like that, he said "Not ideal, but she did what she could, of course bring him to me if you have another emergency and we're open." He wasn't dehydrated enough to be concerned about but he did say at least once a week spray him down with room temp water even with his humidity being at a good place, said I didn't need to if I saw him soaking. He looked at the photo of the rat and said it was too large and to feed him rat pups, twice a week if he'll take them. He was surprised his throat wasn't damaged but said he seemed to be okay, he was wriggling all over the place trying to get into the vets sleeves or reaching across the exam table to me, I assume he was cold and going towards heat sources, I let him ride wrapped around my elbow inside my coat sleeve on the way to the vet. Vet sent me home with his personal contact number incase of an emergency and didn't charge me for the visit, he only charged me for the poop test he did for parasites.

Just looks like the rat was too big, thank goodness I was so worried. I'm still worried, but I'm less worried. He asked me to wait one week before feeding him again even if he showed interest, told me the easiest way to see if he was going to eat was to slowly pass your hand in front of his nose, if he followed it with real interest that it was a good indication he might eat.

I feel better and the vet guy was super nice and very helpful, I just want my little Tim to be okay and go back to dangling off his branch.

http://i.imgur.com/lUslnzZ.jpg

Glad he checked out ok!

Glad he's okay! You seem like you are taking good care of him and things will get better with time. I would recommend waiting a full week before feeding him again (meaning two weeks since his regurge) and offer him a smaller meal than a rat pup even. When my guy regurged (at around the same size as yours), I skipped a meal, then fed him a rat pinky, then a fuzzy the next week and then back to rat pups after that. I think two rat pups a week may be a bit much. After a regurge, BPs can likely regurge again if they eat too soon or too big a meal.

I'm not sure about the passing your hand in front of his nose thing. If he had interest in your hand as if it were food, that would be a bad thing. I know my BPs are ready to eat when they spend all night sitting in their hide with their head poking out the entrance lifted just slightly off the ground with their neck slightly coiled in a striking position. They will sit like that until food is presented and usually make quick work of it.

I'd wait 2 weeks since the day he regurgitated. Glad everything turned out well!

I'm also amused at the waving hand in front of his face thing LOL. I wouldn't recommend doing that, unless you want to risk getting bitten and wrapped.

By the time 2 weeks pass, and you see him "exploring" the cage more frequently as if he's looking for something, you can be sure that he's hungry then.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cutebunnyirl

Okay back from the vet, have enough time for an update before work, he weighed 142g which the vet said was a little underweight, the friend said he was 4 months old when I got him so he's almost 5 months now?

The vet was okay with what she did concerning the situation, in an emergency like that with no vets open to take him to and having no idea how long he'd been like that, he said "Not ideal, but she did what she could, of course bring him to me if you have another emergency and we're open." He wasn't dehydrated enough to be concerned about but he did say at least once a week spray him down with room temp water even with his humidity being at a good place, said I didn't need to if I saw him soaking. He looked at the photo of the rat and said it was too large and to feed him rat pups, twice a week if he'll take them. He was surprised his throat wasn't damaged but said he seemed to be okay, he was wriggling all over the place trying to get into the vets sleeves or reaching across the exam table to me, I assume he was cold and going towards heat sources, I let him ride wrapped around my elbow inside my coat sleeve on the way to the vet. Vet sent me home with his personal contact number incase of an emergency and didn't charge me for the visit, he only charged me for the poop test he did for parasites.

Just looks like the rat was too big, thank goodness I was so worried. I'm still worried, but I'm less worried. He asked me to wait one week before feeding him again even if he showed interest, told me the easiest way to see if he was going to eat was to slowly pass your hand in front of his nose, if he followed it with real interest that it was a good indication he might eat.

I feel better and the vet guy was super nice and very helpful, I just want my little Tim to be okay and go back to dangling off his branch.

http://i.imgur.com/lUslnzZ.jpg

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i'm very happy that your BP is ok. but don't let him ride around in your car without a container or snake bag again. so many things can go wrong. u can get into an accident, he may crawl into a vent or your car's dashboard, etc. etc.

another forumer had his BP crawl into the dash after a vet visit. it was a successful rescue thank goodness, but it's a crazy and stressful ordeal a snake owner does not want to deal with.

here he even captured the rescue on video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgRGDzCK5v0


Edit: i also still think your BP is way too skinny. i can see it's spine from head to tail. when he gets back to eating, i would feed him every 5 days until he plumps up. :gj:

Haha yea, always make sure they're secure in the car. I've seen a lot of posts about the snake getting into the dash and such and having to take the car apart to get them out. I just took mine out the other day and had him in a snake bag that wasn't secure enough, he was squeezing out of the bag on the passenger seat when I saw him -___-

A regurgitation is incredibly hard on a snake's digestive system. It needs time to heal before offering food again. I wouldn't offer another meal for three weeks, and then make it a half-sized meal even though the snake is painfully thin. You're looking at a mouse hopper at most.

Wait two weeks to make sure everything is ok. If your snake keeps down the mouse hopper then offer another one and wait a week. If that stays down then offer a small adult mouse the following week.

Over time you can slowly build your snake back up to normal prey size every week, 10-15% of its body weight until it reaches 500 grams, and then a small rat every week or so after that.

Also I would strongly recommend getting a powdered reptile probiotic called NutriBAC. You can buy it at TheBeanFarm.com and it's inexpensive. Dust a little of it on the damp feeder to help re-establish your snake's good gut flora.

Finally, if your vet didn't take a fecal sample to test for parasites then get that done ASAP. It's not expensive and if the snake is stopped up with worms or it has cryptosporidia that will show up on the test. Both of those conditions can cause regurgitation, and while this instance was probably caused by a too-large feeder, you will want to rule those out.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Cutebunnyirl

He asked me to wait one week before feeding him again even if he showed interest

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Regurges normally require a two week wait before trying again. Since your friend shoved tweezers down your snake's throat and pulled stuff out, I would maybe wait an extra week just in case she did any damage or excessive irritation to the throat.

Then start very small with the feeders. At 142g rat pups are the normal size, but you'll need to go smaller than that. Maybe all the way back to a mouse hopper or rat fuzzy.

Aw, poor guy! Regurgitating can be a bit traumatizing, definitely leave him alone for 2 weeks like others have said. Make sure his enclosure is dark by putting a blanket or towel over his enclosure. It will help with the stress. You will need to work him up to rat pups. When my bp regurgitated, I gave him a pinky, then a fuzzy, then another fuzzy, and finally a rat pup over the span of a few weeks.


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Great that you could get him to the vet :gj:

I would definitely leave him alone as much as possible, and as others have said, wait a few more weeks before offering food, and then offer a smaller prey item than usual. Feed him in his enclosure and leave it in with him over night if he doesn't take it right away (as long as it's frozen/thawed or pre-killed). I'm not sure what your current setup is, but I would cover up 3 sides of his tank with paper, add a few snug hides so that he feels more secure, and make sure your temps and humidity are good.

Let us know if you have any questions, and please keep us updated on him! :)