Dexter Regurgitated Rats Twice This Month

Sounds great !!!!

I'm very happy for you and Dexter :)

And you'll see, before you know it you won't even be able to tell that anything was ever wrong with Dexter..

Things continue to look good for Dexter... He ate a good size weanling rat on Monday and kept it down just fine! The Mystic Ball Python that got an RI around the same time Dexter started regurgitating is also doing well. She finally started eating for me and has eaten for the last 4 weeks in a row (live, of course)! Very happy to see both of these guys back on track and grateful for the experienced I gained from nursing them back to health (thanks to you guys)! :)

That is awesome, great news !!!!

:)

I haven't read through this whole thread but I thought I'd give an update on my ball python regurgitation issue. I changed up my male rotation and breeding schedule, so instead of pairing up and rotating males every five days with weekends off I pair up five days and then give them 3-5 days off. I'll separate and then feed and after feeding not handle any snake for at least 3-5 days. Seems to have stopped all of my regurgitation issues. Apparently some snakes were sensitive to being moved or paired up within 1-2 days after being fed. Problem solved!

Well... Dexter regurgitated again today... :( He did have (at least what I would imagine was) a stressful feeding experience 2 days ago, though. I have been feeding him live small rats and at feeding time on Tuesday he had a bad strike and wrap on the rat. The rat escaped and Dexter ended up biting, wrapping and death rolling himself and wouldn't let go. Surprisingly, he didn't draw any blood on himself and he didn't seem to be injured when he finally let go... I offered the rat again later on and he successfully ate it without any problems. To add to the stress, his tub had needed switched out prior to feeding, because he had urinated. I didn't want to switch it out while he was in feed mode, so I waited until a couple of hours after he ate. It was a quick and simple as picking him up and placing him into a fresh clean tub. So, I don't know how stressful that could have really been... Anyway, given Dexter's regurgitation history, I didn't know if this whole incident could have been the cause this time or not...

So... Dexter has been eating and holding down food without regurgitating ever since 1/29/18. However, he hasn't defecated since 12/26/17 and that was just a little bit. He had taken a massive dump on 12/09/17, though... I know it's not that unusual for Bloods to go months or sometimes even over a whole year without defecating, but it concerns me a bit. Even though Dexter has been eating every 7 days since I got him past his previous regurgitation issues you can still see his spine more than what I feel looks healthy and he always looks like he has "sausage butt". Temperatures and humidity have been perfect and none of my other Bloods, Sumatrans or Borneos (in the same rack) have had any problems and they all defecate on a fairly regular basis (apx. once per month)...

My senses tell me this snake has a digestive problem and I don't know what to do about it. There wasn't a puddle of liquid around the regurgitated rat this time, so hopefully he didn't lose too much Flora? I'm going to start treating his water with Nutribac again and take him off of food for 6 weeks then once again start him back on very small meals and slowly work him back up to normal size meals again... What do you guys think is wrong with this snake?

I would have him checked for parasites.

Do you really feel like this could be a parasitic issue even though he hasn't regurgitated since 1/11/18 and has been keeping meals down since 1/29/18? I wonder if the 3 Panacur treatments the vet gave me back on 1/18 are still good. I had decided to not give them to him at that time. I'll have to call the vet on that one... Having him checked for parasites would be very difficult since he isn't defecating...

If there happens to be anyone, who followed this thread that would care to read about some new developments with Dexter and offer any insight, here is a link:

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...=1#post2632590

Thanks. :)

*sigh* Well... After having relieved Dexter of his impacted urates and giving him 3 precautionary Panacur doses a few weeks ago and slowly building him back up to small rats again after his last regurg, he regurgitated once again. He had even taken a nice healthy poop shortly before this time. I'm beginning to wonder if he didn't get get some kind of internal injury that time he threw himself out of my hands and fell on the floor. He landed on soft padded carpet, but still... I really don't know what to do for him at this point. Aside from the fact that I love this guy, he isn't growing properly and before too long the female will be up to breeding size and isn't going to have a boyfriend after the looong wait. I guess i'm going to have to be searching for another male Matrix Het T+ or possibly an Ivory that i'll be able to put with her. At this point, i'm back to keeping Dexter off of food for a month once again. Is there anything else you guys can think of that I can do for him?

You mentioned treating his water with Nutribac & I think that's probably spread WAY too thin to help him much. I'd have added it to food, so you know he
really got a meaningful dose. But since he's been regurgitating solid food, if that was my snake (& I've kept many kinds but not these), I'd give him a modest
amount of water-thinned Gerber's chicken babyfood with Nutribac added to it: it's WAY more digestible than a solid rat for an irritated stomach, & it might help
him get both the nutrients & Nutribac he needs to recover. Tube-feeding* isn't that hard & can be done gently...it's NOT the same thing as "force-feeding"
(solid) food, which I'd never do. (*I'll be happy to offer some tips if you like?)

Afterthought: has he been X-rayed? (checked for internal blockages- tumor? -malformed G.I. tract? etc)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Bogertophis

You mentioned treating his water with Nutribac & I think that's probably spread WAY too thin to help him much. I'd have added it to food, so you know he
really got a meaningful dose. But since he's been regurgitating solid food, if that was my snake (& I've kept many kinds but not these), I'd give him a modest
amount of water-thinned Gerber's chicken babyfood with Nutribac added to it: it's WAY more digestible than a solid rat for an irritated stomach, & it might help
him get both the nutrients & Nutribac he needs to recover. Tube-feeding* isn't that hard & can be done gently...it's NOT the same thing as "force-feeding"
(solid) food, which I'd never do. (*I'll be happy to offer some tips if you like?)

Afterthought: has he been X-rayed? (checked for internal blockages- tumor? -malformed G.I. tract? etc)

---

My apologies for taking so long to respond. I've been having computer problems... Grrr! Thank you for your insight, though. I really appreciate it. Dexter started refusing to eat frozen/thawed awhile back, so it would be sorta difficult to add the Nutribac to his food. I did give him another small dose of Nutribac mixed with water orally a couple of months ago right after we relieved him of his impacted urates, though. I had the vet give him a 1 gram dose of it orally last winter when I had him there as well. How often would you recommend giving him 1 gram doses (as prescribed on the back of the Nutribac container) and for how long? That's a good idea about the baby food...

He hasn't been x-rayed...

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Aedryan Methyus

My apologies for taking so long to respond. I've been having computer problems... Grrr! Thank you for your insight, though. I really appreciate it. Dexter started refusing to eat frozen/thawed awhile back, so it would be sorta difficult to add the Nutribac to his food. I did give him another small dose of Nutribac mixed with water orally a couple of months ago right after we relieved him of his impacted urates, though. I had the vet give him a 1 gram dose of it orally last winter when I had him there as well. How often would you recommend giving him 1 gram doses (as prescribed on the back of the Nutribac container) and for how long? That's a good idea about the baby food...

He hasn't been x-rayed...

---

I'd ask your vet about both of those (dosage -and frequency- of Nutribac for his size) and a scan for internal issues. I think the Nutribac is pretty harmless but doesn't hurt to ask. You never want to tube-feed too often...it's about keeping their body functioning while they recover, but see how it goes. It depends on what's wrong, each one is different.

Any meds that can be given with food can be mixed with chicken baby food* & tube-fed using this: https://beanfarm.com/collections/hea...g-tube-syringe
FYI- that "feeding tube" in reality is a human medical-grade urethral catheter, flexible & PERFECT for this task; you must NEVER use other plastic tubing (like that sold for aquarium use) because the cut open end will catch & tear up the snake's insides when inserted. A urethral catheter has a rounded & closed tip...the small openings are on either side just above the end.

*I've used Gerber's Chicken 2nd foods "chicken & gravy" many times over the years to 'turn around' sick or weak snakes; very digestible protein with no sugar & hfcs like most baby foods. Thin w/ enough water so it flows thru tubing easily (test first, not on snake!) & I usually add a drop of olive oil to make it more 'slippery', also use a drop on outside of tubing. Encourage snake to drink a bit of water first (to lubricate his throat) but if that fails, you can expel a little baby food mixture as tubing is just at the top of snake's throat to help the tubing slide easier. Depending on how big the snake is, the tube goes in most of the way-
but slide it in gently and STOP when you meet some resistance, never force beyond that point. (on a small or "baby" snake, you'd expect to insert the tubing about a fourth to a third of the snake's total length, no further, just for reference.)


This tubing obviously feels weird to the snake so expect some resistance but it's nothing compared to the size of prey they easily swallow. Before inserting tube, push the plunger on the syringe to expel all air in the tubing, so the mixture is ready to drip out the end. You don't want to put a big air bubble into a sick snake. Keep the snake fairly level & as calm as possible, & once you've delivered the food mixture, withdraw the tubing, & keeping the snake's head above his body at all times, return him to his cage to rest. Don't try to tube-feed too much at once...this is a snack, NOT a meal. It gets easier with a little practice...& obviously, your snake isn't going to volunteer his open mouth to insert tubing either...just push gently with the tip of the tubing until he opens up. Gentle restraint...a "give & take" works best on snakes, for anyone who has never done this. Any questions? Just ask...