Regurgitation or Poop?

How long after a feed does a poop normally happen? How do you tell the difference between poop and regurgitation?


I think it's regurgitation, but it could be poop. You can see the white fur of hopper eaten Saturday night and it's thin and narrow.

I have not and still have not handled Kashmire since his feeding on Saturday, and he's spent the most of his time in his warm hide since feeding.

If you want, I can take a picture, as gross as that sounds! LOL

Robin

Take a pic :D....ha ha

If you fed on Saturday, and notice the 'deposit' in the enclosure today....most likely it is not a regurgitation.

The picture was hard to get clear (yup, took several pictures) and I'm about to re-boot my computer to download the computer (not recognizing the camera for some reason).

I just want to be SURE! LOL

Robin

PS, Can you tell I'm a newbie? LOL

Whoops, download the pictures. My boyfriend was laughing at me and said "go to your friends online and see what they say!"

Robin

OK, let's give this a try. I couldn't get a clear picture, the camera kept trying to focus on background.


https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../Whatisit4.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil.../Whatisit2.jpg

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...0/Whatisit.jpg

Hope none of you were eating dinner while viewing this! LOL

Robin

I just finished dinner, but this doesn't bother me. I have a pretty strong stomach, when it comes to that kind of stuff. The pics are pretty blurry, but it looks like it may be a regurg. That mouse doesn't look digested at all, but I've never seen a regurg so I could be wrong. Hopefully you'll get a few more opinions shortly.

So, if it IS regurgitation, what would have caused it? His temps on warm side average between 90 and 92 and cool side 80 and 82. He hung out in his warm side hide the whole time. This afternoon was the first time he's been out (he's curled up in a cool side corner now.


Also, if it's regurgitation, how long should I wait to try to offer him food again? I'll be out of town starting this Saturday for a week, so would like to offer him another meal before I leave if he'll take it.

Oh, and this was a hopper, so I know it wasn't too large for him.

Robin

I would wait for someone else to confirm that, just in case. I've never had poop that contained discernable pieces, i.e. tail, legs and fur. If it is a regurg, it would be odd considering you fed 2 days ago - unless it was there and you didn't notice. I believe you hold off feeding for several weeks to allow the digestive tract to heal and recover it's normal bacterial and enzyme levels. Exactly how long I can't remember....like 3 weeks, maybe?

Have you had your snake to the vet yet? More importantly have you had a fecal done yet?

Oh yeah. That's a regurge. It's an undigested, regurgetated meal. Your snake would never poop out a completely undigested mouse. Snake puke.

Ah, thank you Ken. I needed another opinion!!!

Charming. :) Snakes often regurge if they feel stressed soon after they eat. Did you handle your snake within 48 hours after you fed him? That often causes a regurge.. always leave your snake alone for two days after a feeding.

No, he has not been to the vet yet, but I have an appointment scheduled for when I get back in town, which I planned to do as a wellness exam anyway.


So, don't attempt to feed him again for another few weeks? Is that what I'm understanding?

Robin

Nope, he was not handled 3 days before and this is the second day after feeding and he has not been handled yet.

He hung out in his warm side hide after feeding and today was his first time out.


Robin

Out of the hide, that is, not out of his enclosure.

Robin

The reason why you postpone feeding after a regurge is that 1: the snake is probably stressed from it and wants a break, and 2: regurges often irritate the throat and mouth of a snake. Snake stomach acid is very strong, so just like when we vomit, it can burn the tender skin of the mouth.

Shelby,


So how long exactly do you wait before you re-offer food?

Robin

And should I just hold off on handling him any more until after his next feed - and the requisite 48 hours after (which would be in about 2 weeks, because I am flying out of town this Saturday, returning the following Saturday).

Thanks for all your feedback!

Robin

The other major reason to hold off on feeding is to allow the re-establishment of beneficial bacteria that aids in digestion (we have it too). The snake horked (technical term) a lot of it up and needs time for the colony to stabalize and flourish.

If you feed again too soon, the snake will regurge again because it will not be able to digest the mouse. It will rot rather than digest. And that is where serious sickness comes in.

Ken

So, can someone tell me how long to wait after the regurg to feed again? I'm glad I asked, because I didn't even thinnk about letting enzymes re-build. That's where you guys are so invaluable to me!


Robin

I usually wait 2-3 weeks before offering food after a regurg .... Vomiting stresses and potentially damages the muscles of the esophagus and stomach and you really need to let them heal.

I would take the snake to the vet asap .... temps and parasites are two of the most common causes of a regurg and if your say your temps are good, you should rule out parasites. If you don't have a stool sample for your vet to float, see if they'll do a cloacal swab ... if the parasites are bad enough to cause a regurg, they should be able to find them with the swab.

Good luck!

-adam

Thanks Adam! I am going to try to see if I can get an early morning appointment on Saturday before my flight the same day. I work from 6-4 each day, and there's no way my boss will let me leave early this week since I'm going on vacation next week.

Now I'm so worried over him!

I did see him drinking water again last night. I've not seen a poop since I've had him. Lots of urates, but no poop (not that I know what snake poop looks like, thus the posting of the pictures!).

Robin

My snake's poops look basically like cat's poop to me. Brown log like, firm....pretty much like what a small cat would pass. (Hope no one was reading this whilst munching on their morning bagel LOL).

Hope all goes good with the vet and the snake is okay.


~~Jo~~