Ball Python Regurgitated...

I have a ~7 year old BP and today for the first time, he regurgitated a meal. It was a normal sized rat.
He regurgitated it sometimes between immediately or 5-6 hours after taking it. I didn't see it go all the way down then i came back 5-6 hours later and saw it in the viv.
I am quite worried but i am hoping it is just because i filled his viv with new, damp coco coir today and it usually takes a day for humidity to settle and perhaps also a while for the temps of his basking spot to come through. I've never fed him on a day when i';ve changed his coco, so i hope this is the cause.
I had him out earlier in the day when i was changing the coco and he seemed perfectly fine. I've not taken him out or examined him since he regurged, but he seems fine. When i took the rat out he still had a feeding response so i had to push him away with a cushion, otherwise i know he'd have went for me my the way he was behaving.

What do you think? Should i be worried or just try again in a few days when the humidity has settled?
The rat btw, after regurgitation, looked just like new and i didn't get too close, but it didn't smell bad either.

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Originally Posted by seercirra

I have a ~7 year old BP and today for the first time, he regurgitated a meal. It was a normal sized rat.
He regurgitated it sometimes between immediately or 5-6 hours after taking it. I didn't see it go all the way down then i came back 5-6 hours later and saw it in the viv.
I am quite worried but i am hoping it is just because i filled his viv with new, damp coco coir today and it usually takes a day for humidity to settle and perhaps also a while for the temps of his basking spot to come through.
I had him out earlier in the day when i was changing the coco and he seemed perfectly fine. I've not taken him out or examined him since he regurged, but he seems fine. When i took the rat out he still had a feeding response so i had to push him away with a cushion, otherwise i know he'd have went for me my the way he was behaving.

What do you think? Should i be worried or just try again in a few days when the humidity has settled?
The rat btw, after regurgitation, looked just like new and i didn't get too close, but it didn't smell bad either.

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From what I've been reading you're supposed to wait at least a week after regurgitation to feed again (I am in no way an expert nor claiming to know this 100% I'm just basing it off of what ive read)

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by seercirra

I have a ~7 year old BP and today for the first time, he regurgitated a meal. It was a normal sized rat.
He regurgitated it sometimes between immediately or 5-6 hours after taking it. I didn't see it go all the way down then i came back 5-6 hours later and saw it in the viv.
I am quite worried but i am hoping it is just because i filled his viv with new, damp coco coir today and it usually takes a day for humidity to settle and perhaps also a while for the temps of his basking spot to come through.
I had him out earlier in the day when i was changing the coco and he seemed perfectly fine. I've not taken him out or examined him since he regurged, but he seems fine. When i took the rat out he still had a feeding response so i had to push him away with a cushion, otherwise i know he'd have went for me my the way he was behaving.

What do you think? Should i be worried or just try again in a few days when the humidity has settled?
The rat btw, after regurgitation, looked just like new and i didn't get too close, but it didn't smell bad either.

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I'm no perfectionist but i would wait 1-2 week before feeding after changing the terrarium stress is bad


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He may not have regurgitated, but instead spat it out.

Sounds like he got the feeder partially down then something might have startled him into spitting it up, he thought it was too large, etc.

What's your prey size like? Any changes there?

Did anything change around the terrarium while you were gone, like other pets, loud noises?

If it doesn't look digested, it's most likely this was a spit-up vs a full regurge, especially if he was still feeling hungry.

Still, wait a week before feeding again.

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Originally Posted by Aerries

I'm no perfectionist but i would wait 1-2 week before feeding after changing the terrarium stress is bad


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Well, i only gave him fresh coco. I just checked the temp on the warm side and my suspicion was right, it is only 84 on the surface of the substrate. The sensor had been pushed down so where it was, was 90, but as the substrate was damp and expanded, the surface was alot less. I don't think he's stressed, when i opened the viv (after regurg) he came out fast and excited like he was anticipating food. I think its just that, when he got the food he found there wasn't enough belly heat to digest it. I hope this is all it was, i'll try again in a week.

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Originally Posted by hollowlaughter

He may not have regurgitated, but instead spat it out.

Sounds like he got the feeder partially down then something might have startled him into spitting it up, he thought it was too large, etc.

What's your prey size like? Any changes there?

Did anything change around the terrarium while you were gone, like other pets, loud noises?

If it doesn't look digested, it's most likely this was a spit-up vs a full regurge, especially if he was still feeling hungry.

Still, wait a week before feeding again.

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I saw him suck down the tail and take it a good 6-8 inches down, i just didn't see it go into his belly. It was very average size, he's had far larger. There was no disturbance, no other pets and no loud noises. The rat just looks wet but no slime or any new colour on it, still plain white.

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Originally Posted by seercirra

I saw him suck down the tail and take it a good 6-8 inches down, i just didn't see it go into his belly. It was very average size, he's had far larger. There was no disturbance, no other pets and no loud noises. The rat just looks wet but no slime or any new colour on it, still plain white.

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If you can't think of anything that would cause the flight response and saw it go fully down, then the issue may prove to be something that requires a vet, i.e. a blockage. If it came back up completely, it's wait a week then offer the next size DOWN food item from what they're on now. If he does it again, then you're going to absolutely need to schedule a vet visit to look into possible internal issues.

Also double-check your humidity and temps. Something may be amiss.

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Originally Posted by hollowlaughter

If you can't think of anything that would cause the flight response and saw it go fully down, then the issue may prove to be something that requires a vet, i.e. a blockage. If it came back up completely, it's wait a week then offer the next size DOWN food item from what they're on now. If he does it again, then you're going to absolutely need to schedule a vet visit to look into possible internal issues.

Also double-check your humidity and temps. Something may be amiss.

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Could it be caused by being near something smelly in the freezer? Like curry or something?
I'll do what you say, try him something smaller in a week and take him to a vet if the same thing happens. The only issue with that is that he usually goes off feed this time of year until after Christmas. He's never been i'll, he always starts again in January, but he's done it every year for his whole life.. so next week he might not eat and it'll just because because he's off food. I'll take him to the vets if he regurgitates again.

When dealing with a regurgitation you need to wait TWO WEEKS and I cannot stress enough the importance of this.

After that it will either happen again or it will not

If it does you need to consider the followings

Bad feeder

Low temperatures not allowing proper digestion

Stress

Internal parasites

Based on your description it looks like the rat was not even in the process of being digested so I would have to go with the rat being spitted back out which is generally due to disturbance or size.

Either way because you have limited experience and your description may or may not be correct I would recommend to wait two weeks.

I would wait 2 weeks before offering again.

So.. i waited over two weeks and offered him something much smaller... he regurgitated again. His feeding response was super strong, he really really wanted to eat. I watched closely this time and after he took it down there was some really disturbing behaviour. He would alternate between nose rubbing, trying to fiX his jaw, gazing straight up and perfectly still, to twisting his neck upside down with his tongue out and opening and closing his mouth like there was something stuck in there (but i didn't see anything). About 30 minutes after taking it down, he opened his mouth wide and began moving very violently, and within a minute the rat was back out. I looked over the rat, it was a little gloopy, saliva like substance. Also a little blood like the same amount you might see after spitting toothpaste out after a good brush. No idea whose the blood was. He is behaving normally since regurgitating again.
It is strange that he is trying to eat at this time of year, normally he starts refusing in September and doesn't eat again till the end of January or February. He's always done this and always been healthy, presently weighing over a kilo.. this year he seems to want to continue eating.. but then is regurging. I wonder if maybe the cool side is too warm for him to drop his feeding drive, but the air temp is too low for digestion or something.. although the belly temp is 90.
I guess i will need to take him to the vets.

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About 30 minutes after taking it down, he opened his mouth wide and began moving very violently, and within a minute the rat was back out.

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That's spitting it back out not a regurgitation, which will be cause by a few things.

Too large of a prey.

The animal was disturbed

Change it's mind.

Health issue

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He would alternate between nose rubbing, trying to fiX his jaw, gazing straight up and perfectly still, to twisting his neck upside down with his tongue out and opening and closing his mouth like there was something stuck in there (but i didn't see anything).

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Have you notice this type of behaviour outside from that day and feeding, the nose/rubbing, holding his head up and closing and opening his mouth?

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Originally Posted by Deborah

That's spitting it back out not a regurgitation, which will be cause by a few things.

Too large of a prey.

The animal was disturbed

Change it's mind.

Health issue

Have you notice this type of behaviour outside from that day and feeding, the nose/rubbing, holding his head up and closing and opening his mouth?

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Sure, i've seen him rub his nose after eating quite a few times. Usually just once while he is resetting his jaw, and then he goes back to his hide. I've seen it other times as well, like when he's pooped or peed and wants to get out of the viv. Also sometimes when he wants to poop or pee and is trying to get out of the viv. He doesn't do it consistently. I never saw him hold his head up like this, perfectly vertical and still, and certainly never saw him twisting his neck around and opening/closing his mouth. That was disturbing to see, i wanted to take him out to check, but didn't want to disturb him.

Is spitting it back up not such a problem as regurgitation? The prey wasn't too large. I was watching him but i don't think he was disturbed. I've had him since 2009 and he's never had a problem being disturbed while eating. He has bright eyes, not wheezy, not a gooey or foamy mouth. Could it be that he just changed his mind due to something with the husbandry? As i said, he's never eaten this late but usually he doesn't even go for it, so because of that i am thinking there is something different although not sure what.

edit: Btw he is peeing fine, if that makes any dif. No strange colour or blood or anything.

So, i've had a really bad few days.
I've not taken 'him' to the vets yet. Unless guided otherwise and lacking any other sign of illness, I'll wait to try 'him' one more time when 'he' usually feeds again at the end of January.
I've had a bad few days because on Friday evening there was a huge power surge, down my entire street everyones light bulbs and plugs were exploding at once. 6 or 7 fire engines lined up, the entire street had to be evacuated for 2 hours. The power was off till midday Sunday. For the entire time I had this 'guy' in a pillowcase, sat on a doubled up towel, on my stomach, in a sleeping bag. I spent two nights in pitch darkness and the best part of two days like this. I guess that's dedication for you.
I say 'he' because i measured him when it was all done, and at 165cm I guess its pretty damn certain that 'he' is actually a she.