Snake not hungry or rejecting rat?

My poor snake threw up on Sunday. We tried to feed her on schedule Wednesday but she didn't eat so we figured it was because she was sick and froze it again. However, the past couple of days she has been acting like she may be hungry - hanging out between her hides, looking at us when we enter the room. I gave her the rat again this morning but after sniffing it she turned her head and went to the other side of her tank.

Is she not hungry or just not pleased with the rat?

We've only had her a month so I am still nervous about making sure we are keeping her happy.

First off, I assume your snake regurged on Sunday, then you tried feeding it the following Wednesday, then you tried again the next Wednesday. It's actually pretty normal for a snake to not eat for several weeks (usually 2-3 weeks) after regurgitating, but if he's still not interested in the rat after a month and you notice him starting to lose weight, feeding live should at least be considered.

To answer your question, he's likely still stressed from the regurge and just doesn't feel like eating. It's also possible that he isn't pleased with the rat like you suspected. Make sure you have thawed it properly and that there aren't any ice chunks or frozen parts on the rat. Also, warming it up to body temperature (aboyt 100°F) with a blowdryer or just on the heat source of your snake's enclosure will help a lot with his interest. Then again, you should take my advice with a pinch of salt as I've never fed f/t, I prefer live [emoji14]

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Ok, a few things to consider:

First, it's very important to determine WHY the snake regurgitated. It is either husbandry, stress or internal illness.

Was it husbandry related? Are your temps right? If your snake was too cold it couldn't digest properly and regurgitated.

Was it stress related? Did you handle the snake too soon after eating? Did something in the room spook the snake? Snakes will regurgitate their meals if they are scared. They will basically shed any excess weight to make escaping easier for them.

Lastly, if husbandry and stress aren't the issue it may be best to make a vet appointment.

Also, VERY IMPORTANT: you should wait AT LEAST 2 weeks to offer food again after a regurge as well as offer smaller prey for at least the first meal. Regurgitating takes a toll on the snake's insides. So basically you need to let the digestive system heal or you can make the issues worse.

We have two theories about why she regurged.

Mine is that it's because I handled her too soon before her shed (which makes me feel like the worst snake mommy ever).

The man we bought her from says it may be because she was cold, since she she shouldn't have had anything solid to regurge so close to her feeding date. We did have an unusually cold week, but we added a heating pad over her tank and she spent a lot of time on her cool side.

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Originally Posted by Lirenn

We have two theories about why she regurged.

Mine is that it's because I handled her too soon before her shed (which makes me feel like the worst snake mommy ever).

The man we bought her from says it may be because she was cold, since she she shouldn't have had anything solid to regurge so close to her feeding date. We did have an unusually cold week, but we added a heating pad over her tank and she spent a lot of time on her cool side.

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Handling prior to shed would have nothing to do with regurge. It would only be handling to soon after the snake ate and the prey wasn't fully digested enough.

What are your temps and how are you heating? How are you measuring the temps?

Actually, what is your setup like? The more you tell us the more we can help you and your snake.

We have her in a 30-gallon tank with coconut fiber substrate and a hide on each end. For heating we have a heat lamp and heating pad under the tank. The cool side is usually 75°F and I measure it with a digital thermometer/hygrometer with probes you can stick to the wall. The hot sise upwards of 88°F and just has a digital thermometer leaned up against her hide.

I did read on a couple of websites that handling just before a shed can stress them out, and stress can cause regurge. But that was just a quick googling. It was a week and a half after her last feeding. I don't think she's sick because she's actually been more active than I've seen her in the month since we got her.

Ah, it was a week and a half after eating?? That's not a regurge then, that's actually the snake throwing up. I may have misunderstood. I would make a vet appointments then. The entire prey item would be completely digested at that point, so stress or husbandry can essentially be ruled out.

As for handling prior to shed, yes it's stressful to the snake due to their compromised vision at that stage.
Unfortunately, I highly doubt that had anything to do with your snake throwing up in this case though.

Also on a side note. Take anything sticky out of the tank. Nothing sticky ever goes in the tank. Is your uth on a thermostat?

The probes are on suction cups, but thanks for the heads up!

We don't have anything set up on thermostat yet.

Please unplug your uth unless it is regulated. Lots of horror stories.

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Originally Posted by Lirenn

The probes are on suction cups, but thanks for the heads up!

We don't have anything set up on thermostat yet.

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Husbandry mistake #1, and perhaps the worst possible mistake you can do with a ball python.

Yup, as the others said, unplug the UTH.

Google snake burns if you need to, but you should just trust us.

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Originally Posted by craigafrechette

Yup, as the others said, unplug the UTH.

Google snake burns if you need to, but you should just trust us.

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I am no vet, but I would think that over heating could possibly be the cause of the vomiting.

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Originally Posted by Godzilla78

I am no vet, but I would think that over heating could possibly be the cause of the vomiting.

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I honestly don't know....

Oh dear, what happens?

What should I do for heat in the meantime? I don't know if the lamp alone will suffice.

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Originally Posted by Lirenn

The probes are on suction cups, but thanks for the heads up!

We don't have anything set up on thermostat yet.

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Every heat source should be regulated, not optional. Unplug your UTH until you can get a dimmer or thermostat.

You can grab a thermostat at the closest pet store... then I recommend buying a nicer one, and a infrared temp gun for the near future.


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Oh, just saw the second page of replies. Definitely will be getting a thermostat setup asap.

Technically, both the UTH AND the ambient heat source(lamp in your case) should BOTH be on thermostats, either two separate thermostats or a dual controlled thermostat like a herpstat2 for example.


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Originally Posted by Lirenn

and froze it again.

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You should never re-freeze anything

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Originally Posted by spiderfreddie

You should never re-freeze anything

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I personally have never reforozen any prey items, however, many keepers have with no negative results. It is commonly said that as long as the prey item hasn't been out too long it can be refrozen one time. I see no issue as long as common sense is used as to whether the prey item is still safe. That being said, when in doubt, throw it out.