Mouse too big?

What can happen if a mouse is slightly too large? My snake ate a small mouse, but it left a huge bulge. The last one didn't leave that big of a bulge or take so long to swallow. I don't want him to get sick. It looked to be slightly larger around than him. It was the smallest one they had at the pet shop.

He should be fine. Sometimes I have the same problem too. :)

Your bp should be fine. That sounds like the right size of mouse, IMO.

I sure hope you guys are right! You should have seen him dragging that bulge into his hide. My mother in law and my kids sure enjoyed the show.

There are only a handful of things that can be "bad" for a snake for feeding large..

- regurgitation. Snake tries to eat it, fails, throws it up. Making your snake throw up isn't the worst thing in the world, but it isn't a good thing either. It can cause the snake to become a regular regurgitator though.

- general overfeeding. Human kids eating too much become fat and unhealthy. There are overeating problems for snakes as well.

- The famous "burm who tried to eat an alligator that was too big for it, and then the snake exploded" picture has shown us that eating something too big can cause internal ruptures. I doubt that it would happen feeding something as soft and squishy as a rodent, most likely if the snake can't stomach the food, it'll regurg.

if your snake didnt explode and didn't regurg, then your only concern is making your snake fat, most likely no harm done from one larger-than-usual feeding, so no worries!

He's balled up in his hide now and doesn't look like he is in pain. Thank's for your replies.

also, i assume your snake is still a juvie since you are feeding it a mouse. It is really hard to overfeed a juvie snake. They tend to utilize everything they can get for growth and it isnt until the snake is a few years old and its growth rate has slowed down a bit before you need to be truely concerned about getting an overwieght and unhealthy snake. Todd

Yes, he is a baby. I have had him for little more than a week. He is really fun and easy to handle. He's never once snapped at or struck us. He is amazing to watch eat!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ssballow

Yes, he is a baby. I have had him for little more than a week. He is really fun and easy to handle. He's never once snapped at or struck us. He is amazing to watch eat!

---

You're lucky I've had mine for a little over a week now and he's very aggressive with me.

No harm will come, not anytime soon anyways. Sounds like he got a good meal.

from what i know if you dont see a buldge then your feeding to small

I realize that, but this was a huge bulge and he had to move really slow when I put his hide back in the tank. I took out everything from his tank to feed him. He is still in his hide. I guess he had to rest a couple of days after that feast.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ssballow

I realize that, but this was a huge bulge and he had to move really slow when I put his hide back in the tank. I took out everything from his tank to feed him. He is still in his hide. I guess he had to rest a couple of days after that feast.

---

Don't worry. The bulge usually goes away after a day or so. It isn't threatening to the snakes health at all.

My snakes spend 6 days in their hides and only come out on the 7th looking for more food. :P Being in his hide is a good thing.

I told the pet shop to get me a small rat and I swear when I got home they had given me a big medium (this was for my red tail). My snake managed to get it down somehow but this thing was so big he left the lower half of his body out of his hide for seven days due to it restricting its coiling. Thats probably too big a meal but he pooped it out..... You should be fine