Russian Rat Regurgitated

Bonsai is still on mice pinks and had his regularly scheduled feeding yesterday. I had a feeling the pinkie I offered was a little on the big side compared to the usual size, but he still took it eagerly, although having a harder time than normal getting it down. He spit it up at some point later, completely intact.

I know the general rule of thumb for beeps, no food or handling for a couple of weeks to recover. Is this the same for colubrids?

If you feed every week, take a week off and then try again. Maybe use a smaller food size if it was substantially larger than normal. Best of luck!

Honestly have no idea as Russian Rats seem to be more hardy than beeps. Just to be safe though I'd follow the same rules and try to find smaller pinks to feed at first(not really sure if you could find anything smaller than day old mouse pinks)

It can happen, some russians really hate having too big meals, will eat them eagerly but then throw them up just like yours did. As a rule you should give him 2 weeks without food and then fed him one smaller pinky :) Like you said it was probably too big so try to stay away from this size until he grows a little bigger.

It's the same as with corns, 2 weeks is a safe time for him to recover and then the next feeding should be smaller.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Sylphie

It can happen, some russians really hate having too big meals, will eat them eagerly but then throw them up just like yours did. As a rule you should give him 2 weeks without food and then fed him one smaller pinky :) Like you said it was probably too big so try to stay away from this size until he grows a little bigger.

It's the same as with corns, 2 weeks is a safe time for him to recover and then the next feeding should be smaller.

---

Ok, that's what I figured. Thank you all for confirming. Should I avoid handling him in that 2 week period as well? And would it be beneficial to dust his next meal with Nutribac (probiotic) to help his system get back in check?

I would suggest minimum handling and not using a dusting supplement. He should be getting all the necessary nutrients from the rodents.

How long did you thaw the pink? I suspect it might have still been slightly frozen on the inside?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by redshepherd

How long did you thaw the pink? I suspect it might have still been slightly frozen on the inside?

---

About an hour & a half in warm to hot water. I felt him (the pink) all over and he felt warm and soft, but I didn't temp gun him. He was the largest pink I've ever offered, and Bonsai struggled getting him down, so I'm inclined to think it was a size issue. But I guess it could have been a temp issue since I didn't check the pinkie temp before offering.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by hilabeans

About an hour & a half in warm to hot water. I felt him (the pink) all over and he felt warm and soft, but I didn't temp gun him. He was the largest pink I've ever offered, and Bonsai struggled getting him down, so I'm inclined to think it was a size issue. But I guess it could have been a temp issue since I didn't check the pinkie temp before offering.

---

Ah that should be more than enough time! It should barely leave a lump in them.

The other possibility is that it was way too hot when offered, or even slightly cooked, since you mention hot water. I always thaw in just a little warm to the touch water. If the water feels "hot" to our hands, it's way too hot.

It was probably just to big..

While Colubrids have a rapid metabolism, they don't usually load up like the pythons will. They eat smaller and more often.

Its actually LESS damaging to regurgitate within an hour of the meal, then days into it. You don't have all those corrosive digestion juices within that meal yet, scarring everything on its way up.

However, do wait a bit, just to be safe, and then a smaller meal again. After that meal, if things go well, wait a little longer again in between meals, and then a smaller one again.
If all goes well you should be able to go back to the regular schedule.

The worm will grow rapidly, so you will go up in size, just be careful you never go above the circumference of the snake. Rather feed more often and smaller meals.

I think he will be just fine :)