Ball Python Vomit

[Agro]

Hello there.

I apologize in advance for making the post so big/long, I tried to hide the questionnaire below but I don't know how.

Today when I have checked my snakes I have noticed that one of them got mites. It was a new snake who got them, so I quickly took him out of the cage and treated him and his whole enclosure to remove mites. Then I took care of my second snake who is in blue. I have never touched her while she was in blue or shedding as I know it is a big no no, and big factor of stress in BP’s, but because of mites I have decided to quickly treat her and her viv as well to prevent the mite spreading.

I have used Beaphar Mite Spray on her as I did before and she was completely fine.

I have laid out the white paper towels in her cage placed two hides on the hot and cold spot and placed her inside, she hid immediately and was like that for good few hours. Then when I went to check on their temperatures and how they are after treatment I noticed she was out with her under chin skin a bit loose like they have after eating and something below her. At the beginning I thought it was a poo, but noticed it have grey color and coated with a slimy liquid, it was shaped like one of those magnets you throw in the air, and it had a bit of smell.

I have heard the vomiting is sometimes caused by the stress or the illness, but my snake never showed any other symptoms as I check on them regularly and she is on stable weight, she is thermoregulating like normal, hiding all day, her weight is steady and always had perfect sheds. Her last meal was around 2 weeks ago because when preparing to shed she never eats.

I know I probably did a big big mistake treating her while she was in blue, instead treating her after the shed, but now I am worried that she might be sick because of me. Is it normal to happen? Have some of you experienced this?
I’ll include the photos, but I have already removed the vomit into the plastic bag so it will not be in its original shape.



Also including the questionnaire I answered
1.How long have you had your ball python?
I have had my ball python around 9 months

2. How old (or how big) is your snake?
she is around 2 years old and is 1000g snake

3. Does it eat on a regular schedule?
she is not a good eater, sometimes she is on 3 months strike

4. How long since its last meal?
2 weeks ago

5. What type/size prey is being offered?
Medium rat

6. How often do you offer food?
Depends on the size, sometimes med rats are quite smaller so then I offer weekly if it is a larger one I offer next meal after 10 days

7. What type and size of enclosure does it live in?
She is living in a wooden vivarium right now (for around a week since I moved her from the tank)

8. What are you using as substrate? If it has depth, how deep is it?
Mainly coconut substrate/coconut husk with some moss

9. What type of heating do you use?
For her I use UTH for both sides (cold and hot)

10. Do you use a thermostat to control temperatures?
Yes on both I use thermostats

11. What do you use to measure/monitor temperatures?
I use the thermometers with probe on both sides also I use temp gun

12. What are the surface and ambient temperatures in the enclosure?
On the cold side there is 27C(80F) and on hot side 30C (86F) on the floor, the air is around 23-24C (73-75F)

13. What is the average humidity level?
Right now she is on 75-80% because she is in shed, but average is from 55-60%

14. How many and what type of hides does the snake have?
Two caves, one is plastic (temporary because of a mite problem) and second is the exo terra cave size medium. With her normal setup she is having exo terra cave and the wooden hide.

15. Is water readily available at all times?
Water is always available for them, unless I use some medication which requires to remove the water bowl for requested period

16. Does the snake live alone or does it share the enclosure with anything else?
They live all alone

17. How often and for how long is the snake typically handled?
Very rarely I hold her once 1-2 weeks for 20 minutes.

18. Does the snake have any medical history (old injuries or illnesses)?
No
19. Do you have any other reptiles? Have you brought in any new reptiles recently?
Yes I got a new snake 1.5 weeks ago, a male ball python

20. Is there anything specific or unique about your situation that we should be aware of?
Not I am aware of too.

Thank you for your time in advance

[Bogertophis]

I might be wrong, but from where I sit, it looks like she hacked up what is essentially a hairball.

When you said it "had a bit of smell" were you downplaying it or being literal? Usually snake barf makes us gag, but this looks like she digested pretty well, &
this was just mostly leftover hair (w/ slime, of course, which goes with the territory).

Being in shed can slow down the digestion process (both require extra hydration from the snake's body) so maybe that, coupled with the sudden handling, is why
this occurred. I have a feeling this is nothing to worry about.

[Agro]

I might be wrong, but from where I sit, it looks like she hacked up what is essentially a hairball.

When you said it "had a bit of smell" were you downplaying it or being literal? Usually snake barf makes us gag, but this looks like she digested pretty well, &
this was just mostly leftover hair (w/ slime, of course, which goes with the territory).

Being in shed can slow down the digestion process (both require extra hydration from the snake's body) so maybe that, coupled with the sudden handling, is why
this occurred. I have a feeling this is nothing to worry about.

I was being literal with the smell and it was not something you can gag to (well in my opinion), and I have strong scenting sense.
Thank you for the reply, yesterday at night it put me into small panic mode, but now I feel more relieved.