Regurgitation or Hairball?

[ckuhn003]

Last week I encountered some strange behavior from my BP. In the middle of the day, I noticed he was out of his hide contorting his body pretty rapidly. As I approached his enclosure, he started to open and stretch his mouth wide open when some liquid proceeded to come out. Once he retreated back to his hide, I found what looked like a hair ball or possible regurgitation. Oddly enough there was no smell to it as I can remember years ago what a regurgitation smelled like. The texture of the ‘foreign object’ felt like matted hair with no sense of internal parts. Temps are good after checking. I did however pick him up for a quick weighing 4 days after feeding. Should I treat this as a regurgitation (ie. Feed smaller prey, wait a couple weeks, etc)? He seems to be acting normal and searching for food at night.




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[Bogertophis]

That really does look (& sound) as if he regurgitated an undigestible wad of rodent hair. The reason it didn't smell horrible (as regurgitations normally do) is because all the tissues were digested out of the prey he consumed- it's just hair stuck together with saliva. Yes, I'd wait longer, before feeding smaller prey.

What are his temps. (highest & lowest) in his enclosure? Check with an accurate device to make sure he has adequate warmth to digest- this should not have been regurgitated, it still should have went out the other way. Does he seem bloated at all? -above his cloaca, is he puffy-looking? -or are there any hard lumps (feel gently above his cloaca) or swollen areas?

Double check his humidity too- digestion requires good hydration.

[ckuhn003]

That really does look (& sound) as if he regurgitated an undigestible wad of rodent hair. The reason it didn't smell horrible (as regurgitations normally do) is because all the tissues were digested out of the prey he consumed- it's just hair stuck together with saliva. Yes, I'd wait longer, before feeding smaller prey.

What are his temps. (highest & lowest) in his enclosure? Check with an accurate device to make sure he has adequate warmth to digest- this should not have been regurgitated, it still should have went out the other way. Does he seem bloated at all? -above his cloaca, is he puffy-looking? -or are there any hard lumps (feel gently above his cloaca) or swollen areas?

Double check his humidity too- digestion requires good hydration.

Makes sense about the non smell. His temps seem fairly normal. 88-89 on warm side and 82-83 on cool side. Humidity in the mid 60s. He looks good. Nothing unusual and I don’t feel any swollen or harden areas.




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[Bogertophis]

So hopefully then, this is just a "one-off". Some snakes have worse digestion than others- they're not all the same, any more than we are. Are you feeding rats or mice? Rats have thicker fur & would be harder to digest- if this continues to be a problem, you might want to consider only feeding mice (or ASF's, if available?). Just a thought, but hopefully this was just a one-time fluke.

[Erie_herps]

I've heard of this happening before, where skin comes loose during thawing and it could have slipped off during digestion. The harder part, skin and fur, could have been left while the softer parts, organs, tissues, etc.are digested first. However, I don't know if this could actually happen or if it's highly unlikely.

[Snow Balls]

I would definitely treat this as a regurgitation, just give him 2 weeks and offer him a size smaller prey item

[Jamiekerk]

That really does look (& sound) as if he regurgitated an undigestible wad of rodent hair. The reason it didn't smell horrible (as regurgitations normally do) is because all the tissues were digested out of the prey he consumed- it's just hair stuck together with saliva. Yes, I'd wait longer, before feeding smaller prey.

What are his temps. (highest & lowest) in his enclosure? Check with an accurate device to make sure he has adequate warmth to digest- this should not have been regurgitated, it still should have went out the other way. Does he seem bloated at all? -above his cloaca, is he puffy-looking? -or are there any hard lumps (feel gently above his cloaca) or swollen areas?

Double check his humidity too- digestion requires good hydration.

Found this from a vet university

Snakes vomit for the same reasons other animals do—including nerves. Hairballs happen when fur gets built up in their gastrointestinal tract, setting off receptors that tell the brain to vomit, says Mark Rondeau of the University of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Medicine.25 Jan 2020

So seems can happen on ocasion if it builds up and can’t pass correctly


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[ckuhn003]

So hopefully then, this is just a "one-off". Some snakes have worse digestion than others- they're not all the same, any more than we are. Are you feeding rats or mice? Rats have thicker fur & would be harder to digest- if this continues to be a problem, you might want to consider only feeding mice (or ASF's, if available?). Just a thought, but hopefully this was just a one-time fluke.

I'm hoping it's a one off thing. He's around 5 years old and this is only the 2nd time it's happened. The 1st time was when I 1st got him and I still don't know what caused it since all the numbers seemed dialed in. I'm feeding Rats and it was a struggle years ago to convert so going back to mice is definitely not something I want to think about

[ckuhn003]

I would definitely treat this as a regurgitation, just give him 2 weeks and offer him a size smaller prey item

He's on two week intervals as it is (small rats) but I'll be giving him a weaned rat this time w/ a sprinkle of nutribac.

[Bogertophis]

I'm hoping it's a one off thing. He's around 5 years old and this is only the 2nd time it's happened. The 1st time was when I 1st got him and I still don't know what caused it since all the numbers seemed dialed in. I'm feeding Rats and it was a struggle years ago to convert so going back to mice is definitely not something I want to think about

He's on two week intervals as it is (small rats) but I'll be giving him a weaned rat this time w/ a sprinkle of nutribac.

Small rats should really be fine- their fur isn't anything like the fur of mature large rats. He just has a slightly "weak stomach" apparently. Adding the Nutribac couldn't hurt.