spotted python did not eat food

[Cerberrus]

Hi there i am a new snake owner i have been trying to feed m snake for about 3 months now. she shed and i finally eat and i was so happy i seen it half way tru the body and everything but now a couple days later i notice a stench coming from the room and the mouse is there on the ground and stinks i am very confused and any help would be great on what to do.

[blisterbeetle]

can you give us some information on how your enclosure is setup? she must've been stressed by something to regurgitate the mouse. did you handle her after you fed her at all?

[Cerberrus]

i have no handled her at all been leavening her alone when i came out to grab the mouse i noticed she was very curious almost protecting it

[Bogertophis]

More information please- how old is the snake? or how old was she when you got her- I assume that was 3 months ago?

Was she eating before you got her- with the breeder or previous owner? Did they provide you with a feeding record for her?

How often do you handle her? Did you handle her at all after she ate? (Snakes may regurgitate their meals if handled or stressed after they eat, OR if they're too cold to digest their food, but there are also illnesses that can cause this.)

What kind of enclosure is she kept in? What are the temperatures? (lowest- "cool side" & warmest side?) Does she have multiple "hides"? (at least one on the cool side, & one that's heated)

Please post pics if you can also- of the snake & of her home.

Also- how big is your snake & what size rodent did you feed her??? If the prey was too big, that's another reason she might have barfed it up. Especially if her home was also not warm enough, etc.

[Cerberrus]

no clue how old she is i think that said under a year. i did get her 3 months ago correct.
she was eating before i got her the owner told me wean rats and frozen cus she is picky.
never handled her yet i did try about 1 month after i got her but she did not seem to fond of the idea of that but i did hold her with the pervious owner no problems.
she has 2 hides one damp and the other with a heating pad at 88f
working on adding a picture now

[Cerberrus]

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/lukac/OneDrive/Pictures/20220721_150740.jpg[/IMG]

[Bogertophis]

These are pretty small snakes at a year old- I can't imagine feeding one a weaned rat, so I'm guessing you fed her too much (ie. it was too big for her to handle). Also, I'd make sure that her warm area is a good 90*.

Right now, because she regurgitated her meal, she needs at LEAST 2-3 weeks without food to allow enough time to replenish her digestive enzymes. When you DO offer her food again, it must be very small- I assume she has never eaten for you before? It's odd that she'd be on rats, but if that's the case (& she really won't eat mice at all?) you'll want to be feeding her pinky rats or very young fuzzy rats (eyes CLOSED) when you offer her food (& feed her small meals for quite a while while she recovers). Weaned rats are way too big for this snake, IMO.

FYI- I have an adult Spotted python (now 14 years old)- & I've had her for 13 years, since she was a yearling. She's never eaten anything but mice of the appropriate size- & she prefers pre-killed (fresh or f/t). I would NOT feed MY spotted python a weaned rat, & she's an adult snake, nearly 4' long. She eats one or 2 small adult mice (hoppers) per meal.

Another possibility is that you failed to completely THAW the rodent- If you feed a rodent that is still frozen inside, your snake WILL barf it up. How do you thaw your rodents?

And: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures Please include something for size reference, like a ruler, etc.

[Cerberrus]

i will go soon to confirm the age of the snake more. and i have tried 1millon ways so far to thaw lol but this timei let it soak in the bag and warm ish water till it was soft then but hot to the touch water again well it was in the bag and fed it

[Bogertophis]

i will go soon to confirm the age of the snake more. and i have tried 1millon ways so far to thaw lol but this timei let it soak in the bag and warm ish water till it was soft then but hot to the touch water again well it was in the bag and fed it

Actual age isn't so important because snakes may grow at different rates, depending on how well they eat, etc.- I'm trying to figure out his actual size, & snakes are hard to measure...

Thawing rodents properly: Doing this wrong causes spoilage & that may be why your snake is "fussy"- snakes can smell spoilage & unless they're a species like king snakes (that are willing to eat carrion), they'll refuse to eat spoiled rodents. Can't say I blame them...can you?

Thaw in COLD (or cool) water until rodent is thoroughly soft thru-out- feel it with your fingers to make sure.
Only THEN put in warm (NOT HOT) water to warm it up briefly before offering it. Honestly, I do NOT warm rodents for my spotted python & she always eats, but she's often eating fresh killed, not f/t, because I raise my own rodents. Instead of putting in warm water, you can also use a blow-dryer briefly to warm the prey.

I have a feeling that spoilage has been one of the issues in getting your snake to eat- their food should be "like fresh" which means not spoiled & not cooked. Whole rodents spoil in warm/hot water because their whole GI tract is present & FULL of bacteria that flourish when warmed, so the key is to thaw quickly: directly IN water is the fastest method but some scent will wash off the rodent & while I doubt that your spotted python will care, some snakes will prefer more scent than when rodents are damp (I blot any f/t rodents on paper towels- don't offer them dripping wet, lol), & in that case, it's easiest just to pinch-damage the nose of the dead rodent using your feeding tongs, right before you offer it. This also helps the snake target the nose for easy swallowing, unless you have a lot of "delinquent" snakes like I do, that often grab whatever end of the rodent I DIDN'T put forward!

The other big question is whether you're feeding the right size prey for the size of your snake.

[Cerberrus]

okay will keep that all in mind and you said to try again in 2-3 weeks