Regurgitation Due To Handling?

[Zach Nasty]

I'm interested in seeing how many people have actually experienced a regurgitation due strictly to handling too "soon" after being fed. It is stated quite frequently that you should allow them two or so days to digest before any handling.

I'm only interested in hearing about handling incidents, not any due to illness, improperly sized prey, stress, and so on.

Back story:

This past Saturday, I fed my adult normal female a small rat, she took it as usual so I moved on to tending to the rest of my snakes.

I come back to her about twenty minutes later, rats gone. Cool. I go to change the water bowl and she strikes at me viciously, smacking mouth first into the side of the tub. She staggers herself backwards awkwardly, I can see that something is wrong. The force of her slamming into the side of the tub has folded her bottom jaw inwards and it has hooked onto her teeth inside her mouth. Struggling now to right herself, rubbing and thrashing her head around on the ground, she can't get it unhooked.

Obviously something must be done.

I grab her, she's immediately stressed. She's throwing herself around trying to get away from me. She can no longer bite, she can only flee. Grab a shirt and place it over her to calm her down as I get her out. She's out now, I sit down and access the situation. I grab myself a makeshift speculum, I know I have to open her mouth. I get her firmly behind the head and she hates this. She is throwing herself wildly all over the place, wriggling, coiling me, trying to escape anyway she can. I let her go a couple of times as she's twisted her head in ways that I have no safe control over her anymore.

I get her mouth open and check her out, there's a couple of teeth hooked on her bottom jaw. I unhooked her teeth and readjusted her jaw slightly, she reset it fully once I had let her go. I put her back and she roamed for awhile before settling down.

Now, the moral of the book I just wrote is: I handled that animal viciously compared to normal handling just fifteen minutes or so after she had eaten. She never regurgitated or seemed liked she even thought about it. I've had ball pythons for the past eight years and I have never experienced any type of regurgitation due to handling, or anything for that matter.

I'd like to hear from people who have experienced this. It's kind of a myth to me I supposed.

Thoughts?

[Evilme5229]

I think ppl stress about not handling the snake after eating as a precaution more so than a fact. I have had handled my alot of my snakes after they ate (I sometimes feed in a separate enclosure) to put them back in their enclosure.

If you snake doesn't exhibit a striking behavor on a normal basis, maybe she was still in the feeding mode. I have a theory that they stay in the "feeding mode" for about 15 mins after they eat to see if theres more food around them.

I would say that the incident your describing would probably envoke regurg if it was going to happen. Theres a lot of a factors that could probably attributed to the situation too. You never know whats going on your snakes head. lol.

[Alexandra V]

I'm not as experienced with handling after feeding because I was warned rather viciously against it when I got my bp, but it's possible that she didn't regurg because 1) she was throwing her body around herself, so she knew not to make herself barf, and 2) because in a fight or flight situation where she acts panicked like that, regurgitation isn't the greatest idea because it takes time that she could have been using to escape.

[Beardedragon]

I think it was Mudduc ( Tim Baily) who I asked the same question once. He said something along the lines of its not just about regurgs, the teeth/claws/bones can actually rip open their stomach, so you want to wait two days for the meal to be completely digested before handling to prevent that.

[mpkeelee]

i have never had a nake regurge. i dont handle due to the reason posted above, and also remember that their lil bodies pretty much shut down and focus a lot their energy on digesting their prey. their is a couple threads about this on here somewhere, i will try to find them, but it talks about their hearts and everything needed for digestion goes up about 200%. for two days or more i just let them hide out and focus on digesting

[Zach Nasty]

I don't handle mine after they eat, just merely trying to see people's points of view.

[Step Johns]

I feed a couple of my snakes in seperate enclosures and have to move them back to their tub... have yet to have a regurge

[stratus_020202]

IMO I think it's related to the fight or flight. They can eat a prey size larger than them, and in the wild they probably due. I think if the prey immobilizes them, and they need to run; they will regurg.

I still don't handle my bp's after they eat due to safety, and I've never seen a regurg. Just because we can do something, doesn't mean we should. And, for the sake of inexperienced handlers I hope they continue to push "not to handle until 48 hrs of digestion."

Also, wait until he uses the potty. See how much energy he had to properly digest it.

[tiny_tiger60978]

Prob. your snake couldn't regurg since it's mouth was stuck closed even if it did want to...I always heard that they throw up when they feel threated and do so so that they can "run" away faster (as opposed to having a full belly that slows them down).

Honestly, before I knew too much about what I was doing, the first time I fed my snake I handled her a couple hours after (by handled I mean took her out and let her lay on my belly as "we" watched tv). Now (since her second feeding on...), obviously, I dont' handle her for a while after she eats (aka 2 days). I only mention this, at risk of getting slamed by others for not knowing how to properly feed her, because she still did not regurg even that first time. Idk why they do or don't throw up, so I'd just go with you were lucky they didn't decide to loose their lunch after that stressfull event...

[SnakeKB]

I only handle them if i need to clean there enclosure for whatever reason. Other than that i leave them be.