Please Help! Snake dies while eating...

[Saboduh]

Hi,
Is there a good thermometer to get to check the temp of F/T mice? and what do you do to check it is it inserted to the mice mouth?

[loonunit]

I buy from rodentpro and I slow thaw them in warm water.
Before I feed them I check to make sure that they are not still frozen or cold.

I feed exclusively f/t. I have a dozen animals, I've had them 3+ years, most of them have eaten nothing by f/t in that time, including some slightly overcooked, some slightly under-thawed, and some slightly questionable smelling rodents, and this has never happened to me.

And what you're describing is actually a pretty ideal way to thaw any sort of meat. I really DON'T think the problem is your thawing.

I will say that the only time I did have a regurge was because of a temperature drop followed by a temperature spike in my baby enchi's cage after a very large meal. She was tiny, she'd just eaten three hoppers---she's a huge eater, she always wants more--- and I think she would have been fine, except that I unplugged her tank to vacuum, and then forgot to plug it back in. And it was winter, so the temps in there probably got down to the mid-to-high sixties for 12 hours. And then I noticed that I'd done it, and plugged it back in, and the temps went back up to 95F.

And I think that was too much for cold blooded digestion to deal with. Maybe the mice began to rot before she could digest them? Anyway, she regurged. She didn't even regurge all of it---just the last two hoppers, of the three she'd eaten. So of course I freaked out and I didn't feed her for 21 days after that, which she HATED. Sorry, Maureen!

I've heard regurge can happen if the food starts to spoil before the snake can digest it, and that this is more likely to happen if the snake eats a very large meal?

How big of a meal was it?

After that, I'd think about temperature spikes in the housing, and then maybe just bad luck. Maybe you just had a couple sick animals? But I don't think feeding f/t is your problem.

And: I'm really sorry about your loss.

[Slashmaster]

This happened to me with my very first ball python, and he was eating live prey. I'd fed him one week, and he ate that fine and if I remember correctly eliminated, then the next week he ate another prey. He died 1-2 days later with a regurg next to him and a green spot on his belly.

I'm still not sure what killed him (as my other snakes afterward did fine) but did yours have a green spot on its belly?

[Boomstick]

This happened to me with my very first ball python, and he was eating live prey. I'd fed him one week, and he ate that fine and if I remember correctly eliminated, then the next week he ate another prey. He died 1-2 days later with a regurg next to him and a green spot on his belly.

I'm still not sure what killed him (as my other snakes afterward did fine) but did yours have a green spot on its belly?

He looked fine, normal color head to tail.

[Homegrownscales]

This is a really Interesting case.
Though I am truly sorry for your losses. There was a short time inbetween these two unfortunate deaths and I do have to attribute that to a variety of a couple things. I do think the internal temp of the rat could have effected things a bit, a cold spot would put the ball into shock because of the massive temp change in their bodies. I also think that because of the shock, the snake was frantic on regurging making aspiration more of a danger. I would get a necropsy done, I think that's the smartest thing to do. And I hope you find the answers you need.
I am sorry.

Check out what's new on my website... www.Homegrownscales.com