Why regurgitation?

[ballman123]

One of my female snakes has regurgitated twice. I feed medium rats and they all eat very well. But, a few weeks ago my female 1500 gram threw up a rat. Then the next week she ate fine. Then, this week threw up again. Whats the problem? Is it possible the rat was not completely thawed? What causes this she is healthy?

[llovelace]

It could very well be that it was not thawed all the way. When I feed f/t I take rodents out in the morning & let them thaw all day, then feed at night.

[ballman123]

Ok, it just seems weird the same snake has done it twice.

[GoFride]

If you're feeding F/T, how are you thawing? How do you determine when the F/T is ready? If you do just a quick warmup (for example, with a blowdryer), you can heat up the outside, but the inside can still be too cold (esp the head). The head takes longer to thaw. If you squish the belly gently, you may find that it's a little cold/slushy, too.

[ballman123]

I thaw in a 5 gallon bucket with hot water and try to feel when it is thawed but now that I think about it I think it was a little cooler in the mid section of the rat but I didn't think anything of it.

[GoFride]

OK try this - it works for me, and I hope it helps you! Put your F/T in the refrig the day before you feed, and let them thaw slowly. About an hour before feeding time, take them out of the frig and let them sit in the room near your snake (so your snake can smell dinner on the way - you'll get a better feeding response) until the heads of the feeders are room temp. If they still feel cold, they aren't ready! When the heads and bellies have reached room temp, then you can heat them up and feed your snakes. You just want to warm them up, not get them hot (too hot can also cause problems).

[don15681]

when your snake regurges it's food. you should wait atleast 10 to 14 days before feeding again. and the rodent should be smaller than normally feed. when they regurged their food, this tears them up inside and they need time for things to settle down. your snake did it twice in a weeks time, this isn't good at all.

[rabernet]

You never feed an animal that has re-gurged, until you wait at least 2 weeks to allow the stomach flora and fauna to re-build.

There are a multitude of reasons that she regurgitated, and internal parasites could be one reason. I'd recommend taking a fecal sample into your vet and get them to run a test on that to rule that out.

[Skiploder]

Ok, it just seems weird the same snake has done it twice.

I thaw in a 5 gallon bucket with hot water and try to feel when it is thawed but now that I think about it I think it was a little cooler in the mid section of the rat but I didn't think anything of it.

If you have more than one snake, and you are thawing out all the rodents at the same time, in the same way, and she's still the only one having this issue (twice), why do you think it's the temperature of the prey item?

1. What was the time period between the two incidences?

2. Did she throw up the item or regurge it? There's a difference between the two events, and whether it was one or the other can help determine the issue.

3. What are you keeping her in and whats the hot spot, ambient and cool side temps? What are you measuring those temps with?

4. If your husbandry is spot on, and you can effectively rule our environmental causes, a trip to the vet is in order. If she isn't pooping, the vet can still do a wash and check for the presence of parasites.

[ballman123]

Parasites would not be possible. And, I did not feed twice and she did not regurg twice in a weeks time. It was about a month ago. What is the difference between regurgitation and throwing up? She goes to the bathroom regularly and is a healthy heavy bodied snake. I think it is the temperature of the prey item.