Snake regurgitation

[telfordthomas]

Hi everyone, hope you can help me?

Last night my snake regurgitated his rat for seemingly no reason. I went in to see to him today and he is in his cool hide (rat was in warm hide). I did notice last night that he was trying to turn around and go back into his hide after eatting and was struggling, I'm not sure if that may have triggered him to regurgitate if he was struggling to get back into his hide?

Any ideas what may have caused this?

Also, any tips on how to manage him for the next few weeks to ensure he is okay? When should I next feed him?

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[Lord Sorril]

Any ideas what may have caused this?

Also, any tips on how to manage him for the next few weeks to ensure he is okay? When should I next feed him?

All the regurges I've had in my collection have all been due to just a few factors:

1. Prey item was too Large
2. Ambient Heat/UTH Hot spot Temps were incorrect
3. Food item was gross (refrozen/tumor riddled) or had not been properly thawed (ice core)
4. Snake was startled/panicked within 24 hours of eating (longer if large meal)

Regurges can aspirate fluid in the lung and burn their throat. Pay special attention for any breathing difficulties or possible respiratory infections for a while. I wouldn't offer food for at least a week after a regurge, but, I wouldn't blink an eye if the snake skipped food for a month. I would also offer a prey item on the smaller side in case there is still inflammation.

Best of Luck

[Craiga 01453]

Can you tell us more about what you mean by "struggling to get back in his hide"??? What exactly was happening?

Also, please tell us about your temps.

How much does the snake weigh and what size prey was offered?

Without enough info we really can't help. Lord Sorill did a perfect job of laying out the possible causes. If you can give us more info we can narrow down what caused it and how to move forward.

[Bogertophis]

I agree with Lord Sorril's post. One other reason that's sometimes a factor is if a snake is going into a shed cycle, which is why many snakes instinctively refuse to
eat at that time. Both digestion & shedding (ecdysis) uses up water in the snake's body to accomplish, & sometimes for some snakes, doing both simultaneously is
just a "bridge too far" and shedding takes precedence so they hurl their meal.

Check his eyes in dark room w/ small bright mini-flashlight for any clouding...it's easy to miss when the shed cycle is just beginning, & if that's the case, make sure
he's staying hydrated. Some snakes (not all) that "eat anyways" during shed will have a shed that gets stuck & only comes off in a zillion pieces. That's because
during the shed cycle the snake's body excretes some fluid between the old & new layers of skin to facilitate removing the outer layer...that's why hydration is so
important to a snake at that time. Typically snakes in shed also prefer to be cooler.

How long did he keep the rat down after eating it?

[Stewart_Reptiles]

First is it a regurgitation or was the rat spit back out that make a big difference on how to proceed next and the reason, if the rat was regurgitated it was partially digested. If it was spit back out it was not one is of concern the other well obviously mean you need to adjust your feeding.

[telfordthomas]

Hi guys! I don't know how to tag people to direct responses so here goes:

He is 1145g last time I weighed (I got him underweight in September) ... I've been feeding large weaner rats as per vet recommendations to try and fatten him up before moving up to small rats. There was initial trouble feeding to begin with but we got into a routine and it was going really well and you could see the difference. I was feeding twice a week at times and he looks a lot healthier now.

He has just come out of shed about a week ago. I will have to check his eyes as per direction but they look fine in standard light.

It looks as if it was spit back out, totally intact, probably within the hour of him taking it down. I went to check on him in the morning and he just didn't want to move at all, however when his hot spot came on he moved across to the warm hide and is now poking his head out his hide so that bit of concern I had has kind of calmed down a bit.

In response to the problems he was having getting back into his hide ... Basically, he ate the prey, turned back round and tried to go back into his hide but he couldn't get in because of the prey in his stomach, if that makes sense? Basically, if I had tried to entice him out of his hide a little bit more he would have turned round and got in no problems but it was the two biggest bits of his girth going through the hole at the same time. Normally this wouldn't be a problem and I do have a big hide for him so potentially it was just bad luck?

There was a small amount of blood on the bedding but I think that that came from the rat, not the snake.

I think I've answered the most of your queries but I can't see all your responses while typing (on phone) so let me know if I've missed anything!

Thank you!!

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[Bogertophis]

"Feeding twice a week" sounds like he just didn't have enough time to replenish digestive enzymes...that's too often to be feeding this snake. I wouldn't even offer
food more than once a week at the most, & that's only because you said he's underweight. A snake this size & age would not normally be eating that often...and
remember that the older the prey is, the longer it takes to digest. The only snakes I might feed less than once a week are neonate/hatchlings that are eating pinkies,
which are digested very fast. So I don't think you really need to worry at all about this incident...just adjust the feeding schedule...you blew it.

[Craiga 01453]

Thanks for supplying all that info, it definitely helps us help you.

I definitely don't see a need to be feeding an 1,100+ gram male BP twice a week. My males are between 1,300-1,400 grams and both eat a small rat every 10-12 days on average, sometimes closer to 14 days.
At his size he can definitely take a small rat every 7-10 days and be perfectly fine.

Is your vet a herp vet or a general vet who see exotics?

Trying to fatten him up may be what caused this. He may have struck and attempted to eat because they are opportunistic feeders but his stomach said "nope, I'm full enough" so he spat it out.

Keep in mind that many snakes kept in captivity are actually over fed and over weight. Many adult males top out around 1,100-1,200 grams, so there's definitely no need to "fatten him up". My males are both adults, and like I said between 1,300-1,400 grams.

So even if your boy was a bit thin, he's definitely not at an unhealthy weight and you're better off letting him gain the weight slowly, it's much healthier for the animal.

[Gemini Pythons]

I was feeding twice a week at times and he looks a lot healthier now.

OP says WAS feeding twice a week 'at times', so it may have been a thing done in the past. While still not ideal, if this isn't something haven't done for a significant amount of time, then it may not be the issue. OP sounds aware that their snake is a healthy weight now, so it reads to me like they aren't feeding twice a week anymore...

Can you elaborate if your bp had already been fed once this week before the regurg? (Is this a thing of the past now?) Otherwise people will keep telling you that was the cause!

With any regurg, it could be a multitude of factors, as others have mentioned here. If you aren't feeding twice a week anymore, then your idea is a valid one. Best hold off feeding for a few weeks, then feed a small wean again later. If they regurg again, then take them to a herp vet to discuss it. Hope your bp is ok!

[telfordthomas]

OP says WAS feeding twice a week 'at times', so it may have been a thing done in the past when her bp was underweight and a juvenile. Can you elaborate if your bp had already been fed once this week before the regurg? (Is this a thing of the past now?)

Hi, figured out how to quote now!

So it's probably been about 2 weeks since his last feed, I fed him once and then he started going into shed so I didn't attempt it and left him alone until he came out of shed. When he did, I gave it a few more days again before I attempted feeding (which was subsequently spat out).

So, all in all, he hasn't actually eatten for 2 weeks I would say. I am thankful that it wasn't digested at all by the looks of it ... In fact it looked in pretty good shape considering it had been inside the snake! I really do think it must have been spat out pretty much within a short amount of time.

Ironically, I have bought some small rats and was planning on going to those after this feed ... The timing couldn't have been any worse!

This is going to sound ridiculous but is it possible that when he turned to try and get back in his hide it hurt him in some way and he decided to just spit it out? It seems unusual because he strikes as soon as he is offered food, he doesn't hang around when it comes to feeding time! That rat (prior to spitting out) was gone in about a minute, it was ridiculously fast how quick he ate it!

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