Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my baby girl just regurged on me while i was trying to feed her. anything to be worried about?

thanks
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1 CB Female BRB
1 CB Jayapura GTP
1 CB panther chameleon
2 WC scottish terriers

Unfortunately for Mike he's an expert but I'll chime in anyways:

Regurge while trying to feed......questions:

1) had it actually swallowed the meal then regurged it back up or did it start to swallow then give up. AKA, was it all slimey or just the part the snake tried to eat? Typically the head but if grabbed wrong, may explain.

2) Was this only one prey item? Regurge while trying to feed indicates to me it tossed while eating another or coiling another prey. If was another prey item, just fed or fed days ago.

3) Of course, the std array of questions Temps, humidity, SIZE of prey vs snake size, feeding schedule, ever done before etc.

Regurge is something that could affect any animal. Typically not "good" for them unless they had same "bad" food. Can cause internal damage specifically regurging a too large prey item or one that is partially digested.

Standard answer is 1) verify husbandry and correct if needed. WAIT before feeding again. Major regurge (partially digested or too large prey), wait at least two weeks. Minor regurge,(normal to small prey item that came right back up), wait at least a week. In either case, go with a HALF sized prey. Then wait another week before feeding again.

The snake will NOT starve, they can go MONTHS without food and in the wild typically do!!

One of my babies from last year refused to eat for the first two months of it's life, yes a two month old BRB that had never eaten. I had to assist feed and he's now fine and growing.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
11.24 BRB
10.16 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

she regurged a meal from 5 days ago as i was feeding her today. she seems fine now.
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1 CB Female BRB
1 CB Jayapura GTP
1 CB panther chameleon
2 WC scottish terriers

theandrew,
...Your snake had a rough shed a couple days ago and now it is regurging a meal. Both of these issues could be related to temperature and/or humidity. Dave and I have both mentioned temperatures and humidity in our posts and you have so far not said what temperature and humidity you are providing for this snake. I am wondering what is the temperature and humidity where that snake is living and what are you doing to provide that temperature and humidity and how are you measuring it?
Jeff

>>she regurged a meal from 5 days ago as i was feeding her today. she seems fine now.
>>-----
>>1 CB Female BRB
>>1 CB Jayapura GTP
>>1 CB panther chameleon
>>2 WC scottish terriers

sorry about that

she is in a decent size rubbermaid with a few holes drilled in the lid.

the humidity ranges from 90 to 95 throughout the day

and the temps are low 70's to low 80's throughout the day
i use a flukers digital thermometer with hygro.

i have a water dish at the cool end of the cage and a hiding cave on the warm side above the heat pad.

heres a pic.

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1 CB Female BRB
1 CB Jayapura GTP
1 CB panther chameleon
2 WC scottish terriers

Temps are a bit high, babies should never exceed 80 degrees. Mine thrive at just under 80. Is there a gradient?

Your enclosure has room for another hide at the cooler side. Maybe your baby wants to hide and can only hide over the hot spot?

>>sorry about that
>>
>>she is in a decent size rubbermaid with a few holes drilled in the lid.
>>
>>the humidity ranges from 90 to 95 throughout the day
>>
>>and the temps are low 70's to low 80's throughout the day
>>i use a flukers digital thermometer with hygro.
>>
>>i have a water dish at the cool end of the cage and a hiding cave on the warm side above the heat pad.
>>
>>heres a pic.
>>
>>-----
>>1 CB Female BRB
>>1 CB Jayapura GTP
>>1 CB panther chameleon
>>2 WC scottish terriers
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
11.24 BRB
10.16 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

theandrew,
...It looks like you do have a good handle on controlling the temperature and humidity in that cage. It seems to me that we still do not know for sure why the snake shed in pieces and why it regurged that meal. I would do as Dave suggests and either get another hide for the cool side of the cage or even move the present hide to the cool side.
Good luck,
Jeff

>>sorry about that
>>
>>she is in a decent size rubbermaid with a few holes drilled in the lid.
>>
>>the humidity ranges from 90 to 95 throughout the day
>>
>>and the temps are low 70's to low 80's throughout the day
>>i use a flukers digital thermometer with hygro.
>>
>>i have a water dish at the cool end of the cage and a hiding cave on the warm side above the heat pad.
>>
>>heres a pic.
>>
>>-----
>>1 CB Female BRB
>>1 CB Jayapura GTP
>>1 CB panther chameleon
>>2 WC scottish terriers

i had a grey banded kingsnake that was born with a broken back that had healed i was told to put it down but i had to save it i got it to eat a baby fence lizard and it lived for EIGHT months after that before it finally passed RIP. so it definately wont starve.

A regurg after 5 days is a little strange. How much of the meal was undigested? Did she regurg the whole rodent or was it just some remaining hair or what? How big is the snake and how big was the food item?

What kind of substrate is that?

Is it possible that she has mites? Either look in the water dish or run your hand down the length of the snake. You're looking for small, black, pepper-like bugs.

When you say she regurged when you were trying to feed her, do you feed her in her enclosure or do you move her to another cage to feed?

Could there have been any temperature spikes in the cage? I've had regurges during heat waves.
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

she seems to be doing fine, no sign of mites what so ever
I use cypress bed and she downed two small pink rats yesterday with no problem.

The bad shed may have been caused by a temperature spike, im really not sure.

when she regurged the hopper it was only small remnants like some hair and parts etc.
the vomit was a brown color too.
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1 CB Female BRB
1 CB Jayapura GTP
1 CB panther chameleon
2 WC scottish terriers

the advice you're asking for!! STANDARD care after regurge is to NOT feed right away. Two reasons:

1) the regurge can cause damage to the esophagus. Too large a prey item can scrape it up. A partially digested one comes up with stomache acid which can eat away at the lining.

2) When regurging they can lose necessary stomache bacteria required for digestion.

Both problems need TIME to correct. You posted on the evening of the 23rd that she regurged. Now on the 25th you post that you fed it two pinkie rats the day before. That would be one day after regurging. I really hope your BRB is OK and that the prior regurge was a fluke. If not, be prepared for yet another regurge!!

Think of it like the flue for you, you don't throw up then eat a big meal do you? No, you probably skip a meal or two. You know if you eat too much too soon, you'll just throw it up again. Now translate your skipping a meal or two into snake time, that's one or two WEEKS!!

I know I'm sounding harsh and for that I appologize, just worried about the health of your BRB.

>>she seems to be doing fine, no sign of mites what so ever
>>I use cypress bed and she downed two small pink rats yesterday with no problem.
>>
>>The bad shed may have been caused by a temperature spike, im really not sure.
>>
>>
>>when she regurged the hopper it was only small remnants like some hair and parts etc.
>>the vomit was a brown color too.
>>-----
>>1 CB Female BRB
>>1 CB Jayapura GTP
>>1 CB panther chameleon
>>2 WC scottish terriers
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
11.24 BRB
10.16 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Since the meal was mostly digested, we can say that your temps are not too low. If you recently experienced high temps, this could trigger a regurg. Handling the animal too roughly could also bring this on.

Cypress mulch should be O.K.

Since you fed so soon after the regurg, you may be facing another one. If your animal does barf again, listen to Dave's advice. Wait at least two full weeks before you feed again and then feed an abnormally small meal.

If you don't have any more problems then problem solved. It happens sometimes. Keep us posted O.K.
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

From your phrasing, it sounds to me she threw up on you...were you holding your snake while trying to feed her? or did she just throw up in the cage?

If she did throw up on you while you were feeding..the stress of being held while feeding may be why she regurged. Snakes shouldn't be handled at all while being fed and not for at least 24 hours (48 hours is better) after eating a meal. ALso, feeding every 5 days may be a bit too much, try feeding once every 7 days, after you give her a week or so to recover from this regurg before offering more food, of course.
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PHLdyPayne

listen guys Im not a newbie at this. The reason she regurged (now after pondering it) was that I fed her out of the cage and then picked her up to bring her back and she barfed on my hand. I know I said differently before but i thought back clearly and that was the most apparent reason for the regurg.

and thats my final word. I know what I am doing and i posted this just to get thoughts not attacks. Im 16 years old and prpbably know more about herps than half the people on these forums.

end of topic
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1 CB Female BRB
1 CB Jayapura GTP
1 CB panther chameleon
2 WC scottish terriers

Nowhere in my posts am I attacking you. However, when you make blanket statements like this, it does put me on the defensive.

I am asking lots of questions because I'd like to try and help you get to the bottom of a question that you posted. If your problem is solved, then your problem is solved. Way to go.

One of the reasons I enjoy this forum in particular is because there are no attacks on others or elitist attitudes. We all recognize that each of us has experience with these animals and at the same time, each of us has a lot to learn. I've learned to be careful about how much I claim to know. As soon as I think I'm comfortable with these animals, I am presented with a new piece of detective work to solve.

I'd like to thank all of the people who regularly participate in this forum for helping me to solve many of my past problems. There's sure to be another right around the corner.
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Mike Lockwood
www.tooscaley.com

I too was an expert when I was 16. But I sure have learned a lot in the 30 years since then. You should listen to some of the good advice people have given you here. Your snake could probably use some Flagyl too, but I guess you already know that Good luck with your snake.

thank you guys for your help. I just got a little frustrated because she is doing alot better and already defecated the meal I fed her the day after the regurg and I failde to point that out. I understand everyone is here to help and I sort of lost that concept for a second. but thanks anyway and i'll keep you guys posted on her progress.

p.s.- if your reffering to flagyl endoxine used to treat bowel inflam. then yes I do.
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1 CB Female BRB
1 CB Jayapura GTP
1 CB panther chameleon
2 WC scottish terriers

Flagyl is a brand name for the drug metronidazole. It is successful against many protozoa and amoeba as well as most anaerobic and some aerobic bacteria.

This is probably (IMO) directed at me and if you felt attacked I appologize. (already did in prior post) My point is you posted asking for help with a vague explanation that did and (again IMO) even with your latest info still could point towards a real problem. For you snakes good, I hope I am wrong (happens all the time ). I've used feeding containers for years (10 plus) and have never had a regurge moving back into the primary enclosure. Standard advice with ANY regurge is to be cautious and go slow. Please don't take it personal, we all are just looking out for the health of your snake.

-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC)
0.2 kids (CBB, selectively bred from good stock)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
11.24 BRB
10.16 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

You will learn more through humility than by taking a defensive posture. No one has all the answers, but the best thing about this board.. you have access to some of the top minds in the rainbow world, including many that have been keeping rainbows for most of the time you have been alive(if not longer).
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photos.xtremecombatsports.com