Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a young ball that when I got it it was a solid feeder on f/t rat fuzzies. Never skipped a meal when I offered something to him every four days. This snakes regurged once or twice. He then ate a fuzz and kept it down. Feeding resumed and it has now thrown up four times in a row, this last time a mouse rather than a rat (wanted to see if that made a difference)? Heat is available, and two other balls are kept in the same ambient temperature that he is in and they're doing just fine. Does anyone have any ideas about what could be the problem? Thanks.

(Next feeding I'm gonna keep him warmer than usual and see what that does.)

If it continues, I would suggest a Vet Visit.
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www.HeathersHerps.com

-Ohh, what a Lady-

Balls for Life, Baby!

When a snake regurges it needs some time before it's next meal.
According to the Barkers book they recomend at least 3 weeks before feeding . Then something small and give that sometime before you feed again . Good luck Claude

Explain your feeding process. Where, when, how, ect.
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i think claude hit it on the screws.
...you gotta wait.
wait, have fresh water present at all times, wait some more.
and like he said, three weeks minimum, then small meal.
good luck,
ck

I agree with waiting but even if you wait and are still doing something wrong the problem is not corrected. We should know if he will explain his feeding process.
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Definitely give the poor kid some time to recooperate...

Is the food item warmed all the way through?

Also, I've always been paranoid that my snakes will regurge, so I usually leave them in the feeding boxes on mild heat for a few hours before quickly transporting back to their houses. Then no handling for at least 24-48 hours after feeding at my house either. Just some things that work for me. Good luck!
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Shelter pets are best! Stop breeding designer mutts!

For my snakes I'll set out the rat fuzzies to thaw and give them more than enough time to thaw out. The snake is put in a different container, offered the prey item, and allowed to completely consume it. The snake is then moved back to it cage and left alone. Since we want it to keep a meal down we don't even handle it anymore. These regurges have taken place since probably Janurary. I have always allowed about two weeks for the snake to settle down and hopefully allow anything to heal and return back to it's normal state. Have always tried to feed the smallest fuzz I could find, and this last time was a mouse hopper, smaller than any rat fuzz. I couldn't even see a bulge in the snake when he swallowed it. Any ideas???

Also, the regurges happen 2 to three days after feeding. I think that would rule out any stress from the feeding procudure (such as transporting from feeding container to tank).

Where are your temps and humidity? Temps need to be right for proper digestion.
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ambient temp is room temp, with heaters in the upper 80's

the other two balls in the room do just fine with the same temps, i'm bring her to the vet tomorrow and will let everyone know what the deal is, i'm suspecting bacterial/protozoan issues, though i have no clue how this one would get it

Ok, this snake had a few protozoans, but nothing that any normal snake would have. We have her a dose of Flagyl (sp?) to get rid of whatever was there and now we are putting her on five doses of Vibramycin, an oral antibiotic. My vet (EXCELLENT reptile vet)read a article about this and felt this would be the best method for knocking it out. Kind of experimental, so we'll see how it goes.

The only post that I saw that suggested a possible bacterial or parasitic infection was Heather's, suggesting a vet visit. These kinds of infections can and will cause regurgitations. Many people have suggested waiting 3 weeks before attempting feeding again. I suggest taking him to the vet, get him on a 3 week antibiotics treatment, then feed a small meal. I've done this anytime I've had repeated regurgitations with complete success.

Steve

I would suggest waiting 10 days or so. Thawing out the rat, warm it a little with a hair dryer, 30-45 seconds or so. Offer the food in his living enclosure, there is no real need to feed in another container. Moving him back and forth may be causing enough stress to regurg. Feed hin in his enclosure and let him stay untouched for 72 hours. If he doesn't hold that meal down then you may need to see a good reptile vet. I'm going to put in my 2 cents worth about vets here. I live in south east NC. We DO NOT have any good reptile vets here. I took my burmese to the best one I could find, (he was the best because he is the only one that would see him). He suggested to spray him down once a week with frontline to make sure he never got mites. I don't remember all the other STUPID things he suggested but I took my snake and got the @%$*! out of there. Just the other day I had a customer call me for advice about a sick snake. I called Exotics by Nature in LA. They said they take their sick snakes to LSU's vet program and they use them as demos and do a real good job nursing them back to health. NC State has one of the best vet schools in the country, 2 1/2 hours away. I called them to discuss this possibility with them and guess what, they DO NOT treat snakes. This means they are not teaching their vet students anything about snakes, this means when they graduate and open vet hospitals all around NC and SE USA they will not treat snakes. All this come out after reading over and over on here to "take your snake to the vet". Congrats to all of you that have a good vet you can take your snakes to, around here I am almost better off to play vet myself!
Off the soap box now!
Fat Boy
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I had this same issue with a BST recently. He was young and had only eaten 8 times since I bought him and had regugitated 3 times. I took him to a vet that was recomended to me, after talking to the vet I learned he is also a herper and very knowlegable. After checking my snake he manipulated it and out came two huge (for the snakes size) urates followed by two large turds. The snake was reguging because he was constipated. The vet recomended mineral oil for a laxitive if it happend again, injected into F/T or F/K or on the fur if you feed live. CM