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Super soaker ?

Droptine8 Mar 19, 2010 07:00 AM

Quick run of my last few posts; ball ate small rat,,week later ate another rat,,3 days later,yacked it up,,noticed the pink belly...
Came home last night to find him soaking in his water dish, so now I'm thinking he will be shedding soon.
My question(s)is, could being close to a shed have caused the regure ?, and I can let the snake control how much soaking it wants to do, right ?

Replies (4)

pitoon Mar 19, 2010 09:53 AM

>>Quick run of my last few posts; ball ate small rat,,week later ate another rat,,3 days later,yacked it up,,noticed the pink belly...
>>Came home last night to find him soaking in his water dish, so now I'm thinking he will be shedding soon.
>>My question(s)is, could being close to a shed have caused the regure ?, and I can let the snake control how much soaking it wants to do, right ?

pink belly = going into shed.

was the snake handled alot after the feedings? was it stressed?

let the snake soak as long as it wants to....why should you pull it out? if it wants to soak let it soak.

Pitoon
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PHLdyPayne Mar 19, 2010 10:39 AM

Shedding wouldn't have anything to do with a regurg. Low temps, stress, too much handling in the first 48 hours of eating, bad gut flora, illness...these will cause regurgitation.

Double check your temperatures, even change the batteries of your temp gun/digital thermometer if you had them for a long time, (low batteries may lessen the accuracy of the measurement). I wouldn't offer any more food till at least after he sheds. Give him something small, like a pinky rat, or fuzzy (about half the size you would normally feed, as I can't remember how big your snake is at the moment).

Check his water dish for any signs of drowned mites. A heavy mite infection could cause health issues as well, which may have lead to the regurg. Staying in water instead of being in a warm spot (maybe warm spot or cage in general is too hot and your snake is desperately trying to stay cool) won't allow for proper digestion either.

For the most part soaking in the water dish is fine, but if its done constantly, it can cause blistering of the skin and scale rot. Make sure the humidity in the cage is good as well, or provide a couple moist hides, till he sheds.
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Droptine8 Mar 19, 2010 11:16 AM

Thanks guys for the quick responses.I have kept king snakes for years,but this is my first BP(second really,but I gave the first one back after a month of tying to get it to eat).
I set him up in a 66 qt.sterile lite tub.Belly heat on the warm end runs around 87-90,,cool end 77-80.Humidity is running a bit high, but I am going to dill a few more holes to drop it down.
I can't figure out for the life of me what caused that regurg.I had not touched her for 72 hours,,temps where/are in a good range,,rat was not too big, ??? I will chalk it up to the fact that some BP's are a little off the "beaten path"...

reptilejunkie Mar 20, 2010 04:02 PM

Regurgitating is NOT a normal action for a ball python. It is a sign that something is wrong. Take the snake to the vet so they can get a sample fom the cloaca and check for parasites. It may not be parasites, but that would be the first thing to check for after cage temps.
I had a similar situation last fall. A female ball python about 1+1/2 years old suddenly started regurgitating. A few days after feeding I knew there was a dead rat in one of the tubs because the smell is unmistakeable. First I thought she didn't eat and I missed the dead rat in her tub when I checked on her later that night. So I fed her again a few days later. A couple days later... same thing. I called the vet. When I went to get her out of her tub to take her to the vet she was dead.
The vet did a necopsy and tissue samples were sent to Northwest Zoolpath for analysis. The results were a "develpmental anomaly involving the biliary tree". In other words, a birth defect of the liver. Who knew? You win some and you lose some.
Sorry for the lack of good news, but I think you should have him/her looked at asap.
Hope this helps.

Bill J.

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