Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a Timber Rattlesnake. yesterday i bought him a rat which he envenomated but didn't eat. i have other snakes like Corns, Kings, etc. could i give the rat to one of my other snakes or is this not a good idea? i spent almost $40 on mice yesterday! by the way, i don't do this all the time. the guy i usually buy from hasn't been stocked very well lately. that's a LOT of money and i hate to toss the rat in the trash. do i have any other options? i appreciate any advice/help!

thanks,
greg

p.s. oh! i warmed the rat up for the rattler. he looked semi-interested but still wouldn't eat.

When was the last time it was fed? It's common for certain species, timbers especially, to stop eating for a number of months.

actually, i fed him a couple weeks ago. he ate 2 mice and regurged one of them. is he trying to go into hibernation?

thanks,
greg

I wouldn't feed it to another snake. Keep it out for a few hours and notice how quickly it rots. Yuck!
Regurges always worry me, I'd monitor that snake closely for things like weight loss.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

I think most tend to clean themselves out before hibernation, but I don't think regurgitation is the normal means of doing so. Not to mention, I don't think it would have eaten if it was ready for hibernation. Can you have a fecal done on it? Is it male or female, I can't remember if you said or not....is it possible it's gravid?

what temps are you keeping it at? Make sure you are giving it an area of higher temp where it can properly digest it's food. If it's too cool, it may have something to do with it. Check the stomach if you can also, see if it's distended and hard, if so, it may be crypto. I'm far from a vet, so don't quote me on that, there could be a number of possibilities.
hope this helps a little bit

I had problems with my Gaboon always regurgitating. Sometimes 4-5 days after he ate. It ended up being an environment thing: temperature and humidity. Once I got that squared away, he ate like a champ and kept it down.

-Brian