Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 2 foot bt who has been eating great lately. I got him a small rat saturday because the store had no mice and he hadnt eaten for three days. He had the rat in him for 2 days and last night he went to the bthroom without any trouble. This morning i woke up to a wiked nasty smell. It was the rat but i cant tell wich end of my bt it came out of ( if he threw it up or craped it out). His cage is very hot and his basking spot is 130. the coolest point is probably 85. whatever was in the cage looked like a huge crap the size of the rat. The bottom half was poo, but the top half was black fur. What do you think happend and why. The rat wasn't even that big. it was the size of a big mouse.

If it happens again, you may want to take the next undigested or regurgitated meal to a vet to have it checked under a scope. There are many, many factors contributing to regurgitation: parasites, stress, poor environment/diet, etc. Perhaps the rat was kept on a bedding that may have been noxious to the lizard? Perhaps the lizard isn't ready for rats? It may be nothing at all. Keep a close eye on the animal over the next week or two and when it doubt, seek good veterinary council right away. make sure the lizard is well hydrated. Although your temps sound okay, we tend to give our monitors a slightly larger temp variance; that is, we allow the monitors to cool down to the mid 70's if need be (even in some of the warmest climates, monitors have been known to rest in microclimates of moderate temps)....maybe something to consider. I am sure some of the more vocal folks on this forum will speak up.

Rob Carmichael, Director/Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
City of Lake Forest Parks & Recreation

If they cannot digest the biggest part of a large meal in 24 hours it rots then poisons them, they prevent that by expelling it. Id look closer at your average temps, you basking temps and realize that when offered enough options they can darn near digest anything. I didnt use rats with Sobek until she was around 6ft long (large rats), I always fed smaller meals except 5-10 ounce peeps. Options give them more options consider higher basking temps as I use 150-188 depending on the individual animal.