Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I was given an Albino black rat. The reasoning was that the teenaged girl was not taking care of it anymore. I said sure so I went to pick it up. It is a pretty snake. Yellowish background with red to orange pattern. The problem is it is very thin for a four and half ft. long snake. It ate 2 med. rats for me the first night and I thought it just needed regular meals. I've had it about 2 months and the first few times I fed it were no problem. The last three times it has reguritated about two to three days after eating partially digested mice. I have a 60 watt bulb at one end of the cage for warmth and the rest of the room is about 75 degrees. I also have 15 other snakes in the same temp. that don't have a problem so I don't think it is temp.
It also has A flower pot hide area so it can feel secure.It always takes the med rats or mice but doesn't hold them down. I've thought of trying pinkies so maybe they would digest easier.
I do have some panacur I'm thinking of dosing him but I'm not sure if that would help him. Any suggestions would be helpful.
I plan on taking it to our next herp. meeting to have our vet check it out. That is the first Tuesday of the month.

Try flagyl. I took my WC black rat to the vet yesterday, and that is what the doc prescribed. She was taking f/t mice and regurgitating them less than 48 hours later. Wait at least a week before feeding after a regurge to allow time for replenishment of digestive enzymes. Panacur is for worms, which usually doesn't cause regurgitation. If you can get a fecal sample to your vet, you can get a better diagnosis. Good luck.

Thanks for the advice.

3 regurges in a row is potentially serious business...so you are right to have someone look at it. If the snake is thin for its size (keeping in mind that black rats are not heavy-bodied snakes in the first place), perhaps two medium rats was a much bigger meal than it was comfortable with. How long did you wait after the regurge(s) to feed again? Now you must wait 10 days and start very small. Perhaps a pinky rat with the head cut off, to get the goods into your snake asap. I would try to get it to keep several VERY small meals down before moving up, and this snake may never do well with meals that push the limit. Some don't. Also...Has ANYthing else changed since the first few meals that it kept down? Anything at all? The fact that it was not being well-kept before also makes me wonder if this animal is simply not used to "regular" meals. Perhaps power-feeding every week was just too much for it. Good luck. Duffy

Thanks I did think about trying smaller meals but I didn't wait long enough between. I'm going to wait 10 days then try a couple of mice pinkies. I'll take him to the vet next herp meeting. Thanks.