Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I fed my Borneo ST a rabbit 2 days ago, he didnt seem to have any problems feeding on it but.. today was cage disinfection/soaking time. When I took him out of his cage he was weezing a little when he hissed and smelled absolutely horrible (as in the snake, not the cage). When I started soaking him he dispelled a good bit of gas with a little bit of urine which seemed odd as well. Then when I picked him up to put him back in the cage I felt a bit of tummy rumbling, his neck puffed out and he blew what I guess was gas from his stomach? at me which carried with it what is quite possibly the worst smell I have ever witnessed in my life. There have never been any signs of abnormality in this snake ever before this. He's going to the vet on Thursday but I was hoping someone would have an idea of what this could be to help the visit. All I can assume is that he inhaled some water as his head was in his water bowl during feeding or hes having a terrrrible case of indigestion? But he smells like hes rotting from the inside out. Oh and I did pop his mouth open to check for Stomitis and/or fluid build up and could find no signs of either.

Any help is appreciated

Jordan
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

Hey,
Interesting that you would post this experience. I've experienced similar affects, or should I say, my large short-tails have, from large meals. I don't feed my adults large rabits, or anything larger than they can handle, but have noticed that, although they can handle jumbo rats with no problem, there are times when they will experience what would probably be described in a human as indestion. The associated bloating during digestion is common, and sometimes the animals can be seen to have a noticeable swelling apart from the usual lump from the food source.

The gas you are describing is produced when bacteria associated with putrifaction or better, rotting, although internal, is released by the bacteria involved with autolysis. Obviously, with no where else to go the snake will expel this gas much like a person, but sometimes a coughing and sometimes sneeze can be heard. I've noticed my large adults will sometimes experience this, and will cough almost human like. I've had to check for my self, thinking that the dog was having a moment, only to find that it was actually the snake.

I've also noticed that they have no further problem or lasting effect from the coughing or sneeze associated with the belching or burping. Large food in the way of whole animals will produce gas as part of the digestive process, but will not always cause the snake or snakes to belch or cough up gas. I think that perhaps, there is a direct correlation with temperatures being either too high or too cool. In some cases all parameters are well within what is considered optimal, and the aforementioned will still occur. I think that the feeding of large meals is the culprit for bloating and the associated coughing or belching. I would feed less often and if so, feed smaller meals. I would stay away from rabbits or large meals if possible, as it is quite possible that during a regurgitation episode, the snake can aspirate vomitus directly into the airway, and into the lung causing the wheezing and in the worst case scenerio aspiration pneumonia.

-Angel
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"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.

Thanks Angel, I was a little worried there. I handled him today and he seemed fine, I had also noticed the swelling which now seems to be negligable. For some reason the only pet store around my parents house (I'm home workin for the summer to support my ST habbit) has rats for $8 and rabbits for $10 and he can easily eat three rats without making a dent... and I'm an econ major ..and this seemed ok since he's handled rabbits of similar size without problem before. Tho I will soon be mail ordering frozen feeders since I will finally have enough animals to warrant it Definately something to keep in mind for the future, thanks bro.

Jordan
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

Hey Jordan,
No problem. Like I said, this is something that I've noticed too, and so there is nothing to worry about. All my animals (adults) are doing well, and I've not seen anything untoward or lasting from it. All the best!
-Angel
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"Until we lose our self, there is no way of finding our self."
-Henry Miller.

I feed rabbits to my larger bloods but i have not seen this problem..My guess is that your temp is too low for the snake to digest the rabbit at a normal rate. Raise the temp for bigger meals or just feed smaller prey....good luck