Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The other day I fed my striped cal. king a f/t fuzzy, same size as always, but I think she coughed it back up. The reason I'm not sure is because it was two days after she ate that she coughed it up (or pooped). What I found kind of looked like a mouse, but it also kind of looked like poop. Is it possible that the mouse just didn't digest well and she didn't cough it up, but rather pooped out what wasn't digested? All that was left was the mouse's hair and poop. It was alot bigger than her normal poops. Sorry I said poop so much... Since this happened I cleaned her cage and switched from coconut husk to paper towel for a substrate to keep an eye on her scat. There were no changes in the temp of her cage since her last feeding (or any other feeding for that matter). The only change was what I fed her in. Instead of feeding her in the rubbermaid that I usually used I fed her inside one of her hide spots, but outside of the cage. Sorry for the long post, but it's the first time it has happened. She is still very alert, no changes in behaviour at all. Maybe it was a fluke? Any input is appreciated!

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2.2.0 crested geckos (Speckles, Sunshine, Soldier, Sandy)
0.1.0 Striped Cal. Kingsnake (Snuggles)
1.1.0 Green Iguanas (Sisco,Speedy)
1.1.0 Emperor Scorpions (Strongbad,Serenity)
1.0.0 Rose Hair Tanrantula (Star)
1.0.0 Pink Toe Tarantula (Sal)

Don't think THAT's poop. Maybe you thought there was no temperature change. What about nighttime temps? I know this time of year a lot of folks' homes get a little cooler and most people don't recognize the subtle change in temps because of the much cooler outside temps - But snakes do! This is the most common problem of partially digested regurgitated meals this time of year. The snakes cannot digest food properly if kept too cool. And if the snake's brumation instinct is kicked in it may become confused and eat and then "change its' mind" becasue of a larger than ususal temperature fluctuation OR the onset of drier air (during this time of year it's usually less humid in most states). Double check your temps. If that's not it, then don't worry; Your snake may have such a zest for eating it may have just eaten too much accidentally for its' own good (especially if fed more than once a week).

Zee

Since that last post I did take into consideration that it gets cooler in my apartment so I upped the temp. and got a cool mist humidifier. I also cleaned her entire cage and switched to a little bit smaller f/t fuzzies. She has eaten twice since then with no problem. The fuzzy that she did re-gurge was a little big, and she seems to only have coughed up the fur. She did poop after eating the fuzzy that she coughed up, so I know she did digest most of it. She's doing fine so hopefully I fixed it for good. This is my first snake and I read something new everytime I search for info. Thanks for the response. -Joe

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2.2.0 crested geckos (Speckles, Sunshine, Soldier, Sandy)
0.1.0 Striped Cal. Kingsnake (Snuggles)
1.1.0 Green Iguanas (Sisco,Speedy)
1.1.0 Emperor Scorpions (Strongbad,Serenity)
1.0.0 Rose Hair Tanrantula (Star)
1.0.0 Pink Toe Tarantula (Sal)