My fiance bought me a gopher snake about 3 weeks ago. I'm not sure how old he is (he forgot to ask). Max (the snake) is about 3 1/2 feet long and an inch or so around. He gets one live, 4- or 5-inch long feeder mouse every Saturday morning (keeping the same diet and schedule the pet shop had him on), and he usually "goes" in the corner of his cage a day or two after he's eaten. We cover his cage after he kills the mouse so he can eat in peace and uncover him the next morning. He's eaten twice since I got him with no problems; I fed him his third mouse since I got him this past Saturday morning. We left for the weekend to see his parents and came back Sunday evening, and everything looked fine. He had no handling over the weekend at all (but we usually dont' handle him for a day or two after he eats anyway). When I looked in his cage Tuesday morning, however, the mouse was back on the floor, still in its mouse shape, tail and all, and covered in what I suppose was stomach acid or mucus. He'd been acting nervous for a few days prior to that, and I noticed that his eyes are cloudy yesterday morning. He was acting peevish all day yesterday, too. I've never owned a snake before, and I'm told that nervousness and cloudy eyes generally means a shed is about to happen. But do snakes typically throw up right before they shed, or is my snake sick?
Thanks,
Sarah
