Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My new diamond (see post below) has just regurged her first feeder. I have never had a snake regurg.

I was feeding a very small pink rat (about 1/3 larger than the thickest part of her body), which i considered to be easily manageable by her. She swallowed about 3/4 of it and then just let it come back up really quicky. Then she tried to swallow it again for about 5 mins and then gave up.

I thnk i must have startled her by walking into the room. But my main question is... What are the odds of damage having been done to her? She was active and aware for about 10 mins after (prob still in feeding mode) and since has coiled up in her hide.

I already know to leave her a while before re-feeding, but, is my new baby gonna be alright?

Hi,

She will probably be fine. I would wait a few days and try again. If the animal is healthy and secure feeding should not be a problem. Of course we do not know your conditions, where the animal came from and the overall state of the animal to begin with. If the health of the animal is ever in question the best answer is always a trip to the vet.

Reagarding your rack. If you don't have a lot of animals you may want to consider setting her up in a bigger cage - after the animal gets settled, is feeding regularly and is clearly healthy. You are right - in a small shoebox a significant gradient is difficult to achieve. This does not have to be a problem but they do need to cool down as much as they need to heat up. A vision 222 (arboreal) is a nice size cage to keep them in. I like to keep a lot of my animals with live plants, moss and mulch. If you give that diamond limbs to climb on you will think it is a tree snake. In a cage like that you can achieve a larger temperature gradient and different humidity levels. You can also provide more cover for the animals which I think they appreciate in their own way.

Just my thoughts.

Good luck again,

Ian

Thanks for the advice ian.

I am in the process of upgrading my system now.. just managed to get myself a new room in the house, so that will be filled with about 20 new malamine front-opening enclosures of assorted shapes and sizes im building - gradient should be easy to achieve in the like.

And yes... my diamond does think she's a gtp.

Cheers.