Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My rat snake has just stoped eating and it looks like it is trying to regurgitate something, she has been doing this for about five or six weeks. I was woundering if its doing that because it wants to hibernate since its winter.If someone knows why it might be doing that could you pleace tell me.

Well I learned the hard way that the regurgitation might be a sign of lung flukes. It seems that since snakes can't really clear their air ways by a real cough or sneeze they go through the regurge motions to do it. The lung flukes and their feces build up so much in the snake lung that they need to spit it out just to breathe.

That is only one possibility for why but none of the others are any better, A vet is the best choice if you want the snake to live.

Later Jason

Is lung flukes contageous? because I have another ratsnake with the sick one in the same cage.

"Thanks for emailing back"

Just to be clear no one can diagnose the problem online. A vet is a must!! But yes lung flukes are contagious. Understand that snakes don't have the ability to clear their throats because in the wild hey don't need to. Yes they get flukes in the wild but they also have the ability through their environment and the temps available to them to keep the flukes in check. You take that ability away in captivity so it is your responsibility to give them a way to rid themselves of the parasites.

Are these wild caught animal?? Did you buy them as subadults from a local pet store cheap?? If yes to either then they probably already had the parasites. They are normal in the wild. In captivity they kill and if you are seeing the animal "regurgitating" clear or yellow semi translucent fluids then you have a serious problem. I faced the same when I started out keeping wild caughts and now you have a choice to either let the animal go where you caught it or go to a vet. If you let it go and it is sick from a boa or ball python you may start a local epidemic in the wild population that can kill the snakes in your area. It is not likely but it did happen with box turtles out west... or it could have been desert tortoises. Either way you have a decision to make and none of it really involves us on the internet telling you what you may have.

Like I said before a vet is the best option but at the very least raise the temps in the cage on the warm end. Good luck with it. Also understand I am not saying don't ask questions, by all means please ask, but rather in this case your options are few. Watch it die. Take it to a vet . Try to cure it your self. Let it go.

Later Jason