Pretzel regurgitated meal

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Kirk1701

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Hi all,


After a frustrating month of Pretzel not eating and a surprise shed he finally ate a weaner mouse on Tuesday night.

Fast foward to today (Thursday) and I come home to a terrible stink - yep he's regurgitated his meal.

Any idea why this might have happened?

What should I do now?
 
how are you defrosting your rats? what size? i dont think this info would matter but ye
 
Normally regurgitation is associated to the animals inability to digest or due to handling. (Stress can be a 3rd reason I can readily think of)
If you haven't been handling or anything check your temps. (Especially as its getting pretty cold at night though Im not sure of your location so night time temps might not be a factor).
 
Normally regurgitation is associated to the animals inability to digest or due to handling. (Stress can be a 3rd reason I can readily think of)
If you haven't been handling or anything check your temps. (Especially as its getting pretty cold at night though Im not sure of your location so night time temps might not be a factor).
No handling and nothing in his environment has changed so I can't imagine its stress. The meal was quite large for him, but it didn't seem like too much. I've been having difficulty with my heat source recently so maybe the temp is the issue - I'm planning on getting a new heat source tomorrow.

Should I wait a week and attempt to feed again?
 
Should I wait a week and attempt to feed again?

I would wait until you at least get the temp stable and you can be sure its in the right range.
A big food item can also lead to regurgitation so maybe when you do feed it next step it down a size or 2.
 
Maybe also check the temperatures in his hiding spots? In my experience younger snakes tend to take safety over temperature, and if the conditions aren't right for digestion in their hides, they could regurgitate.
 
Maybe also check the temperatures in his hiding spots? In my experience younger snakes tend to take safety over temperature, and if the conditions aren't right for digestion in their hides, they could regurgitate.

The hide he was in is his warm hide, but I suspect that the temperature wasn't high through the day enough (it was 27 when I got home and found him). My heat mat seems to be on the fritz the past week or so. I'm planning on replacing it with a heat cord and tile setup.
 
27 should be fine to digest a meal properly, if your heat mat is on the fritz, I wouldn’t “plan to” I would do replace it, even though I like heat mats, a broken heat mat could lead to house fire, or injured animals
 
27 should be fine to digest a meal properly, if your heat mat is on the fritz, I wouldn’t “plan to” I would do replace it, even though I like heat mats, a broken heat mat could lead to house fire, or injured animals
I can't be certain it was at 27 all day, some time last night it dropped as low as 21 so its impossible to tell what it was like throughout Thursday.

By plan to I meant I'm going to go out either today (if I can get enough time during my lunch break) or tomorrow and get whats required to replace it.
 
A large meal is a common cause of regurgitation (relatively inexperienced keepers often think small feeds are large though - relative weights would be useful here). Temperature is by far the most important aspect of reptile keeping, so get on to that as fast as you possibly can. Especially as a newish keeper, make sure you are very aware of the day and night time temperatures in the enclosure. If you know what you're doing you can push the limits but generally speaking you want to give them the opportunity to get to at least 30 and preferably a bit above for most of the hours of the day during the times of year you are feeding. Most people, myself included, generally offer the opportunity to be at or above 30 degrees 24/7 to all pythons until their second winter.
 
A large meal is a common cause of regurgitation (relatively inexperienced keepers often think small feeds are large though - relative weights would be useful here). Temperature is by far the most important aspect of reptile keeping, so get on to that as fast as you possibly can. Especially as a newish keeper, make sure you are very aware of the day and night time temperatures in the enclosure. If you know what you're doing you can push the limits but generally speaking you want to give them the opportunity to get to at least 30 and preferably a bit above for most of the hours of the day during the times of year you are feeding. Most people, myself included, generally offer the opportunity to be at or above 30 degrees 24/7 to all pythons until their second winter.

I don’t have relative weights of him and the food, however I’ve got a picture of him after he ate.

9465a8f9750fb426122ed697d694dff6.jpg


This was him Thursday morning - to me the lump looked big but not obscene.

I will make it a priority to get to the pet shop today and get a new heat source. I was planning on a cord/tile setup but this would take longer. What would you recommend?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I don’t have relative weights of him and the food, however I’ve got a picture of him after he ate.

9465a8f9750fb426122ed697d694dff6.jpg


This was him Thursday morning - to me the lump looked big but not obscene.

I will make it a priority to get to the pet shop today and get a new heat source. I was planning on a cord/tile setup but this would take longer. What would you recommend?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
That bulge is nowhere near big enough to cause a regurgitation and it had made its way all the way down. Assuming that’s the tail ish on the right
 
I don’t have relative weights of him and the food, however I’ve got a picture of him after he ate.



This was him Thursday morning - to me the lump looked big but not obscene.

I will make it a priority to get to the pet shop today and get a new heat source. I was planning on a cord/tile setup but this would take longer. What would you recommend?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yeah, the lump looks big but not ridiculous, and he doesn't look to be in bad condition. My guess would be temperature, given what you've said. If the heat source is out and the daily maximum temperature is 27, dropping significantly overnight, that would very likely cause regurgitation. I'm personally a big fan of heat cords, there are plenty of ways to use them. The tile method is really good. Measuring and understanding temperature should be your preoccupation if you're a reptile keeper, and it's probably the most common problem people have, despite it being the most obvious #1 priority. Back when I was first getting into herps a digital thermometer was about $40+, but these days you can get them for $5 or less, and and infrared thermometer was a few hundred, but now you can pick up a cheap one for about $20, so there's really no excuse or reason not to have them on hand. Even as a kid without much money I invested in good thermometers back when they were really expensive, and they served me well.

Get the temperatures sorted out before worrying about feeding again. Wait at least a few days of having good temperatures, then try offering a feed. Never feed a snake unless you know the temperatures are good, and if you're ever unsure about the temperature being correct, make it your immediate #1 priority. Birds and mammals like humans can thrive in a wide range of temperatures, but reptiles will drop dead or get sick within that range where we or animals like cats and dogs wouldn't even be uncomfortable.
 
Yeah, the lump looks big but not ridiculous, and he doesn't look to be in bad condition. My guess would be temperature, given what you've said. If the heat source is out and the daily maximum temperature is 27, dropping significantly overnight, that would very likely cause regurgitation. I'm personally a big fan of heat cords, there are plenty of ways to use them. The tile method is really good. Measuring and understanding temperature should be your preoccupation if you're a reptile keeper, and it's probably the most common problem people have, despite it being the most obvious #1 priority. Back when I was first getting into herps a digital thermometer was about $40+, but these days you can get them for $5 or less, and and infrared thermometer was a few hundred, but now you can pick up a cheap one for about $20, so there's really no excuse or reason not to have them on hand. Even as a kid without much money I invested in good thermometers back when they were really expensive, and they served me well.

Get the temperatures sorted out before worrying about feeding again. Wait at least a few days of having good temperatures, then try offering a feed. Never feed a snake unless you know the temperatures are good, and if you're ever unsure about the temperature being correct, make it your immediate #1 priority. Birds and mammals like humans can thrive in a wide range of temperatures, but reptiles will drop dead or get sick within that range where we or animals like cats and dogs wouldn't even be uncomfortable.
I have an infrared thermometer which I have been using, and I also have a thermostat connected to my heat source.

What would I need to do in order to use the tile method? I've seen a lot of people sing its praises.
 
I have an infrared thermometer which I have been using, and I also have a thermostat connected to my heat source.

What would I need to do in order to use the tile method? I've seen a lot of people sing its praises.
is it a wooden enclosure? If so you can route a gap for it to run through (make a track)and just place a tile over the cord :)
 
Ah not sure then, you might be able to run it underneath and put heat resistant tape or whatever over it
Can I just sandwich it between 2 tiles? I know people normally use silicon to glue the tiles together - is there something I can do which is quicker so I don't need to wait for the silicon to cure?
 
Can I just sandwich it between 2 tiles? I know people normally use silicon to glue the tiles together - is there something I can do which is quicker so I don't need to wait for the silicon to cure?
You CAN sandwich it, how ever you’d have to have it so the snake can’t push it off the cord
 
You CAN sandwich it, how ever you’d have to have it so the snake can’t push it off the cord
Could I sandwich it between tiles, using silicon to stick it together then put it under the paper towel I use as a substrate? He has never crawled under the paper towel so this would keep him away from the silicon while its drying completely (obviously I'd give it a bit of time to dry but not the full 24hrs).

My main concerns are obviously getting him warm but I also don't want to expose him to curing silicon if it will be dangerous.
 
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