python vomiting, HELP

[Icarus]

My 2 year old diamond python has just regurgitated a rat for the first time. She happily eats small rats, and on monday night we fed her one. Just looked in her enclosure then and she has vomited it up in the last hour. Weirdly, the rat doesn't look like it has been digested at all (even though it's been in her belly for 36 hours). Now she's hooning around her enclosure like she's panicked about something. I haven't tried handling her incase she has something wrong with her gut and I don't want to aggravate it. I'm really worried, what should I do?!

 

[Blake182]

Take it to a vet

 

[CrystalMoon]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/regurgitating-snake-174219/
This is what I found I hope it helps somewhat. One of my guyz regurgitated from stress once awhile ago and behaved a tad skittish afterwards, I let him go for another 8 days and fed again and have had no problems since It can be a bit nerve wracking when they do these things

 

[Icarus]

Take it to a vet

i would rather find out if this is a common or manageable problem before i rush to the vet and fork out a heap of money

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/regurgitating-snake-174219/
This is what I found I hope it helps somewhat. One of my guyz regurgitated from stress once awhile ago and behaved a tad skittish afterwards, I let him go for another 8 days and fed again and have had no problems since It can be a bit nerve wracking when they do these things

thankyou for answering, I am hoping it's just a one off thing. I'm going to review her temps and watch her for a few days and hopefully things will improve.

 

[abnrmal91]

Does it get heat overnight? Night time temps have drop heaps over the last 2 nights. It definitely sounds like a temp issue. Bump the temps up a little, give it a week or so then try feeding again. If it happens again it may have some gut issues which may require some antibiotics.

 

[CaptainRatbag]

My coastal monty chucked up a perfectly good rat one time. Someone convinced me to feed my snakes out of the enclosure (in a tub or something) so like a twit, I did it. After he ate the rat, I picked him up and put him back in his (cleaned while he was out) enclosure..... next morning a slimy second hand rat on his enclosure floor :shock: The picking up after eating and being returned to a cleaned enclosure was too much for him, I guess..... Stress

The fact your rat, returned to sender, after 36 hours, hardly digested.... sounds like a temp issue to me? Check your heating and feed him another as soon as he seems relaxed. I fed monty 2 days after he ejected the slimy one.... he kept the next one down, no probs

Unless he is looking lethargic or unwell, I would wait before rushing to a vet..... give him another rat soon and see if this one stays down

 

[Icarus]

thanks for the help guys. I've had a think about everything that's gone on with her the last 36 hours and I think it's a combination of a sudden cold patch in the weather (which meant even though her heat spot was the right temp her ambient temp was alot cooler) and the fact that she tried to climb up her branch this morning and fell down (which she does occasionally). I think the fall may have upset her full tummy and the cold patch meant that the rat wasn't digesting properly in the first place. I'll feed her again in a few days and let you know how it goes!

 

[Skinnerguy]

Yeah, because they need heat for their body to function properly and digest, if they are cold after a feed, they regurge so that the undigested food doesn't rot in their stomach as it can poison them. And yes, another reason they do it is if they've been handled, either because it has upset their stomach or as a defense mechanism; because they're slow after eating, they can't get away from potential predators so they chuck up, and handling can spark this reaction. My coastal regurged on me once, but that was because his light blew that night and I didn't know.
@CaptainRatbag - I tub feed all my animals, and they don't have a problem with it, transferral from the tub back into the enclosure is swift, and sometimes I just let them make their own way back in. If you ever do have to pick up a snake after they've eaten, it is wise to always pick them up so that their head is above the rest of the body, even when putting them back down, do it tail first, as tipping them the other way can start the rodents gradual slide back out.
Cheers, Skinner

 

[CaptainRatbag]

Skinner^ Do you have a tub for each snake? If you feed all of your snakes in the same tub, the different smells of different snakes might be off-putting... add to this, if 1 snake gets an infection/disease/mite or whatever, it would be passed on to all of your snakes? Or do you have one tub and steralise it between snakes?

I dont want to buy 5 tubs and have to store them when not in use, and I cant train my nosey snakes to go back into thier enclosures.... they would rather go anywhere else.... they need a hand back in. So I have decided to feed mine in thier enclosures, they are happy, I am happy

I wouldn't personally depend on a light for heat.... basking yes, I prefer a heat mat for digestive heating.... so the snake can park on it and have the heat rise into its body, speeding up its metabilism to aid digestion. Heat lamps to me (for heating, not basking) would heat the skin and upper layer of the snake, but not neccessarily to the 'core' of the snake. where it is needed. This is my own opinion... what you do is perfectly ok by me.... I am not having a shot at you or anything... just my untrained opinion

 

[Icarus]

I dont want to buy 5 tubs and have to store them when not in use, and I cant train my nosey snakes to go back into thier enclosures.... they would rather go anywhere else.... they need a hand back in. So I have decided to feed mine in thier enclosures, they are happy, I am happy

I wouldn't personally depend on a light for heat.... basking yes, I prefer a heat mat for digestive heating.... so the snake can park on it and have the heat rise into its body, speeding up its metabilism to aid digestion. Heat lamps to me (for heating, not basking) would heat the skin and upper layer of the snake, but not neccessarily to the 'core' of the snake. where it is needed. This is my own opinion... what you do is perfectly ok by me.... I am not having a shot at you or anything... just my untrained opinion

i use a heat mat

 

[abnrmal91]

This thread will answer some of your questions. It explains temps and the digestive process.
http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/general-reptile-discussion-42/feeding-184305/

 

[Skinnerguy]

Hey Captain - Yes I have one tub that I feed my bigger snakes in, and one that I feed my miniatures in, and sterilise with F10 after every feed. The bigger tub (because I've had some messy feeds in there) does smell a bit ratty, and when they go into it, it has some rat scent in it because I leave my rats in it overnight to thaw. I believe this assists in prompting a feeding response along. The reason I do it is so that there is no feeding response when they're in their enclosures. My BHP is puppy dog tame at any time in her enclosure, but as soon as you put her in the tub, she'll strike at anything that moves, which is excellent, I've always tub fed her and she's never rejected a feed. I use thermostatically controlled heat lamps during the day for my terrestrial enclosures, and have heat mats on during the night, but for my arboreal coastal enclosure, I have one thermostatically controlled ceramic heat emitter running all the time. You'd think there would be lack of belly heat, but there's a rock shelf that sits under it (about 25cm) and it warms up so when he's under his heat lamp he still gets warm from both sides. I think you just have to heat to the enclosure, there's no one steadfast approach in my opinion

 

[IgotFrogs]

Take it to a vet

This is Herp help not the place for "Take it to the vet" comments unless you have something helpful to say please reframe from these kinds of posts Thank you

 

[abnrmal91]

This is Herp help not the place for "Take it to the vet" comments unless you have something helpful to say please reframe from these kinds of posts Thank you

Take it to the vet is a valid response if it happens again. I don't think it was that unhelpful that the person is told to refrain from trying to help.

 

[IgotFrogs]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/herp-help-38/please-read-posting-herp-help-128294/

 

[abnrmal91]

http://www.aussiepythons.com/forum/herp-help-38/please-read-posting-herp-help-128294/

Thanks but that thread only confirms that someone recommending taking a snake to the vet is a valid response. That conforms with the requirements of posts in herp help.

 

[Icarus]

as the OP, i think it is valid for someone to suggest to me that i take my snake to a vet. If it was an emergency I would of course take my animal to a vet - in this situation, though, I felt I had time to ask for the advice of the experienced snake owners on here. However, oi_itz_blake96 just wrote "take it to a vet" without offering any other advice or suggestions. It came across as a bit nasty/smart-alecky.

 

[abnrmal91]

The Internet is always open to interpretation as it is left to the reader to work out the meaning of someone's words. It didn't seem to be nasty/smart alecky to me, that was my interpretation. However oi_itz_blake96 advice is correct if it occurs again.

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

Sounds temperature related to me. Poor little bugger is hungry but can't digest.
I would re-evaluate your night temps given the cold spell and if you not wintering I would warm it back up to your normal night time temp then try to feed again after 4 or 5 days.

Bit early to go running to the vet unless you are seeing some other signs of illness.

Its really not that rare for snakes to throw a meal up, certainly at this time of year with fluctuating temps if you dont have thermostatic control.

Hope this helps

 

[pottsie]

May be worthwhile taking a stool sample to vet to test for amoeba protozoans. Regurg can be an initial symptom - not wanting to scare you - and if treated early with flagyl, will have no consequence. If left, they can ultimately cause intestinal ulcerations and liver damage, and can kill snakes very quickly. Feacal test relatively cheap, and may help put your mind at ease. Funnily enough, can enter clean collections - through freshly killed infected food, or even if snake passes through infected bird ( particularly poultry) stool whilst out on lawn. Can spread radidly through collection if snakes and equipment mixes.