regurgitating coastal....again

[OuZo]

hey guys,

a while back our approx 3 year coastal regurgitated her rat about 3 days after eating it, then ate it again :shock: then regurgitated again a few days later. we figured that maybe it wasnt sitting right in her tummy or that it was possibly because one of the globes in her cage had blown that day...one was still working tho so she still had heat just not as hot as it usually is. anyway, we were advised to sorta see how she goes and if it happens again to take her to the vet but that was probably a few months ago and she's been fine....til today. i walked past her cage and noticed her lights werent on which was kinda odd cos its a pretty cold day, so i opened the cage to see if it felt warm in there and WHAM i get smacked in the face by the lovely aroma of regurgitated rat (wheres a vomit smiley when ya need one! :x ). she ate i think last thursday, so 6 days ago and i was right in thinking the globes had blown...both at the same time. they were both working this morning so she hasnt been that long without heat (none of my other snakes have ever regurgitated if this has happened to them before, especially for such a short time). i think she might be coming up for a shed too cos i havent seen her out much lately at all. theres also a possibility that it had been there longer than just today cos i havent opened her cage for a while and it was kinda hidden in a corner.

the other common factor is that it has been quite a large rat both times, not so she's busting at the seams but it was decent. she had been having that size for a while up til the first regurg, then we gave her only small ones til this feed.

do u guys think i should rush her to the vet or do u know of any other possible reasons why this might have happened? ever since the first incident i've felt like theres been something wrong with her but i just figure thats me being worried about her lol.

gotta run to get some new globes now but will be back later so post away if u can help! thanx guys

 

[Barney]

Sounds like you worked it out for yourself

 

[Guest]

Just a fussy carpet, i think she'll be fine, just put her back onto smaller rats for a short time and then try her again on the big rat. does she only heat one rat each feeed? if not give her a big rat first and then smaller after. see how she takes this. just MO

 

[serpenttongue]

The two most common reasons for regurgitation are if the meal is too big or internal parasites. Usually a python can still keep its meal down and digest it in cool temperatures.

I would try and get a fresh faeces to the vet for examination. Unfortunately not every faeces will show signs of parasites. Experienced vets can flush out the cloaca with a saline solution and examine that. Sometimes you just have to sit and wait for the snake to get worse before you can get vital info from it.

If it is internal parasites then a sudden drop in temps would lower its immune system which would cause regurgitation, especially if there is some irritation in the stomach. Check how she lays when at lower temps. Snakes burdened with parasites will lay loosely when cool and occasionally suck their gut in slightly when its loaded with parasites.

I would also decrease the size of its meals and feed less frequently during this time of uncertainty.

 

[instar]

Folk who have heat on one thermostat, i have a question please. If you had the heat going during the day only (warmer months only) and allowed ambient temps at night, mine is 26c without heat source, would a python have problems digesting a meal? Is it better to have the heat on 24 hrs as i do on the thermo. given wild pyths must cool some at night even after having eaten???

 

[serpenttongue]

Instar, certainly having the heat on day and night will help speed up the digestion, but turning all heat off overnight is usually okay as long as it is in the summer months. The prey will still be successfully digested, it just might take a little longer.

 

[nuthn2do]

Ever been treated for non related illness with medications? Some meds destroy gut flora as well as the nasties, compounds the problem with every regurge.