why did my snake regurgitate its food??

Question

i fed my snake 3 mice yesterday and today i got home from the movies and the mice were lying in the tank my garage smelled like $hit. why did it do that??

ive fed my snake 3 mice b4 and it never did that. and ive never coated the mice. does it work beter taht way??

Answer 1

Was the cage warm enough?(if it is not warm enough, the snake can't digest it meals) Were the mice to big?(too large of a meal and it is a problem) Has your snake been stressed lately(Moved to a new cage, area, changed bedding?Stress in itself causes regurging)Did you wait long enough between feedings?(depending on the size of the ball, 3 mice too often may be too many) Does he have mites?(If yes, that could be the problem, get rid of the mites before feeding again)

Ball pythons are finicky eaters. The smallest change can cause them to regurge or refuse food. (And don't ever coat the mice with anything,especially A-1!!!)
Maybe it isn't feeling well. Wait a week before offering food again. Just because he ate 3 mice last time doesn't mean he needs 3 mice everytime he eats either. If he regurges again, get him to a vet.

Good Luck!

Answer 2

Snake Regurgitation

Answer 3

First off, NO! Do not coat your snake in A-1.
Jeez!
Sometimes snakes regurgitate for many reasons, the most common being that the food was too big. It makes sense that perhaps he/she just couldn't break it down.
However it could also be a parasite or bacteria infection.
Advice: Visit your local snake dealing pet store(preferable one that knows what they're talking about) and ask about meds for possible stomach bacteria or parasites.
Also I would wait one week and try feeding it 1 or 2 mice. To see if it does it again, if it does then it is probably an illness.
Good luck.

Answer 4

Snakes regurgitate for many reasons. The most common being over feeding and low temperature. Stress can also cause them to regurgitate. Or it could be a medical problem like an intestinal blockage or parasite infection. Check your temps and in a few days feed again but try only one or two mice. If it keeps it down then it's OK. If it does it again you should see a good herp vet.

Answer 5

What kind of a snake do you have? What size snake is it? It may be that it can handle 3 mice every once in awhile at feedings, but not every time. How often are you feeding it? I know that when we had one of our snakes doing this, what we were giving was too much for it, and so we cut back, and went more slowly and she is doing fine now! Growing longer and more girth. Did you ever try giving your snake a small rat instead of 3 mice?Rats are better for the snake, and more protein, your snake will be healthier in the long run. We feed ours, frozen,thawed, works well. Hope things get better! I know the feeling of coming home and finding that smell! PUUUUUU!!! Good luck!

Answer 6

The only time a snake will regurgitate its food is if it was threatened in some manner after eating . You see a fed snake is a slow snake due to the time it takes for it to digest (they have a very slow metabolism). So to be able to move fast they have to regurge their meal. Look carefully in the garage and see if you find evidence of an intruder.

Answer 7

All of the answers from the actual snake owners are realistic scenarios to your pets issue. One thing that you might also consider if you are going to continue to feed your pet live rodents is to dust the food that the rodents eat with the supplement powder instead of dusting the rodent directly. That way the little guy is not only eating a good last meal, but "gut loading" just as a cricket eating those little gel pellets would for a lizard or snake.

We breed our mice for our snake and save a few of the pinkies and fuzzies for my lizards. This method has worked very, very successfully for each of our reptiles that eat rodents. The only time Nikeiza did regurgitate was when we dusted. After that, we went right back to dusting the feeders food. Sounds a little morbid, but it makes for a healthier meal for your animal, in our experience.

Answer 8

Your snake could be: too warm , too cold ,,stressed, possibly bad food(rotten mice) as a last resort, you could have it checked for intestinal parasites or cryptosporidium(pray it's not this) Also, your snake does not require any vitamins or supplements as the mice, rats or chicks your snake eats are a complete diet. This incident could be the result of the snake over eating or being startled by something. Make sure the snake has fresh, clean water,and wait at least 5 days before trying to feed him again.

Answer 9

Keep it warm and quiet, give it plenty of water and try again next feeding time. If it regurgitates again call the vet. Try moving the tank into the house if possible because it is easier to regulate the temperature of the cage if you are near it more often. Ball pythons are not beginner pets and if you continue to have problems I would suggest getting rid of it and getting a corn snake or a king snake. They make good beginner snake pets and aren't as picky.

Answer 10

I am getting a corn snake. These aren't venomous nor constrictors. All snakes are safe to have as pets, you just need to know your stuff. Don't go getting one without asking yourself: ''15 years is a long time for a corn snake to live, where will I be in 15 years?'' ''What if I can't afford the things needed to satisfy it's needs?'' ''Will my future wife/husband want it?'' ''Will it scare my children?'' This isn't your average everyday pet. Take care in the decisions you make. I'm 13 years old and I have spent 3 monthes preparing things, asking questions and visiting 5 pet shops. I'm waiting for the beginning of september to arrive so that I can finally get a snake when the snake batch is in stock. As I mentioned earlier, I'm getting a corn snake. Bright orange snake with red splotches. These make good pets as they are very easy to tame and can't harm you even if it wanted to. No fangs, no venom and no constricting power make this snake defensless against humans. Yes, they CAN bite, but we're not talking about the Anaconda movie here! Anything with or without teeth can try to bite, and as a rule, corn snakes won't bite very often at all... You just need to know your stuff! Good Luck!