Spotted regurgitated meal?

[Hannahmania]

I just fed my 2+ year old (~1.2m) spotted a small rat. I went back about an hour or two later to check on her, and she had regurgitated it. THE worst thing I have EVER smelt! :shock:

This is the third small rat I have fed her (prior to that I was feeding her 2 adult mice a week, but the place I got her from suggested that she would be fine with small rats). She had not eaten for about a fortnight - I had been feeding her roughly weekly, but I dropped to 10 - 14 days when I moved her to the rats.

She seems fine, moving normally when I got her out to clean out her enclosure. There wasn't anything to disturb her - she was left in her enclosure in a quiet room to eat it. I don't know how she went with the actual eating of the rat, though, as I left the room just after she struck it, and forgot to go back and check.

Is it likely that the rat was just too big, given she has taken rats the same size before? Should I be cutting her back to a smaller sized meal again? Is there anything else I need to do other than just keep a bit of an eye on her, given she seems otherwise fine at this stage? And how soon should I attempt to feed her again?

Thanks!

Sharon

 

[Dash667]

Check your temps, most common cause of regurge is insufficient temps for digestion

 

[pythoncrazy]

+1 I agree check temps to hot or to cold.

 

[Hannahmania]

The enclosure is 31 on the warm side (it isn't an overly large, so there wouldn't be more than a couple of degrees variation across it)

Edited to add - I did actually check that when I was feeding her.

 

[saximus]

Where do you live? It might be ok temp now but in Sydney it's been getting to mid 30s. Too hot can be just as bad as too cold when a snake has just eaten

 

[Hannahmania]

I am in Melbourne, so not hot at the moment. Today I have actually had the heating on, so it has been a consistent 23 degrees in the rest of the house.

- - - Updated - - -

Can anyone help with how soon I should feed her again? I have just found out I am going to be away for a couple of weeks from tomorrow, and I am not sure if I should try feeding her again before I go, or wait until I get back... or try to get someone here in between to feed her (I don't really have anyone who knows anything about feeding snakes I can call on, though).

 

[ubermensch]

When my Coastal was regurgitating I waited a week and fed her on a cooler day - went down like a champ.
I would not try to feed her again this close to when she regurgitated - and you don't want to leave her another couple of weeks without food if she has already not fed for a week or two.