Regurge! It was my fault :( advice please

[ladymagpie]

Last few weeks Cleo has been really cool with me being present while she eats. I've had her since October. Still on one pinkie following Munson feeding plan. I tend to sit still in low light, she eats, then I put her back into her viv.

But this time she regurged. She hasn't eaten the whole pinky when she spat the whole thing out. Why? I moved a bit closer to try and take a picture. And I didn't move much. The thing is, this feed was also different because I was trying her in a new feeding bin.

What should I do? :(

[ladymagpie]

Note: I have moved before while she was eating and never had a problem. In fact me being present happened by accident at the end of November, when I put her in her feeding tub, did something else in the room then turned around and she had started to eat. I didn't want to startle her so I kept still for a few moments then slowly left the room. Since then I've stayed in the room so that I can put her back in her viv reasonably quickly after she's eaten and the pinky has stopped moving down her body. I've always maintained a good distance away, but on this occasion I moved my camera about 2ft away from her. Yet she continued to eat with my camera there for a good few minutes. Then I moved slightly and all of a sudden she spat it out.

I know this is totally my fault and I feel so goddamn awful. Should I follow normal per-regurge advice? After this happened I left her in her feeding bin for a few minutes before returning her to her viv, placing her near her warm hide.

[lesleym]

In my opinion, this wasn't a regurge. She didn't swallow the whole thing and then regurgitate later, she just spat it out when she was startled. I would just try to feed her again in a day or so. She didn't lose any digestive fluids, etc., so I wouldn't worry.

[ladymagpie]

In my opinion, this wasn't a regurge. She didn't swallow the whole thing and then regurgitate later, she just spat it out when she was startled. I would just try to feed her again in a day or so. She didn't lose any digestive fluids, etc., so I wouldn't worry.

The tail of the pinkie was still visible when she did it. It's Friday night here, so ill try again Sunday maybe?

Thanks for telling me it shouldn't have done any damage. She's my only friend, so all sorts of things were going through my head when she did it, I've read the horror stories on here about problems.

[Nanci]

That isn't a regurge, that is a change of mind! A snake can have the prey all the way down the esophagus, and then willfully force it back out if it feels threatened. It can be completely out of sight. The prey isn't "stuck" until it is in the stomach, but there isn't really a lower esophageal sphincter like there is in humans, so it's not a sharp dividing line. I would have just reheated the prey, gave it back, covered the deli and left the snake strictly alone for 30 minutes.

The kind of regurge you worry about is when the prey doesn't digest before it rots, for whatever reason, and it is forced back up by the stomach rejecting it.