dry regurgitation?!

Hi all, just now my snake came out from its burrows and it litterally looked like she was regurgitatin! but its been 5 days since she last ate and i am suppose to feed her again today but she came out and was manevuring her body like she was reverse eating and nothing came out! I dont understand what happened?? was this just one huge yawn or what should I feed her tonight?

wrote that in a panic, may not be as clear: Just now at 7:08 PM 5 days later since her last feed. She came out from her burrow under her substrate with her mouth slightly open than came into view of me and looked like she was "dry" regurgitating because nothing ever came out. She moved her body with a maneuver like she was eating but outwards towards her mouth. Her body was way larger than normal and after the whole process she litteraly deflated sort of speak I am in a panic whether or not what to do?? she slithered back into her burrow but now what? I am suppose to feed her tonight but should I post pone the feeding now?

I would hold off for at least one feeding cycle and observe her.

This may be a stupid question, but can snakes burp?

i don't see why they wouldn't burp, they do fart, afterall!

i wouldn't worry too much about it, she could have been yawning as well. not sure about what she did with her neck, but just keep an eye on her

Yeah, she appears to be ok active and exploring since. I attempted to feed her but all she did was literally pushed it away from her with her snout haha and showed no feeding interest. So I will just hold off one feeding cycle as Nanci proposed. Thanks for your advice everyone. I will keep updates on her if things get worse.

Originally Posted by Lycosa

This may be a stupid question, but can snakes burp?

When I first read the description I thought "Could she have had some gas??", very strange!!

Originally Posted by Aaron1994

Yeah, she appears to be ok active and exploring since. I attempted to feed her but all she did was literally pushed it away from her with her snout haha and showed no feeding interest. So I will just hold off one feeding cycle as Nanci proposed. Thanks for your advice everyone. I will keep updates on her if things get worse.

Smell the inside of the enclosure as soon as you lift the lid off for any foul rotten smell(regurge). Yes, snakes do yawn to realign their jaws from time to time, but your description does sound like a regurge. This could have been the second dry-heave after the snake actually puked it up somewhere just prior to you seeing this one with nothing comming out. Sankes will typically wriggle from side to side and move backwards a bit when they regurge. If it did regurge, there is something definitely wrong. There are generally a few basic things that cause this.

1 Not enough under belly heat

2 Too large a meal

3 handled snake before meal was digested(stress)

4 intestinal bacteria from fouled water or meal

The very WORST thing anyone can possibly do is to immediately attempt to feed a snake that has recently regurged, as the snakes stomach needs time to replenish the acids, electrolytes, and gut flora(good bacteria) for proper digestion. This usually takes around 7 to 10 days, and THEN you want to make SURE it is offered a much smaller meal for several feedings until you know the snake can successfully hold those down. Only then can you gradually start upping the size over some time.

If the snake regurges again if a smaller meal is taken(in two to three days), it needs to see a vet for a throat smear and fecal-floatation to diagnose the cause. Flagyl helps immensely with ridding their intestinal tract of bad bacteria, but it also kills GOOD bacteria too, so you must NOT offer ANY food for at least 7 to 10 days after the last dose of Flagyl(Metronidazole) at the rate of 50 mg./per kg. of body weight. Additionally, there are probiotics like "nutri-bac" that replenish good bacteria back into their gut to aid in normal digestion. Kathy Love talks about this on her site as well.

Anyway, I have saved the lives of many people's snakes when they followed this advice to the letter. continued regurgitations can easily lead to the snakes death if the proper measures are not adressed ASAP!


good luck with it.


~Doug

BTW, when I mentioned "if it regurges in two to three days", I meant that is how long it typically takes a snake to regurge after the meal, NOT to offer it food in two to three days..LOL! You need to wait a good 6 to 10 days like I said previously so the snake can regain it's normal stomach/gut content that it regurged in order to properly digest again. Keep in mind, offering meals prior to the needed amount of time for the snakes stomach to regain what it lost in the regurge is the exact OPPOSITE thing you want to do.


~Doug

okay I will wait awhile before her next feed. She is so cute and beautiful if anything were to happen to her I don't know what id do with myself she is essentially my daughter right now <3