Why didn't my snake digest his mouse?`

Question

Hi, I feed my corn snake every 4 days, and obviously he started off on 'pinkies' (smallest mice you can get for snakes) But now he's on fuzzies and I fed him last week and for the rest of that week i noticed a bulge in the middle of his body, my boyfriend said not to worry but i woke up this morning and my corn snake had pooed the mouse out that i gave him the other day. He'd made a right mess, and it stinks as well. I have noticed my snake hiding away the past couple of days so he mustve been uncomfortable. He seems a lot happier now but im still worried. Why didn't he digest it properly? Are fuzzies too big for him? It was definitely defrosted properly, I always make sure i leave them out for ages to make sure theyre defrosted. Would be very grateful for help, im very worried about him

Answer 1

do your snake a favor and feed it only every seven days and it could be from lack of heat or stress.  

Answer 2

If he's stressed, i.e. there's been a lot of loud noises they would have picked it up through vibrations (as they are deaf), they either won't eat or digest properly.

It could also be that its coming up for a shed as they can get very funny around that time.

Best thing to do is double check your heating systems for him too and make sure the temperatures are at the right levels because that will also make him feel under the weather and tired.

Answer 3

I had a snake like that, dont worry its nothing..

Answer 4

i only feed my snakes every 7 days, even from when they were little,

u may be feeding him to often and he may not bein able to digest all of his food properly.

try leavin him longer between feeds, snakes dont need feeding as often as you would think.

good luck  

Answer 5

because that is what they eat.

Answer 6

It's more likely to be regurgitation than p**p, as the others said are your temps right,  it also sounds as though its being fed to often should be every 5 to 7 days..... you could always switch back to  smaller f/t.... i always check my f/ts by placing them inbetween my index finger and thumb and if it feels cool its not ready as the organs are not warm enough! ( just a few ideas) hope they have helped! good luck with your snake... dont worry it will all work out well!

Answer 7

it sounds like he regurgitated. this happens when you handle him too much after feeding him. it can upset his stomach and he can throw up his food. if you feed him outside his cage, when you pick him up to put him back pick him up by the head an by the tail. dont touch in the middle where the mouse is. if you feed him in his cage (not a good idea by the way) then wait until he poops before you handle him.

also, if handling isnt the issue, heat is. all a snake wants to do after eating is chill out and digest. my most active ball python still hasnt come out from hiding and i fed her saturday. her heat is right too. she just wants to digest. keep your temps between 80-90 degrees F. it should never be above 90 degrees. get a heat pad if you dont have one, they help too. so do temp gauges.

and like everybody else said, feed him every 7 days or so. too often of feeding can cause stress.

good luck!

Answer 8

Well, 2 things.

First, the mouse you said was "pooed" out may have been regurgitated if it wasn't being digested properly in his stomach.

Second, this can happen when there's not enough heat available for the snake to properly digest its food.  Are you providing any heat for it?  It can also happen when the food item is too large for the snake.  It happens most often with the first scenario, so make sure you are providing proper thermoregulation in the snake's tank.  

Your snakes needs a heat gradient - meaning an area warm enough for it to energize enough for proper metabolic function and an area cool enough for it to cool off when it gets too warm.

Hope this helps some.  If you need more info, consult a nearby pet store that sells snakes.  They'll be able to assist you in making sure your tank set up is appropriate for your snake.

Good luck.  

Answer 9

The first thing is you are feeding it too often.If its on fuzzies then you should be feeding every 7-10 days.Feeding every 4 days you are not giving it time to digest and pass the last meal.That's probably why the mouse was regurgitated.second thing is to make sure the basking area is at the correct temp as snakes need the heat to activate their metabolism to digest the mice.I cant say if fuzzies are too big as you dont say how old the snake is but if its 10 months plus then fuzzies should be fine.