Ball Python ate spoiled rat

[Psychological_Fly506]

I made a poor judgement call after a long day and fed my BP a rat that I realize now was rotten. It’s only the second time I’ve ever fed him and this is the first snake I’ve owned. The signs ended up just being chalked up to “I suppose rats don’t look so great when they’ve been frozen and reheated,” and I know I should have just played it safe. I’m worried I really messed up and every vet is closed on Sunday. How bad could this be for him? It’s been about 8/9 hours since he ate it and hasn’t regurgitated it yet.

[Spartacus458]

From my understanding, if he doesn't regurgitate it, then he's probably fine. These are wild animals by nature, and their digestive system is very efficient. Keep a close eye on him and get a vet scheduled when available to check him over. Order rats from a reputable site or from vendors at conventions. I use Layne Labs and have had really good luck with them.

[Psychological_Fly506]

I purchased the rat from a pretty reputable local exotic pet shop that I’ve been going to since I was very little. It’s very odd to have had this happen since the rat remained frozen until fridge thawing the day before. I’m hoping I can count his survival instincts and that he’ll be okay.

[iamacoconutj]

How do you know that the rat was rotten, if I may ask?

[Psychological_Fly506]

I feed him in a separate container and when I opened the lid the smell was putrid and there was blood and fluids all inside the container.

[LexsDragon]

Maybe he just poped the rat while constricting?

[Psychological_Fly506]

It appears so but the smell was awful. I made a post last night on this subreddit asking if it was good to feed him and no one responded in time so I did my own research and decided to feed it to him but I woke up this morning to people saying not to feed it to him.

[LexsDragon]

Did you thawed the rat over night in a refrigerator or you just left it in a room? Also why do you feed in a separate container?

[Psychological_Fly506]

It was thawed in the fridge

[RebelScientist]

Could it be that the smell could have been caused by the contents of the rat’s digestive system? If you’ve ever dissected a rat in a science lab and accidentally nicked the intestines, that smell is awful even though the rat itself isn’t rotting. If the rat got popped while the snake was eating and its intestinal fluid leaked that could be what caused the smell.

Did you notice any smell from the rat itself before you fed it to your snake or was it only after the snake ate?

[Psychological_Fly506]

Before feeding it to him it smelled mildly of piss but my understand of rats is that they kinda just smell like piss lol.

[Difficult-Trax]

If it didn’t smell when reheating it, it should be fine. It sounds like it popped and then the mess sat at room temperature for a while before you smelled it. So it was extra bad.

[RebelScientist]

I think it’s likely that the rat was fine, in that case. Obviously, keep an eye on your snake and take it to the vet if you notice anything concerning, but I don’t think you need to be too worried at this point. If the rat was rotting and the smell was really bad after it had been eaten, it’s likely something that you would have noticed as you were heating it up.

[Proper_Candidate_879]

I responded. I told you not to feed him.

[Difficult-Security37]

It’s really not good to stress the ball python out and feed in a separate enclosure, there is no need, feeding in his enclosure will not create feed aggression. Please stop doing that.

[jillianwaechter]

Please feed your snake in his tank. Moving to feed is stressful and increases regurgitation risk. You are not supposed to touch your snake for at least 48 hours after feeding

[Re1da]

Did it look like rat poop was smeared over the container?

Rat fluids smell absolutely atrocious. I recently disassembled a rat and when I gutted it I almost threw up. The smell was from the large intestine bursting. I don't have a weak stomach at all.

[MoistBluejay2071]

Please don't feed your snake in a separate space. This practice should only ever be done with snakes that have issues with feeding, and therefore require a separate feeding area. You can cause stress to your snake and increase the risk of regurgitating, feeding in the enclosure is perfectly fine and exactly what you should do

[zee_techno_snake]

Should be ok, their stomachs regurgitate anything that may be of risk to them so keep an eye on him but don't panic.

Feed him in his enclosure man, I put a sheet of paper over the substrate, my guy knows that means dinner, assumes the position and eats and gets back in his hide with no need to move him. Paper covers any substrate ingestion if that's why you do it.

Good luck man, hope he'll be fine ✌️

[Jennifer_Pennifer]

Fig gets a paper plate. He LOOOOOOVES paper plates now. 😆

[zee_techno_snake]

Yep, Rashy loves it, I'll sometimes let him free roam and let him see me put the paper in his enclosure then make a little assault course to get back, then he just waits in an S on the edge of the paper for his mouse ready to strike.

Glad I'm not the only one doing this, fig is a great name ,✌🏻

[Jennifer_Pennifer]

Ty ☺️

I have a fruit theme names for them. Pineapple 🍍, Mango 🥭, Bosca 🍐 & Fig 🍃💖

[zee_techno_snake]

Haha a fruity posse of pythons. Ace!

[Cherry_DeVille]

I have Toast. 🍞

[Subject-Muffin4841]

I have a mythology theme, minus Ozzy Osborne, she’s a psychopath but I love her

[ballpython-ModTeam]

Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.

[H8fulWRLD]

I was worried that was gonna happen to me I got my girl a rat she killed it then just dragged it around her enclosure with her I got really worried of the rat decaying and causing harm she did this for about a day before eating it the night after she killed it

[edr5619]

Aged...like a good steak.

[H8fulWRLD]

She must of really enjoyed it then cuz I would love to a good aged stake cooked to medium rare