Eeeewwwwww!!! EeeeeeeeeeeeK
Poor Q regurged one of last week's rats this morning... I've read about experiences like this, just hoped I'd never have to deal with it myself! Part of my initiation I guess....

I'm 99% sure it was just caused by over-feeding him. I've been so concerned about getting his weight up and I thought he could take 2 small rats if they weren't bigger around than the thickest part of his body... but they were both quite long and maybe his stomach isn't long enough?
Two weeks ago I fed him 2 rats equalling 108 grams which he digested well. The following week he took 1 rat that weighed 100 grams. Last week he took 2 rats (90g and 72g) so 162 grams. This morning he gave back the 72 gram rat... I guess I should just stick to the 100 gram range for a while.
I think the temperatures could be higher but he's spending most of his time under the hide on the medium warm side, not under the hide on the warmest part.

Normally I would have fed him again tomorrow night but I don't think that's a good idea right now. Should I wait a whole week or just a few days?
Talyn has to go in to the vet's to get her stitches out on Wednesday... maybe I'll take him along too just to have him looked at.

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Andrea

Regurg is usually a sign of one of the following things; 1)overfeeding, 2)incorrect temps, 3)stress, 4)illness. Keep an eye on him, if he regurgitates again then I would recommend a vet visit, as he could be ill, but for now I wouldn't worry too much. He may, as you said, just have eaten too much, or his temps may be too low.

Leave him 7-10 days before you feed him again, let him settle. When you feed him next give him a smaller-than-usual food item to let his digestive system get back to normal, and then continue with his normal feeding. If he ate the second rat then he is more than capable, I think your temps might be the most likely reason for the regurg,. how big is he?

Good luck, keep a close eye but don't worry too much, and I hope Talyn goes well at the vets - I'm thinking of her

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Thanks Rachel!
I've cleaned out his quarantine container and put a darker hidebox on the warm side. I think it's either the extra rat or the temps or a bit of both. I'm going to correct both now and hope this was a one time thing.
He is REALLY long: about 180 cm but he isn't very big around the middle, I can close my middle finger and thumb around his widest part and I don't have extremely long fingers. Talyn is at least twice as big around and about the same length, maybe a bit shorter.
I'll skip the feeding this week and up the temps. Thanks again.

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Andrea

Hi Blackjack,

Sorry to hear about Q, I had a retic years ago regurg a large rabbit once after about 3 days of digestion. Not a pretty sight, but you gotta love'em anyways...

Hope nothing is serious with Q, good luck.

Bill

I would DEFINITELY recommend that you don't put the two together anymore as there is a chance that he is sick. This is why proper quarantine is critical. You may want to have the vet check out Talyn to be sure that she's alright as well, now that she's been exposed to him.

I hope that everything is alright!

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Brent Strande
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I agree with Rachel on temperature being the primary cause, low temps mean slow digestion and if teh rat had a belly full of food (especially pups with milk) it may have gone rancid and caused the regurge. Since you just came back from the vet with a clean bill of health I would say just skip the feed this week and up the temps for a day or two after the next feeding.

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Thanks Brent, Thanks Jay,
I know I should have kept the two completely apart, but I only had them together for the photo shoot, about 10 minutes tops. Since then there has been no contact. I suppose that is already long enough to infect her if he really is seriously ill.
However, his stool sample came out perfectly normal and he is not showing any signs of illness otherwise.
I really think it was the temps or extra food. I'm only going to feed him up to 100g of rats for a while (starting next week) and I've already raised the temps, so hopefully that will be it.
I'm probably going to take him to the vet tomorrow too although I'm not sure if she'll be able to tell anything just by looking at him.

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Andrea