Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of our corns regurgitated this morning. He is right at the line of moving up foodwise, from pinkie to fuzzy. The food was just a bit larger than him. He was fed Friday morning. I picked him up Sunday evening, still saw where the snake was digesting and put him back. Monday, we checked, and put him back. But the mouse was not digested at all. It was visibly a mouse, like it had not spent almost 4 days in digestive juices... It still had fuzz...
do I have a sick snake, or is this "normal" regurgitation
If I'm reading corectly, I should wait 10 days before feeding him again, then feed a much smaller item.
Alarm buzzing - that is the weekend we are going out of town for 3 days. This could be good, in that no kids or pets will be here to bother him... as long as daughter watering them does not move him. But I will not be here to watch over him. Should I wait the additional 3 until I'm home?
This is my 8 yr olds snake - should he not pick his snake up until a successful feed?
He hides in the water bowl - the underside of the ceramic has a lip he hides up in. you HAVE to move him to check on him. It's not just a look inside situation.
Help.

You have an eight year old corn snake that "is right at the line of moving up foodwise, from pinkie to fuzzy?" An eight year old Corn Snake should be eating adult mice.

If this is one of the snakes that you mention below, keeping two snakes in the same cage is stressful to the snakes and make cause regurgitation.

If it is a male snake, just being in the presence of a female at breeding time can cause it to regurgitate (I've seen this happen several times).

Corn Snakes do best when kept in their own individual enclosures.

Tim

No, the snake belongs to my 8 yr old. The snake is an 09 hatchling, at the size to move from pinkies to fuzzies.
He is seperate from our breeders, doing their thing, therefore kept together.

HI
OK, SO I HAVENT READ THE REPLYS TO THIS THREAD YET, SO I MAYBE REPEATING. FOR ME I HAVE FED MY PYTHON AND BOA RECENTLY. I NORMALLY WAIT AT LEAST A WEEK BEFORE I HANDLE THEM. NOW MY ADULT CORNSNAKES, MY BIG MALE FOR EXAMPLE, WILL POO 4 DAYS AFTER EATING A RAT. I KNOW THEN I CAN HANDLE HIM.

SOUNDS LIKE THE MEAL MAY HAVE BEEN TO BIG, BUT IF IT HAD BEEN IN ITS BELLY FOR 4 DAYS AND DIDNT LOOK DIGESTED PERHAPPS YOU MAY NEED TO GIVE IT SOME PROBIOTICS.

ONE THING THAT I HAVE LEARNED OVER THE YEARS IS THAT NOT ALL THE INFO OUT THERE PERTAINS TO EVERY CORN. THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT, THEY ALL DO HAVE DIFFERENT PERSONALITIES ETC...

HOWEVER, I WILL TELL YOU THAT I TOO AM DEALING WITH A PUKER AND THIS TOPIC IS NEW TO ME.
BUT THESE ARE JUST SOME THAUGHTS, THEY MAY HELP, OR NOT.
CHECK OUT KATHY LOVE'S FAQ SHEET ON CORNUTOPIA.
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20 years of herp keeping/breeding. corn snakes, pythons, boas, milks, kings, lizards etc...

Perhaps not enough heat to digest the larger meal?

Any changes recently to the cage or room?

My opinion - baby corns can get stressed easily. They can also be eager feeders and eat meals that cage conditions do not allow them to digest (not enough heat). Dehydration makes digestion tougher too. A good soak in very shallow water for 5 minutes helps hydrate the snake.

I think too that when small meals are fed for a long time, the snake's digestive system is less able to handle a sudden large meal. What I have seen with other snakes like rosyboas, when as babies they eat big meals, they handle it fine into adulthood.

For now, withold food, make sure snake has a nice warm spot, and if you can get some Flagyl, great. As you can see below, corns can and do eat big meals. This one ate the rat just fine and took advantage of 88 deg temps for awhile.

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Mark

Maybe heat... This tank is our tank still using bulbs for heat, and the suggested bulb burned out and we were using the one that came with it until payday. I had also borrowed the thermometer from this tank for the kids to do an experiment in another tank.
FYI - the air temp using bulbs or under tank heaters are the same, however, the substrate is 5-10 degrees warmer using the undertank heaters.
I will try feeding him Monday - a small pinkie. If he still has problems, the meds mentioned I can get from a friend.

Well, if you tried to feed a larger than usual meal with half the heat source, sounds like problem solved IMO. I would go with a UTH and forego the bulbs. I could be the heat bulb burned out and the bulb working is a useless (for snakes anyway) UVB bulb that only contributes light, but no heat. Since you have a thermometer, test the temps under the operating bulb. It should be 85 degrees or so for best digestion results, especially with a larger meal.

>>Maybe heat... This tank is our tank still using bulbs for heat, and the suggested bulb burned out and we were using the one that came with it until payday. I had also borrowed the thermometer from this tank for the kids to do an experiment in another tank.
>>FYI - the air temp using bulbs or under tank heaters are the same, however, the substrate is 5-10 degrees warmer using the undertank heaters.
>>I will try feeding him Monday - a small pinkie. If he still has problems, the meds mentioned I can get from a friend.

no do not feed Monday.
Give the snake time to recover.
wait at least 10 days from regurge.
I would get an under tank heater or at least put a flat stone under the lamp to absorb heat and allow warmth for the snake's belly, to aid in digestion.
do you have this hatchling and another together?
how large is the enclosure?
when you do feed, after 10 days, give it the smallest pinkie you can get. I would also take a razor blade and slit the pinkie a couple of times down it's length. Helps digestion.
Then give it a week to make sure this is digested properly and feed it another small meal, slit as well.
If it digests this properly then you can go back up to a larger pinkie for a couple of feedings and then go up to a small fuzzy
don't rush it.

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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

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I hate to sound horrible and uncaring, but I can't feed him 10 days after. We will be going out of town. I can leave him with a vet tech, but would really prefer not.
Can I wait an extra 3 days, without harming him?
This hatching are in separate small plastic critter houses, in the same aquarium. We had planned to house them together later, but that isn't an option any longer. I still keep both small houses together in the locked tank to keep my grandkids and visitors from taking the snakes all over or hurting them.
I'm a bit distracted this am and can't remember if I've asked or addressed all I wanted to...

the extra 3 days won't hurt. your better off to wait then to rush feeding again
Rick

>>I hate to sound horrible and uncaring, but I can't feed him 10 days after. We will be going out of town. I can leave him with a vet tech, but would really prefer not.
>>Can I wait an extra 3 days, without harming him?
>>This hatching are in separate small plastic critter houses, in the same aquarium. We had planned to house them together later, but that isn't an option any longer. I still keep both small houses together in the locked tank to keep my grandkids and visitors from taking the snakes all over or hurting them.
>>I'm a bit distracted this am and can't remember if I've asked or addressed all I wanted to...

yes, an extra three days will be fine. No problem
actually may even be better.
BUT..make sure to follow the directions in the other response. Take it slowly, small small pinky to start with. work it back up to appropriate sized meals.

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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

Yep, I bet that is it. Air temps do not mean much to a snake if surface temps are cool. A snake's body is flat against the ground. Whatever temp the ground is, the snake is.

You need a bulb that directs heat down, and you need branches or something that the snake can elevate itself to heat up. Or an undertank heater. But, in my experience with corns, and part of what makes them such a great snake, you can provide branches and the snake will climb up and rest closer to the bulb.
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Mark