Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an Albino King Snake. I'm not sure how old he is but he's about 4 feet long. I recently moved (3 months ago) and to minimize stress, I didn't remove him from the enclosure, I just moved the whole thing. Well since moving I have fed him on 4 seperate occasions and each time he has regurgitated his food. One time it was 3 days later, another time it was a week later and the last time wasn't even 24 hours. I feed him live mice. He is otherwise healthy, still shedding and I have never had a problem with him being sick. He's in a 40 gal glass aquarium by himself with a screen top. He has a red lamp that is on 24/7. Idk what's wrong but I wish he would eat. If you have any suggestions or advice please let me know! Thanks.

The most likely cause of regurgs is improper temps or too frequent of feedings. You should be using a temperature controlled heat mat rather than a light unless the room itself is properly heated.

4 regurges?

is so... vet asap... like today/tomorrow.

1 regurge is normally bad, but might be nothing. i had a cal king regurge a few months ago and it's still going strong and eating like a champ today despite the vet not treating her. however, more than 1 and you certainly a big problem.

get the snake to a vet (bring a recent stool sample if possible), vet will probably give flagyl, get a heat mat with a thermostat, snug hides, clean water, and then leave the snake alone for 2 weeks. then try giving it a tiny meal... like something as big as the snakes head. if it keeps that meal down, start upping the meal size up over the course of 6 weeks til it's back to normal.

thats what i'd do anyway.

in regards to taking the snake to the vet, it's cheap!

some people tend to avoid the vet with their snakes because they think it'll cost an arm and a leg like with dogs, but in my experience the cost never exceeds 100ish bucks for exam, stool sample, and treatment. whereas i've spent 500 bucks on a dog visit before.

dont know if thats a factor for you, but thought i'd toss it out just in case.

What AB said was great. Your snake is eating and reguriging. Two things, screen tops and heat lamps, are bad bad things for reptiles. Heats the air and causes the air to raise out of the cage, causing dehydration. Cover the top put a much smaller lamp inside the cage, or even outside heating one side. Or like already mentioned, a heat pad. Also hiding places where the snake can burrow in are much better then those half round hides from pet shops(hope that's not what you have) Flagellated protozoa are what AB said the vet would most likely treat for. And hes right, they are stress induced and do cause regurgitation. And its easily cured again as AB mentioned.

Also its fall and your new house could be cooler, which would also cause the same thing and the stress induced stuff. Anyway, get your temps right, reduce that air flow and take the snake to the vet and all should be fine. Best wishes