Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Male Albino cal king, born June 03,
For the last two weeks has regurgitated his feeders, last Saturday he regurgitated one pinky, then 2 days later he shed, so I thought that was the issue, so this Saturday the 22nd I fed him two –he acted uninterested, so I put the two feeders in a small deli cup and put him inside, turned off lights and all noise
Checked on him in about a half hour and he had eaten both, now it’s 7:23 Sunday night, so it has not even
Been 24 hours since I’ve fed him and he regurgitated them? His environment:
50 gallon split in two (with a divider) so he has approximately 25 gallons of room, kept at room temp no hotter than 87 at day and no lower than 72 at night, water bowl, three hides, and news paper, his cage mate on the other side is a female and much larger and born the same month, I thought the size difference was due to him being a male and the larger one being a female,
The snake appears extremely healthy, shinny and happy I cannot think of anything I’m may be doing wrong,
I can’t lose this little guy for he will be magnificent adult and because he’s pink and yellow my little girl (5)
Has claimed him as hers……………
? Could he have sent himself into burmation? Even though the other snakes have not? And why would he attempt to eat them then regurge them?
And my books are saying nothing also no reptile vet for atleast 60 miles.

Please help, any ideas or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!
Dallas Wiebelhaus
Djw53079@msn.com
Email if you would be willing or would like to speak in person

It shouldn't be due to a self-imposed brumation. It seems that once a snake reguratates, it seems prone to repeat episodes. Try waiting a week, and offering it one pinky- two might be too much at present because of the current digestive upset. Maybe this will help. Keep us posted an the progress.

All the best,
Todd

Your temps are a bit extreme. Try a resonably stable 80 degrees (day and night) within 2 degrees. I've had a few kings barf at a low of 75 and at temps above 82, I find them in the waterbowls or flying around the cages in an agitated fashion. Skip the night time temp drop or drop it just a couple of degrees.
Jeff Hardwick

Do the temperatures in the tank affect how the snake acts?
-----
~Banana~

from the heat

ALbinos are very high strung anyway as far as light and movement around their surroundings. Once they eat they will search for the proper microclimate within your cage(which is FAR too big!)and likely the right temp isnt in the right place. I suggest finding a 82 degree area and placing the baby in a deli cup to feed and at least start to process the meal(use paper towel substrate so he can hide). I keep babies in deli cups ALL the time until they get to be 1.5-2'!!They just eat better and get adjusted better in a confined environment. Think of where you find snakes....under stuff,in stuff, where they are tight and feel safe. Jeff

fo' shizzle
ha ha ha
Thanks agian , for your time and expertise

A few questions.

How much are you handling him ?

Is there any supplemental heating at night ?

Snakes are better off with a nighttime drop but you still want to make available an area that has a temp of at least around 78-80 degree's.

Keith
-----
Man, what are you doing with a gun in space? - Charles "Chick" Chapple

30 minutes to an hour a day except during the first 24 hours after a successful feeding or during shedding.

No, except for the house heater, which is at a constant 80 degrees, during the day I turn on an 80-watt heat uvb lamp
Which is about 4 foot away pointing at three cages and the rooms
Overhead light, which normally raises the heat in the room
To about 84 degrees.

I’m not doing this to the specific cage but to the entire room

Keith, please be as honest as you feel fit! I appreciate your time
Greatly,
Dallas

“How much are you handling him ?”
30 minutes to an hour a day except during the first 24 hours after a successful feeding and during shedding

“Is there any supplemental heating at night ?”
No, except for the house heater, which is at a constant 80 degrees, during the day I turn on an 80-watt heat uvb lamp
Which is about 4 foot away pointing at three cages and the rooms
Overhead light, which normally raises the heat in the room
To about 84 degrees

“Snakes are better off with a nighttime drop but you still want to make available an area that has a temp of at least around 78-80 degree's.”
I’m not doing this to the specific cage but to the entire room

Keith, please be as honest as you feel fit! I appreciate your time
Greatly,
Dallas

I would maybe think about getting a little undertank heater and put it on a dimmer so you can control the temp. Sometimes a little belly heat can kick the ol digestive system into gear. Also I would cut handling the snake down to nothing. Your snake wont go feral with the lack of handling or anything and albinos are extremely easily stressed with an even more lack of vision than for normal pigemented snakes. Once the snake is holding down meals and is putting on some size introduce more handling but Im a believer that a snake should only be handled a few times a week. I have snakes that I rarely handle but when I do they are very calm.
-----
Man, what are you doing with a gun in space? - Charles "Chick" Chapple

I know you didn't mean to, but you are stressing the snake in that cage and then compounding the problem by not letting him recover from the regurges.

1. Like they all said, shoot for a more constant temp range of 80 deg for this little guy.

2. Keep him in a deli cup. Babies are way more secure in small housing. 25 gal is too large.

3. Don't feed him for a good 7 days, but offer water. This snake will never get on track if you constantly give him food to regurge. His digestive system needs a rest and time to replenish stomach juices. When you do finally give him food, give one very tiny pinky, then do not disturb the snake in his deli cup for a few days (except to look and see if he has kept it down.)

Some babies feed successfully no matter what, and others are more sensitive. A good rule of thumb though is to keep babies in deli cups until they are eating and digesting many times. You really only need to remove them once they grow a bit. Also, babies hate being held, moreso than adults. It is best not to handle baby kings except when necessary (cleaning cages, etc). If you look at successful breeders, they disturb their baby snakes as little as possible until the snakes are well on their way.

The cage is waaaaaaaaay too big. Put the animal in a small cage, cover it completely with paper or something, so that the animal will not be stressed by excess light or other visual stimuli. Reduce stress, pronto! Wait at least a week before feeding again, actually, if the snake isn't too thin, a 10 day to 2 week wait would be better. His gut is all screwed up, it needs time to mend. Chronic reguritation will absolutely kill the snake, no doubt about it. If it has puked twice already, it's in a bad way.

There is no other way to say it, if you feed the snake again before it is ready, it will probably die. Take Mark's advice, when you do offer food, make it ONE tiny food animal. If it holds it down, wait another week and offer ONE tiny food animal. Your plan should be-no stress and small, infrequent meals for the next couple of months.

Good luck.

Will