Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i fed my milk snake around 5 last night and when i woke up this morning e had regergitated the pinky. what should i do??? should i not handle him or try feeding him again later today or wait? he has ate fine the past two weeks since i got him. and was looking around for food so i gave him a pinky... i feed him every five days... please someone help and give a little insight on this matter.

>>i fed my milk snake around 5 last night and when i woke up this morning e had regergitated the pinky. what should i do??? should i not handle him or try feeding him again later today or wait? he has ate fine the past two weeks since i got him. and was looking around for food so i gave him a pinky... i feed him every five days... please someone help and give a little insight on this matter.

When a snake regurgitates there are several possible reasons:
1) it was not kept warm enough to properly digest the previous meal
2) it was fed too big a food item or too many food items or too soon after the previous meal(s)
3) it was handled too much
4) it's ill in some way
5) least threatening: it's a fluke occurrence that can't be explained and doesn't recur.

You're the best judge of which of those explanations might apply. Based on what you wrote, a mouse PINKY ought not be too big for a milksnake unless it's one of the very smallest subspecies and is a recent hatchling; if it hadn't eaten for five days then that shouldn't be a problem. So check your temps, review when & how much you handle it, etc. And btw, don't conclude that a snake crawling around the cage is "looking for food," that's pure speculation: it could just as easily be looking for a way out.

Whatever, DO NOT feed it again for at least a week. The worst thing that can happen after a regurg is that the snake is fed again too quickly, it's digestive system is upset for whatever reason, and it regurges again. This can lead to a downward spiral in the snake's welfare. So please, while you're reviewing conditions, wait. Two weeks wouldn't be too long.

good luck, and let us know if you find a probable cause, and how the snake does eventually. We're all learning together.

peace
terry dunham
albino tricolors
st petersburg florida

I have a corn snake that regurged and all I did was wait at least a week to try again. Could be lots of reasons like in your first reply. I wouldn't be to concerned right away. It happens with any snake. I think my corn regurged because I fed her to big a meal, a fuzzy. She didn't barf up since I went back to pinks and waited till she was bigger. I tried her on fuzzy's again and now she keeps them down. This is just my experience :0)

like terry said..........wait a week or even two........then feed her a smaller size pink than the one she regurged, for the first couple feedings..chris