Reptile & Amphibian Forums

so i just bought a corn snake from petco (i know thats my first mistake). i picked the healthiest looking one and the most active. the guy at the store told me he just fed them that night i bought him. i was very curious at first and so were my friends so it was irresistable not to handle the cute baby corn snake. i did my research before buying but not too extensive. so i missed the fact that handling corn snakes too much after feeding can cauase regurgitation. so yeah go figure, Harry regurgitated today (bought it friday night, now its monday night). at first i was trying to figure out why the snake just wanted to sit there and sleep so much, then more online reading showed that they need to sleep it off to digest the food for a couple of days (i know, i was so dumb). so now he is still just laying in his hide box on the unheated side of my vivarium..actually been laying there since he threw up (my guess he's still getting over it). i am thinking about not feeding him his pinky until wednesday night (that would be 2 days from now), which then i will cut the pinky in half and feed it to him seperately, an hour apart. some people say not to feed them for like a week after regurgitation but i think it should be sooner in my situation because i think the cause was i handled it too much after feeding, and not from some disease. also i feel sorry for little Harry, i dont want him to starve...am i doing the right thing here or not? i would very much appreciate the suggestions and/or comments.

by the way my tank setup:
- 10 gallon
- pine shaving substrate
- undertank heater on one side
- always-on 25-watt red light bulb directed on the heated side
- two hide boxes, both on the heated and unheated side
- big water bowl
- temperature constant 80 degrees F

congrats on the new snake.

when they regurg, their entire digestive system messes up, so give them a good 7-10 days, DONT HANDLE IT DURING THIS TIME FRAME (and i know that'll be hard but trust me...just dont), then try and feed it again.

and post some pics when you get 'em

and i have a care sheet i wrote in my sig..i'd reccomend to read all you can find.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Caligula)... coming soon

by the way my tank setup:
- 10 gallon -

good size for a hatchling

- pine shaving substrate
****GET RID OF PINE*****
Pine has a lot of oils in it, which after time can cause respiratory infections. I'd reccomend to get aspen...looks nearly the same but it's safe for your snake. Also Cedar is toxic.

- undertank heater on one side
- always-on 25-watt red light bulb directed on the heated side
**These are both essentially doing the same thing, and spending a little more money than you need. Red light can't be seen by corns... or most any snake for that matter... but thats up to you. I have blacklights on my snakes...it gives a very dim light for them at night similar to moonlight - i can watch them while the room is dark and they can see around a little bit better.

- two hide boxes, both on the heated and unheated side
** you mean one on each side, correct? Make sure the hides are small enough so that they touch the snakes back. otherwise they'll probably end up hiding in the substrate. That's fine, just be sure to switch it over to aspen or something else asap.

- big water bowl
** make sure to keep it cleaned out at least weekly, and have enough that your snake can submerge itself in if it gets too hot. also put it on the cool side of the tank.

- temperature constant 80 degrees F
**i'd reccomend 83-85 on the warm side, and 78-80 on the cool side. Now that I think about it, being a 10 gallon tank i'd just take the light off and leave it up to the UTH to do its job.

and i'd also reccomend to read the care sheet i have in my signature. and the one on kingsnake. and any you can find.
-----
-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Caligula)... coming soon

it doesn't matter why he regurged, it is the fact that the stomach acids must have a chance to build back up again. Regurging is extremely stressful for the animal. So don't handle it for the full week, leave it in quiet area of your house, etc. Let him recover. Then give him the 1/2 a pinky and leave him totally alone again for another full week before you feed him again.
Just my opinion and what I have seen suggested here time after time....
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sue

Thanks guys.. will follow the advices given.. much appreciated !

One newbie to another by the book “Corn Snake Manual” by Kathy Love.

Also, pine can be toxic to these animals, so you might want to think about getting rid of that substrate. Aspen works and looks decent, but paper towels are easier.

i bought my first corn from petco 2 years ago. after bringing her? home i read to let them be for at least 3-4 days. since you handled yours right away...well you found out what happens.
mine regurged once when i tried to switch her from pinkies to fuzzies. to big a meal for her. i waited a week then fed her again only with pinkies still. she is doing great and is on adult mice now.
do what is recommended and your little one should be ok. also 'the corn snake manual' is a great book.

I would go ahead and feed him. If he refuses then he will refuse, but it isn't worth a try. Also how often are you feeding him or her?

I think ALOT depends on the individual snake. For instance. I just bought a hypo corn from a herp show, about 18 inches, on saterday. I handled it several times on saterday. (i'm out of town, and bored) I fed it on sunday, and handled it several times today. It already deficated, and I'm gonna feed it again tomarrow. It's a fairly calm snake, and digested quick. They say not to handle or feed your snakes for 3-4 days after you get them. If the snake is not high strung, it will eat, and not regurgitate.
I have a 3 month old albino southern pine. I fed her before leaving town. She ate a large rat pink breach. When it got to the front legs it couldnt get past them. It regurgitated. I fed it again the next day, no problems.
I would try to feed it again after 24 hours. Like someone else said, if it dont want it, it wont eat it. Most likely, it will.
Get the book too. Lots of good stuff in there.
Doug
1.0 04 Northern pine (Forrest)
1.0 03 Gopher (Gophy)
0,1 03 Black Pine (Stonewall)
1.0 04 Paternless Southern pine
0.1 04 Albino patterned Southern pine (scarlet)
1.0 04 amelinistic corn (Sol)
0.1 04 Gost corn (Luna)
0.1 04 Hypo corn (new)
1.0 03 Brooks king (Elvis) currently has left his cage. come back Elvis!
0.0.1 04 Alligater snapper
0.0.2 04 florida snappers (Biscit& Dumpling)
0.0.2 04 River cooters (Flatt& Scruggs)
0.0.1 03 Red ear slider (Monroe)
Hope I didnt forget anyone...