Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have some trans pecos ratsnakes and I am having problems with them regurgitating. I have askes some people about them and EVERYONE that I have spoken with says that once they start trowing up their food it is very hard to get them to stop. I really don't want to loose them and they have kept down about half of the meals. PLEASE any info or suggestions would really help.
Thanks.

How many do you have, and are they ALL having the same problem? Are they being kept together or each in their own tank? Are the temps correct, etc? Are they captive bred or wild caught?

First of all...Once a snake pukes you really have to give it time to recuperate before offering another meal. At least a week, and some say 10 days is best. Then, smaller than normal meals is what you want to offer. And you will want to keep the meals VERY small until they have held down several without puking. I have also heard that these snakes prefer smaller prey in general, so could you be pushing the limit in size? Tell us more. Duffy

Trans Peco Ratsnakes like it on the dry side. Too high of a humidity can lead to regurgatation. To repeat, they do not handle higher humidity very well. Also, they do better with meals on the smaller size, as opposed to larger size meals you could feed an obsoleta rat. You don't want to push these guys with feeding. Give us some more detail on how your keeping these guys.
Make sure you DO NOT FEED UNTIL ATLEAST 10 DAYS AFTER A REGURGE. Then feed a very small item. Avoid any handling. Hope everthing works out.

Steve

Hi Thanks for all your question and suggestions. The snakes are captive bred and are big enough to be feeding on hoppers. I have 2.2 and the males are kept together and the females are kept together. The cage is equal to a 15 gallon fish tank temps range from 73-82. The humidity is pretty low. It was not until the end of the season last year that they started w/ their problems and it seems to be one in each cage.

Sounds like stress.It can happen when you keep 2 snakes in the same cage.Give them each there own home and put them someplace quite.No vibrations.I always wait 2 weeks before I feed again and I use mouse pinks.Keep fresh water offered to them because they get dehydrated after regurging...Paul

...You think that it "seems to be one in each cage" If you give them each their own cage, not only will they be potentially less stressed, but you will know who is OK and who is not. Now you have to wait 10 days before feeding ANY of them, when you could be continuing to feed the healthy ones.

Separate them. Wait 10 days. Start with VERY small meals. And very best of luck to you. Duffy

I have an adult albino female TPRS that is doing the same thing.
Here is what Don Soderberg told me.
First, you have to give the snakes atleast a week after a regurge before refeeding. This is VERY important. This is because the stomach acid and natural stomach flora has been emptied and needs time to build back up in order to even have a shot of successful digestion.

You can tube feed them with a red 16" feeding catheter the following mixture that works 98% of the time for Don.

Mix:
1/3 jar of ground turkey baby food
2 drops of Nutribac paste
1 tbsp Pedialite or Gatorade
3 insuline units of vitamin B complex
The aforementioned is very digestable and works 98% of the time for Don without a regurge. It is recommended if the snakes have puked more than once. It is meant to get them back on their feet.
After about 3 feedings of that, try a pinky head, then a pinky body, then work your way up to a whole pinky. All of this with 3-5 day increments.

Remember subocs, as a species, prefer smaller food items. Even most adults will usually take hoppers but refuse adult mice.
Hope all that helps!
Dusty