Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This will make major storm number 4 within 1 year that has affected this area!!!!

Anyone have tips you can share?

We have two corn snakes- Tilley and Rex.

Tilley laid eggs June 30. Today makes 59 days. They have already been through a 4 day power outage from Hurricane Dennis.
The temps got a little warm for a day - day and a half. There are about 10 good ones out of 16. Maybe they'll hatch this week??

I took out the aspen bedding to treat them for mites. I treated them and the cage, and have had them on paper towels for about a month. I haven't seen any mites for over a week now.

Tilley is restless again. Maybe she misses the bedding, or her red blankie (shirt) that I still need to wash for her. Maybe it's Hurricane Katrina coming near (barometric pressure dropping), or....ANY IDEAS?? She ate early last week. I thought maybe she was hungry already, so I tried feeding her, but she wasn't interested.

Rex hasn't had a decent meal for a while--two months. I have offered food every week. Yes, I have taken him to the vet. Isn't mating season over?? He did take a mouse a week and a half ago--regurgitated two days later. It was about halfway digested. He took another one this past Monday--regurgitated two days later. This time it was barely digested. I got some meds from the vet to give him before he eats next. The plan was to give him meds and feed him tomorrow (Monday Aug. 29), but I was wondering if the Hurricane would affect his appetite.

Any tips, suggestions, stories will be greatly appreciated.

The pic is of Tilley laying her eggs. I didn't want to startle her, so I didn't use the flash for this one, so it's blurry. Sorry

i have no expierience with that, because im from vermont.
its the best place to move and raise your kids... i mean snakes.
high humidity, no hurricanes, a few earthquakes that you can barely feel, and weve only had like 3 tornados in the past 10 years. and did i mention high humidity? the kind of humidity that fogs your glasses when you walk outside, and gets you wet before you start sweating, i know of a few places where the humidity gets to about 95-100% durring the summer
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my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (mazy)

Please be sure to follow the regurge protocol pretty exactly, or your snake make get on a downward regurge spiral from which there is no escape!

This is my general FAQ and everything may not apply to your particular situation. But treatment is pretty much the same no matter the cause.

Good luck!

Subject: regurge treatment

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - once a snake has regurged, especially twice or more, it is more likely to keep on regurging until it dies, unless something is changed about its care and feeding. It is very important NOT to let this continue. PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW VERY CAREFULLY. This is from my FAQ on regurges:

I suspect your problem is probably not bad mice, but about handling too soon, feeding too soon or too large of a meal, a stomach "bug", or improper temps. If you make these mistakes once, or even twice, it is not usually a problem if you FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY. But remember, each time it regurges, the stomach acids are depleted, and the whole electrolyte balance is thrown off more and more each time, and it makes it MORE likely that it will continue to throw up until it dies. (those consequences are just my opinions - I do not know if science backs up my conclusions, but my experience certainly does!) That is why it is so important to NOT ALLOW another regurge.

The next month or two is crucial. DO NOT feed it for AT LEAST 8 days since the last regurge. NOT ANYTHING AT ALL! Then get a newborn frozen pinky and cut it in half (or cut off just the head) (If it is an adult snake, then feed something about 1/4 - 1/2 the size that caused the regurge) If she eats it, leave her alone for a whole week. (no handling). Repeat the partial pinkie (or small item) feeding the following week. Then feed a whole newborn pinkie a week after that, if there has been no regurge. Leave alone for a whole week. If she regurges, wait a week and repeat 1/2 pinkie. If she keeps it down, wait a week and repeat whole pinkie. If she holds down a couple of meals, DO NOT rush back into larger meals and more handling. Treat this seriously. Go very slowly. After 3 successful meals, go to a newborn pink every 5 days. Go back to normal feedings only after 6 successful meals. Always wait to handle until after 3 or 4 days, but only AFTER 6 successful meals. No handling until then (causes stress, need to keep stress down). And NEVER feed again right after a regurge - ALWAYS wait AT LEAST 7 or 8 days, maybe even up to 10 days, and then only feed something that was about 1/2 the size (or less) of what she regurged..

Also, be sure that temps are not too warm or cool. Try to give an area of low to mid 80s on one side and 70s on the other. Too hot or cold will cause regurges.

Grapefruit seed extract can sometimes help if the snake has some sort of "stomach bug" (any microbial problem) as it is a natural remedy that is good against many kinds of pathogens, but not as strong as an antibiotic prescribed by a doctor. This product has been used in agriculture for many years and seems to be very safe, as long as you dilute it with enough water that the acidity does not burn the tissues. A vet has told me he feels that it may somewhat alter the pH of the animal and thus change the way medicines are absorbed. So if you use this product and then take the snake to a vet, mention the treatment so it can be taken into account if the vet decides to change the prescription because of it. It is best to mix it in a glass and taste it to make sure it is not so bitter that the snake refuses to drink it. I have used it on myself and so has my husband. I find it works better on stomach problems than for other symptoms (such as respiratory - I didn't have any luck treating colds or other respiratory problems).You can buy it at a local health food store or online. Please refer to the following website for more background info:
http://www.nutriteam.com/index2.html

I have also had success with a probiotic called Nutri Bac, a fine powder containing seven different microflora that should be inhabiting the gut of reptiles, but may be absent due to stress, disease, antibiotic treatments, etc. Using the powder as a supplement will sometimes allow the reptile to get back the natural balance of microbes in its digestive tract, and then its own immune system can take over. See my website for more details.

The number of days and amounts of food, etc, suggested above are not set in stone. Other people may have success with slightly different formulas, but this is what I found works for me and many of my customers. If this protocol does not work when carefully followed, it is likely that the snake has some severe problems. Your only hope is a QUALIFIED herp vet, who may or may not be able to save your pet.

Please follow my care sheet for the first month or so when starting with new acquisitions (posted on my website for the first month's care of new corns).. The first month is crucial in getting the baby established. It is worth a little extra "coddling" for the first month in order to have a trouble free pet for the next 10 or 15 years or more.

Good luck!
Kathy Love

Great advice Kathy, some thoughts I had as I read it...

"not sure if it's backed up by science"... you can be sure it is. Vomiting does change the stomach pH temporarily, but also causes dehydration and a loss of electrolytes. After this problem snowballs, the blood pH is altered, and body functions are affected. In otherwise sick animals, merely the act of vomiting can affect the nervous system and cause death (rare, but I've seen it in a dog).

Your feeding protocol is great... I've never gone so far as cutting up pinkies though, but I don't deal with 0.0001% of the baby corn snakes that you do

The grapefruit seed extract is something I have not seen documents on, but I is not hard to reason a localized microstatic ability. This would not carry on throughout the body however like an antibiotic, which is why you would not see any benefit in upper respiratory infections.

Nutri-bac may or may not be beneficial. I'm sure you have seen many mixed degrees of success with this. There is no legislation on probiotics, and what is on the label is not necessarily in the bottle. Lab tests done on an assortment of probiotic brands have found decreased amounts or even sterile contents. They have also found other microbes contained withen, some even potentially pathogenic. There are also other factors that limit the abilities of the microbes to be effective. All in all though, these products don't hurt.

I'd leave your FAQ exactly the way it is with only one exception. There are many things that a veterinarian can do to stop the cycle if the snake's condition worsens. ICe fluids, antibiotics, anti-vomiting drugs, appetite stimulants, ect. and not to mention all the diagnostics available to find out what the actual cause is. I would add a suggestion to find a herp vet in case they need to use one. Try www.arav.com or their link to the herpvetconnection. You can also get referals from your local veterinarian.

Ian

Thanks for the tips.

Rex is an adult corn, about 48" long. The pet store fed him hopper mice, and so did I when I got him. The vet gave me some Regulan to give him.

It is very difficult to get pinkies, fuzzies, or hoppers. The stores (only two around here that will carry feeders) only get feeders in once every other week. I usually will by two or three to keep on hand for Rex. My husband won't let me raise my own anymore- he says it takes up too much of my time.

I will try to keep you posted.