Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My Northern Pine finally ate, and regurged the next day :[
He arrived on the 14th. I offered him food on the 15th since it was feeding day for my other snakes and I had some food out anyway. He showed no interest.
We left him alone except for changing his water until monday of this week. Again he showed no interest, but I left it in there (frozen thawed rat pup) and after a few hours he ate it. I use a large piece of sterilized bark as his food bowl to keep the prey item out of the substrate. Last night, he regurgitated it :[
He hasn't been handled since he ate. His enclosure is between 72-73 on the cool end and between 83-84 on the warm end.
What should I do next?

I would do nothing for at least a couple more weeks. He will not starve. Do not offer any more food until, say, early February. Continue to give him peace and do not disturb him until then. Just fresh water every couple days. Some pits are pretty high strung animals and just take a while to acclimate. Once he settles down and feels confident in his new dwellings, he will really put away the food and grow like crazy. Make sure he has a good, secure hide box.
I have a pair of northerns I got as babies in late 2011. They were pretty nervous for about a month or so, but eventually settled in fine. Both are now pushing six feet in length.

Thanks for the advice. I was surprised because he doesn't seem the least bit nervous, he's always out and about, even though he has three hides, one on the warm side, one on the cool, and one in the middle. he hardly ever uses them. If someone walks past the enclosure, he usually follows them. When I did handle him, he didn't seem to mind, he was constantly on the move, but more in "exploration mode" rather than trying to get away. Even when I was putting him back in the enclosure last time, and he didn't want to go back in, I found out he wasn't even head shy, as I could put my hand over his face to guide him back into the enclosure.
Anyway, I will heed your advice and leave him alone.

If it just arrived from shipping, that is probably the reason it regurged. I always wait a full week before feeding any new animal.

From here, I would wait at least two weeks and then feed again. When you feed again, offer a small food item. When snakes regurge it is hell on their digestive tract. It takes awhile for beneficial bacteria to build back up. If he/she looks disinterested in food, wait another week then try again. The animal won't starve. If he/she doesn't go after the food the next time, then leave it in. I have animals that I have had for years that never take food from thongs.

this guy is a riot, this is what he does on the side of the tank closest to where people are
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSbub26W5PM

When you say rat pup, are you meaning Rat Pups that rodent companies offer for sale, that are around 20-30 grams each, and are the size of an adult mouse? If so, that, to me, is the reason why he regurged. Way too big of a meal for your baby northern pine that is 25 inches long, IF that was the size you fed, IMO.

What others have said as well is very good as well. Give him some time, 2 weeks, and offer a very, very small meal.
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Genesis 1:1

It was one of these

The one in the picture is just SLIGHTLY larger than the largest part of the snakes body. So slight that I had to hold the rat up against the side of the tank at several angles before I could say it was actually bigger and not the same size as the snake.
The one I actually gave him was a little bit smaller than the one in the picture.

Oh ok..yea..that looks more like a pink/fuzzy, and appears to be the perfect size.

What size cage are you using? Your temps as you described seem good, since you are using hot and cool sides ( the ultimate way to go about it. )

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Genesis 1:1

I thought those were rat pinks myself, but the shop I get them from very sternly "corrects" me every time I go in there "no no, these are rat PUPS, you want pinky mice" then I have to go throug the whole shpiel about "well what are you feeding it to? how big is it? Oh no no, pinky mice are way too small. You aren't feeding it enough" When the hell did I ask for pinky mice??? EVERY time I have to follow them back to the freezer and point out which bag I want them out of, just so I can go through the whole thing again. I have been getting them there for my other snake for a while and I guess I just got tired of arguing about what they were really called. This is also the place that said that my gopher is unhappy because he's on aspen shavings and is trying to get away from them (in the video I posted). He's not trying to burrow they say, its the aspen making him upset. These are ALSO the people that said my white sided rat snake isn't shedding because I don't have UV light. It's the only place within 45 minutes to get mice/rats. I can't wait until I have some money next month so I can order bulk online.
Sorry for the rant, it drives me nuts, lol.
Anyway, for now, again until I have some money next month. He's in an aquarium with a melamine lid that has a small vent in it. I'm not sure of the capacity of the tank in gallons, but it is 30 inches long, 12 inches wide, and 19 inches high. Under one end, I have a heat pad on a rheostat (thermostats will be included in next months build)

They say your gopher is unhappy because he is on aspen shavings?
HA HA!
That place sounds like a treat. Wow. You have very right to rant.

Do you have anything smaller for your northern pine? The 30 inch cage may seem ok at first, but to him, it may give him too much of a feeling of " being out in the open " and he may do better in a smaller cage, for the time being, at his size. He actually may be nervous, or more nervous than he would be in a smaller, more condensed, cage, and that may have contributed to his regurge, possibly.

Some snakes may do fine in that big of a cage for that age, but it may be a safe possibility to consider. I had a southern pine refuse to eat in her cage, when I got her. Same length as your cage, and she would not eat. She was very nervous, and would only eat once I got her in something smaller, and more seclusive.

I usually have snakes that size in a big shoebox or a small sweaterbox, from The Container Store, as they work good.

How is he doing today?
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Genesis 1:1

He seems to be doing fine today, did you get a chance to check out the video? I took that today.
I had thought about the smaller enclosure helping him feel more secure. I was worried about about being able to get the warm side warm enough without getting the cool side too warm.

Northern pines Hate heat. I believe your high end temps are way to high. I've been thru it before back in the day. They do very, very well at ambient room temps & should never, ever be artificially heated! Turn off the heat & listen to what the other guys said & he'll be fine. I kid you not......

Today is his 4th feeding since the regurge, and so far so good!
Thank you everyone for the advice, I really appreciate it.
He's such a great snake, very tolerant of being handled, very alert and curious. And his appetite is improving, normally he would see the food, tongue flick it, push it with his nose, then go poke around doing other things and come back later to eat it.
Today, he started eating before I even got him into the feeding tub. He ate while I was holding him.
I know that's not a big deal for most snakes as I've had that happen quite a bit, but its the first time for him so I'm excited.
Note: I don't try to feed them while I'm holding them, it's just that when they start while I'm holding them, I hold them and I stay as motionless as possible until they crawl off of my hands.
If they climb off right away, I let them, if they wait, I let them wait, figured it would be less stressful while they eating than sliding them off my hands if they don't want to be slid, if that makes any sense.

Great to hear!!!!!
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Genesis 1:1

Hi Poom. I'm glad you've gotten your snake to start eating well. Do you always hold them and feed outside their enclosures? What are the benefits of feeding in a separate container and how long do you wait before you return them to their tanks? I used to feed mine in a separate feeding bin but their feeding response was so strong that they would sometimes be hard to get out without getting bit. I also had one of my snakes puke when I moved her back into her enclosure. Now I always feed inside their enclosures.

Hi Zig,
Sorry if I was misleading with my description of how I feed. I actually do feed inside the enclosures. What I do is take the snake out of the enclosure. Then I hold the snake and someone else (usually my daughter) puts a tub with the food in it in the enclosure, then I put the snake in the tub. Then I just leave them in it until they crawl out of it. Then later, after the snake is off hiding somewhere, I come back and get the tub.
The reason I do this is mostly because I use aspen as a substrate, using the tub greatly reduces the risk of swallowing the aspen. I say greatly because I have had a couple that grabbed the food then crawled out of the tub before they ate it.
I've been doing this for decades with all my snakes. I'm not sure it makes a difference with their behavior at all,but it SEEMS logical that it might help keep them from associating me with food since they never have food coming in when they are in there, they just find it.