Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently purchased an Imperial Puebland and am looking for some advice. I fed a few days after I received him to give him a little time to settle. He took the small pinkie just fine. I didn't see him for five or six days as I was out of town. When I got back home I noticed he regurged a half digested pinkie mouse. I thought that this may be due to the stress of travel. So I waited a week and offered him another smaller pinkie which he readily took. I visually checked up on him for the next few days and on the fourth day I found another half digested regurg. I have one side of his cage set at around 85 F with a thermostat and heat pad and the other side stays around 70-68 F. The humidity on the cool side is about 40% and he always has a bowl of clean water. I am using aspen bedding and he has three hides spread out throughout the tank. Should I be concerned and do you have any advice for me?

Seems to me you are doing everything right in regards to care for the snake... obviously done a little homework before taken the little guy on.

I don't own Pueblans myself but have a few other ssp's of Milk's and none of them much care for temps beyond 80 degrees... I don't think that's in anyway part of your problem though as you do have a temperature range that is more than adequate.

A regurge at first is not all that unusual but given you say the snake was undisturbed for 5-6 days but still regurged is... I can only assume you were as careful not to disturbed it for a few days after the second feeding attempt.

First question for you is are you certain the snake didn't have feeding issues before you bought it? Second do you notice any unusual bumps/bulges near the snakes stomach... roughly 2/3 down the snakes overall length?

Don't want to knock "chain" pet shops but all too often they simply don't know how to care for some off the exotic pets they sell... toss a pinkie in on a feeding dish and hope for the best... mean will the snake drags off the pinkie through the bedding... ingests a few bits of the bedding along with the pinkie and blockage occurs. Not saying this is the case as there could be many reasons for your snakes problem.

Best advice... make the pet shop aware of your problem... attempt feeding again and be certain to leave the snake undisturbed for 3-4 days... even leave the lighting off. If you think there are signs of bumps/bulges search out a good vet in your area with knowledge of reptiles.

Sorry I can't be of more help but there could be a multiple reasons behind your snakes problem... certainly doesn't sound as if you are in anyway part of the problem though.

Gerry

Thanks for your input Gerry. I actually bought him from Clayton Carlile of Mesozoic Reptiles. He said the snake was feeding fine when he had him. I am inclined to believe him as he has a good reputation in the hobby. Clayton also suggested I turned up the heat a bit in his tank. I did leave him alone pretty until I found the regurg both times. He does not have any lumps. From advice on other sites I purchased some nutribac and a heat gun to double check my temps.

I have had some snakes from Mesozoic without issue.

Dehydration can be a factor. Shipping can be very dehydrating, and milksnakes easily dry out, especially young ones. I would keep the snake in a deli cup for awhile. Before putting it in its cup, soak it in about 1/4 inch or less (no more) of tepid water in a small container for 5 minutes or so, with one edge of the container just barely over a heat pad. This works really well to rehydrate snakes.

That with nutribac usually solves issues. If it is a physical trauma, like ingested bedding, still do the above, as it cannot hurt.

Caging for milksnakes should have little ventilation and no overhead heat lamps. There are ways to use heat lamps without dehydrating the snake, but the standard pet store way with an all-screen top is not bueno for a milksnake. Not sure how you are keeping it, just putting the info out there.

Pic shows a milk soaking in like 1/8 inch of water. You can tell how hydrated she got, nice and vibrant when hydrated. When I got her, she was dull and dry.

Firstly I would like to thank the two members for their advice. Secondly I wanted to update everyone on Del's progress. I up his temps. a bit and fed him a small pinkie last Wednesday. He was able to keep it down and has been hunting around his cage since Friday. I am going to give him another small pinkie and go from there.

Great news!

Shipping can be stressful on a young snake along with the dehydration thing. Then the bad bacteria load increases, then they regurgitate. Eliminating the stress, hydrating, offering warm temps in part of the cage and leaving the snake alone for a bit does wonders.

Certain species seem to be more susceptible than others. I have seen this happen with baby cornsnakes, with baby Pueblans oddly and not other milks, and definitely with rosyboas. I'm sure it can happen with any snake. The 3 mentioned are species that I have seen this happen with multiple individuals from different breeders.