Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, folks. My son (10) is the proud new owner of a Nelon-Pueblan Milk Snake. This is our first snake, and there's quite a bit to learn and worry about

Our big first question is about regurgitating. We've been getting live pinkies from the store where we purchased it (a small pet store, nice folks), and he got down the first one no problem. But, it regurgitated the next two (feeding once a week). I know it could be any number of things, from stress, to being in shed, to not enough warmth or humidity. We're going to start with warmth - the enclosure we're using (a 10-gallon tank) came with a heat lamp, but that seemed pretty hot. So we picked up an Under Tank Heater. We've kept the water dish clean and full. He started to shed in the last couple of weeks, and I see that some snakes will eat during shedding, others not so much, so we offered him a pinkie, which he ate but then regurgitated a few days later. We didn't handle him after feeding.

There's also the bedding issue, I guess. We put the pinkie on a paper towel over the aspen bedding, but it crawled off, so I'm wondering if that's the problem, that he's getting some shavings along with the prey.

We're going to try again tonight with a smaller, frozen pinkie, as I'm also wondering if the live ones we picked up from the pet store were too large.

We will keep you all posted, really just wanted to introduce ourselves and see if anyone had any thoughts on the issue. Thanks!

Ok, it's hard to follow, but am I right in thinking your snake has regurged 3-4 times?

if so... stop feeding. when a snake regurges more than once there is a problem that more food will not only not help, but make worse.

a 10 gal isnt ideal, but will work. what are your temps (general room temp and the temp of the hot spot)? Are you providing a SNUG hide (think very tight dark place)? Is the snake in a high traffic area (are people walking by the cage)?

if temps are good, the snake is safe/secure, and there are no stressors, then there is a problem with the gut flora or a parasite issue.

I would not feed the snake til about 15-20 days since the last regurge and when you do feed, provide the smallest pinky you can.

If you have a vet in your area (one that not only treats reptiles, but knows something about them... they are hard to come by) give them a call. You will probably bring your snake in and the vet will give a dose of flagyl. also ask about having a fecal float done... some vets will ask you to collect the most recent stool and bring it in... some want it frozen, some want it mixed with water... just ask your vet what they want.

I hope that helps, good luck.

Pueblan milks are generally thrive in captivity, but when they get stressed, they can be regurgitaters. Glass tanks with screen tops dry out too easily. Heaters then make it even worse. What you need is a simpler, easy approach that better provides what milksnakes need.

This is my advice to help you get this snake healthy again:

1. Get a plastic shoebox from any store such as office depot, target, home depot, etc. The size that roughly measures 6x13 inch floor space or close. I like the Iris brand or office depot brand (I think they are the exact same box) because it has a smooth floor with no ridges. But whatever. Sterilite is fine.

2. Wash it out thoroughly with warm soapy water.

3. Drill (or poke holes with a soldering iron) some air holes in the sides of the box. Only need about 3-4 holes each side on just 2 sides. The best hole dia is about 5/32 inch - plenty big for air but not for escape. That is plenty of ventilation!

4. For heating, place about 2-3 inches of one end of the box over a heat pad. That is plenty of heated area!

5. Use a lamp dimmer to keep the heat pad temperature in the 82-85 range. Or better, get a herp thermostat to do it.

6. Substrate in the box can be shredded aspen, or shredded coconut fiber. Do not use anything else. The paper litter sold for rodents is rather dessicating (too absorbent). Milks have thin skin - you don't want a substrate that sucks moisture out of them. Paper towels not good for that reason.

7. Water bowl - a 2-inch ceramic bowl found in the small animal section of pet stores will work.

8. You can secure the box lid with large rubber bands. I have never had an escape that way.

9. Provide some hide area. Use whatever - small cardboard box, toilet paper roll, inverted plastic water bowl, piece of PVC pipe, etc.

10. Don't feed for a few days to let the digestive enzymes build up again.

Thanks for the replies, folks. Sorry if my original post was unclear. When I wrote that, we had fed him three times, resulting in two regurgitations.

One thing I forgot to point out about the third feeding was that I noticed that he took the pinkie in backward, feet first. I recall reading something that suggested that could also be a cause of regurgitation.

I also noticed that the live pinkies were pretty big for him. We picked up a frozen pinkie on Friday (before I saw any replies), and it seemed much smaller. He ate that, and so far, no regurgitation.

Hm, can't easily go back and look at the suggestions, but if we do get another regurgitation, we'll hold off on feeding him for a while, and possibly take him to a vet. I have the name of an exotic animal vet in the area.

Glad to hear he is keeping the small meal down. Stick with small thawed pinks until the snake is keeping all meals down.

Backwards eating is no problem. Happens alot.

Kings/milks regurge when stressed from shipping, too cold and/or dehydrated. Shipping seems to cause dehydration and stress. I recommend a humid hide in the cage if keeping with a glass tank and screen top. Humid hide is a plastic container with sphagnum moss damp in it. Cut an access hole in lid, or even just leave the lid off. Any food storage container will work.

Interesting tip, I will give it a try tonight.

As far as temperature goes, he was on the cool side this morning, but this afternoon I noticed he was on the warm side. Strikes me as a good sign that he's moving around to regulate his temperature.

Still no regurg in the cage (or poop, but I hope that's OK).