Regurgitating

My friend and I both have Corn Snakes and she is having lots of trouble getting hers to eat. When she does get hers to eat they regurgitate. She has a 55 gallon tank her heating source is a heating pad under the tank she also has a heat lamp. She has a water fall that the snakes keep squeezing in. She has three small snakes that are eating pinky size mice. I thought it could be from handling them after they eat to much or her heat is too hot? What do you all think. Please HELP!!!!

wow

3 baby snakes in a 55 gallon tank?

Well, she probably should look into getting each of them into their own tank. Cohabitating the three corns is probably stressing them out, it could be the cause of the regurges.
Also, a 55 gallon tank is HUGE for a baby corn- how much cover does it have? They could be feeling very insecure, unless there is a lot of ground cover. A ten gallon tank is usually a good size for a baby corn, at least until they get bigger.
How soon after feeding is she handling them? They shouldn't be handled for 2-3 days after eating, so they can digest properly.
Does she know which one(s) are regurgitating? With three of them living together, it seems like it would be hard to know exactly which one is having the problem?
After each regurge, is she following the regurge protocol? How long is she waiting after a regurge to feed again? She should be waiting 10 days.

Yes they are all small she had the tank for a while and thought corn snakes would be good in it. She had been wanting snakes for a long time.

Reply

We are not sure witch ones are reguritating? She has two albino and you can see the pinky in them and then she finds it in the cage and then you can't see it any more. It seems to me that you can see it for too long and then they regur>

If she had the three separated, she would be able to tell which one(s) are regurgitating. They should really be separated, corns don't naturally live together in the wild, so forcing three of them to share space could be stressing them out, and causing regurges.

What are the temps like on the warm/cool side?
Is the heat pad connected to a thermostat? They can get way too hot without one, and temps being too hot can cause regurges.
How many hides do they have? In such a big tank, they should have lots of hides, and lots of ground cover.
How many days are you guys going between feedings? If you don't know which snake is regurging, you can't know which ones to follow the regurge protocol for, which could be causing more regurges.

We are going to separate them but I'm not sure how yet? We may just divide her tank. The hot side is getting way to hot like 105 degrees. I think she needs to leave out the heat lamp at this time. We where waiting like 7 days between regurs. I'm not sure about the cool side but I'm going over to her house in a bit and I'll check. Thank you for all you guys help and any more that you can give.

Separating them would be the first step to correcting the problem. Either you can divide the tank, get ten gallon tanks, or get tubs (So long as the lids are tight fitting and you've got air holes and a heating source for them).
The hot side is way too hot, get rid of the heat lamp, and I'd also recommend getting a thermostat for the heating pad- those can get up to 100+ just by themselves.
Instead of waiting 7 days, wait 10. 10 days gives the stomach enough time to rebuild gut flora (which is needed to properly digest, without it you just get another regurge)
Another thing to help stop regurges is Nutribac. It's very helpful for after a regurge.

What is Nutribac Is that something that goes in there water?

It's a supplement that you can either put in their water, or dust on their pinks when you feed them. I've never actually used it, but a lot of members on the forum have.

Thank You I will look into that.

Oh! I forgot this earlier!
After waiting the 10 days after a regurge, feed a much smaller meal than usual (ex. Instead of a whole pinky, feed half a pink instead) Feed smaller meals for a few meals, and slowly work your way back up to regular sized meals. This is important, as regurges can lead to death.
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28342
Read through that, it will help.

here's another recent thread.
Check out kathy site for Nutribac too and other helpful videos
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79225

Regit has given you spot on advice in every post. You should print the whole thread and take it to your friend for future reference! You absolutely must separate them, or you can never be sure which one/s are regurgitating. Regurges are very dangrous to young snakes, and it doesn't sound like it's happened just the once I hope there is some improvement soon.

Just a thought - if the plan is to divide the viv into three, you need to keep in mind that the temps have to be correct in all three sections, i.e. they all must have a cool (mid-high 70s) area and a warm (mid-high 80s) area. This could be tricky unless your friend can afford to replace the presumably square-ish shaped heat mat with a 'strip' one that is large enough to run along the entire length of the viv.

Also, each snake needs at least two hiding spots, one in the cool area and one in the warm area, so unless there already are 6 hides, that's something else that needs to be purchased!!

Lastly, as you will most likely need to use a non-toxic sealant to fix the dividers in place, the snakes will require somewhere else to live temporarily. Their stress levels must be kept as low as possible considering how ill they potentially are. But you also can't risk them inhaling, injesting or sticking to the sealant.

If this is the method your friend chooses, plan carefully. There are loads of people on the forum that have done this, and can give you loads of tips.

Good luck!

I just went through a regurge with my little guy and I hope your friend is taking this seriously because they are deadly. The nutribac actually only lasts in water 24 hours so it is a waste to put it in water and you would never know how much the snake was getting. Instead i tube fed him nutribac every other day for over a week before offering a tiny pinkie head coated in nutribac as well. He has had 3 feedings and I will continue to coat with nutribac for quite awhile. Just tell her to get 3 large KK's and separate immediately. Then I would wait a few days and offer each one a small meal not handling anyone for 3 days so she can ee who the regurger is and treat immediately. Good luck!!