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How long does it take to digest

Jicin
07-12-2004, 02:30 PM
Hi,

Newby warning here. I bought 2 pet snakes on the 4th of juli (Corns ofcource). I've fed them last saturday. One took one pinkie, the other 2. The one that ate just one pinky still is a little bulgy, but it's pretty small by now. The one that ate 2 is pretty bulgy. I don't see 2 bumps anymore but she's simply fat. There 5 weeks old now.

I wonder if i should be worried. I didn't want to bother the snake as she's pretty easy to get into a fright and i don't want her to throw her meal up. But she's notably larger then the other one. Even though she are twice as much. It doesn't seem to have decreased in volume.

Thanks.

Alex Dew
07-12-2004, 07:33 PM
I wouldn't worry about it too much. Give them a few more days and then see if the buldge is getting smaller

hockeystop
07-13-2004, 12:53 AM
Just out of curiosity what are the temps on the cool/warm side of your cage ?

Jicin
07-13-2004, 06:04 PM
Right now 25 / 27 degrees. Depending on the outside temperature. At night around 21. I placed a heat mat *under* the terarrium. I took the temperature of the middle of the terrarium. The other snake digested fine
Next saturday the real terarrium will arive (temporary there in a small terarrium normally used for frogs i think) Sized 120 x 40 x 50 I'll go take a look at how there doing now.

Jicin
07-13-2004, 06:14 PM
Ewww. One of them puked out the mouse. Thank you very much. Temp was only 24.7 though. Luckely the rest of the week will be much warmer.

Not quite sure who the culprit was but i think the one that only ate one mouse. The other one seems to have digested a bit more. But i don't think i should feed him another meal this week. I thought 2 meals a week would be best for baby snakes, and 1 mouse for an adult.

What do you think. I have a frozen mouse left over from the last live meal. Shall i try to feed that when it's warmer tomorrow. Saturday/sunday the new terrarium will be ready for them but i don't think it's wise to feed them close before/after moving. Especially since theres a little puker. But that would mean at least 2,5 weeks without feeding a 6 week old snake. Won't it weaken? I know it can do a long time without feeding when mature, but not when so young. He also seemed a little less responsive then usuall. Though still acting good.

MegF.
07-13-2004, 06:40 PM
This is one of the reasons that you shouldn't house two corns together. If one is ill, you're sure to spread it to the other, and in this case, a regurge, you're not certain who did it. Stress from being with another animal can alos cause a regurge. It's best to seperate them now and wait at least 7 days before feeding after a regurge. Make sure your warm temps are at least 82 degrees Farenheit to promote good digestion. You might want to keep the one that regurged (if you can determine which one did) on paper towels so that you can see if the stool is normal.

Jicin
07-14-2004, 12:29 AM
I have no possibility to split them up right now. Unless room temperature would be fine. Next saturday the new terrarium is there and then i can use this one as a 'backup'. I also plan to use it for feeding'.
Besides, i bought them together. If one is sick it probably contaminated the other before i even bought them. Now if i would have bought from i different dealer i would have kept it aside untill i was sure it's healthy. It'll have to do for a few more days. I'll keep an extra eye on their health the next few days

hockeystop
07-14-2004, 03:38 AM
It looks to me like your temps were a bit low in the evenings. I highly recommend you wait 10 days before you try to feed a hatchling that has regurged and in the mean time try to get your target temps to 24c cool side and 29c warm side. Also the next time you feed use newborn pinkies only, after a few days they grow a bit and can be tough for some hatchlings to handle. Especially those who are having regurge problems. Meg brings up a good point about isolation. I keep some of my snakes together, but when there is a problem, like regurging you want to know which one is throwing up so its best to keep them seperate until everything is ok. I keep all my hatchlings seperate so I know which ones have eaten. Keeping track of who eats when and who is throwing up is very important.

Another possibilty I just thought of is that there may not be a good hide space were they feel secure to digest their food. If that is the case cut an empty paper towel roll in half and put that in your cage so that part of it is on the cool and the warm side.

Jicin
07-14-2004, 05:12 AM
Well, the petstore told me they gave me 2 day old pinkies. I was a bit suprised they had whiskers and tiny floppy ears.

The other one still has a big belly. He might've puked out one of the two, but i don't think so. I do feed them separately so i do know who eats what.

Hiding space is good. I got them something they happely hide under. If i remove it and place it back there under it in a nanosecond :D Also, i haven't bothered them at all after feeding. I just put a cloth all over the cage. The second day i took a peek to see how it was going and posted here. I don't think that has anything to do with it though.

Perhaps some usefull information to add: The pinky was half digested. front part still pretty intact, but the backpart partially digested and had a black color.

Thanks for the info so far.

Jicin

MegF.
07-14-2004, 05:24 AM
That sounds about normal for a regurged mouse.