Regurgitated food

[trashlord]

I just found that my baby snow has regurgitated his food. He seemed to be less active the last few days, but I didn't think anything of it until now. I fed him on Wednesday, and it is now Saturday. He seems to be okay, but I'm worried. Help???

[Zombiegirl]

I don't have experience with this personally but I found this which may help? I found it while trying to find a different post

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT - once a snake has regurged, especially twice or more, it is more likely to keep on regurging until it dies, unless something is changed about its care and feeding. It is very important NOT to let this continue. PLEASE FOLLOW THE INSTRUCTIONS BELOW VERY CAREFULLY. This is from my FAQ on regurges:

I suspect your problem is probably not bad mice, but about handling too soon, feeding too soon or too large of a meal, a stomach "bug", or improper temps. If you make these mistakes once, or even twice, it is not usually a problem if you FOLLOW MY INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY. But remember, each time it regurges, the stomach acids are depleted, and the whole electrolyte balance is thrown off more and more each time, and it makes it MORE likely that it will continue to throw up until it dies. (those consequences are just my opinions - I do not know if science backs up my conclusions, but my experience certainly does!) That is why it is so important to NOT ALLOW another regurge.

The next month or two is crucial. DO NOT feed it for AT LEAST 8 days since the last regurge. NOT ANYTHING AT ALL! Then get a newborn frozen pinky and cut it in half (or cut off just the head) If she eats it, leave her alone for a whole week. (no handling). Repeat the partial pinkie feeding the following week. Then feed a whole newborn pinkie a week after that, if there has been no regurge. Leave alone for a whole week. If she regurges, wait a week and repeat 1/2 pinkie. If she keeps it down, wait a week and repeat whole pinkie. If she holds down a couple of meals, DO NOT rush back into larger meals and more handling. Treat this seriously. Go very slowly. After 3 successful meals, go to a newborn pink every 5 days. Go back to normal feedings only after 6 successful meals. Always wait to handle until after 3 or 4 days, but only AFTER 6 successful meals. No handling until then (causes stress, need to keep stress down). And NEVER feed again right after a regurge - ALWAYS wait AT LEAST 7 or 8 days, maybe even up to 10 days, and then only feed something that was about 1/2 the size (or less) of what she regurged..

Also, be sure that temps are not too warm or cool. Try to give an area of low to mid 80s on one side and 70s on the other. Too hot or cold will cause regurges.

Grapefruit seed extract can sometimes help if the snake has some sort of "stomach bug" (any microbial problem) as it is a natural remedy that is good against many kinds of pathogens, but not as strong as an antibiotic prescribed by a doctor. This product has been used in agriculture for many years and seems to be very safe, as long as you dilute it with enough water that the acidity does not burn the tissues. A vet has told me he feels that it may somewhat alter the pH of the animal and thus change the way medicines are absorbed. So if you use this product and then take the snake to a vet, mention the treatment so it can be taken into account if the vet decides to change the prescription because of it. It is best to mix it in a glass and taste it to make sure it is not so bitter that the snake refuses to drink it. I have used it on myself and so has my husband. I find it works better on stomach problems than for other symptoms (such as respiratory - I didn't have any luck treating colds or other respiratory problems).You can buy it at a local health food store or online. Please refer to the following website for more background info: http://www.nutriteam.com/index2.html

I have also had success with a probiotic called Nutri Bac, a fine powder containing seven different microflora that should be inhabiting the gut of reptiles, but may be absent due to stress, disease, antibiotic treatments, etc. Using the powder as a supplement will sometimes allow the reptile to get back the natural balance of microbes in its digestive tract, and then its own immune system can take over. See my website for more details, or go here:
http://www.cornutopia.com/Corn%20Ut...information.htm

The number of days and amounts of food, etc, suggested above are not set in stone. Other people may have success with slightly different formulas, but this is what I found works for me and many of my customers. If this protocol does not work when carefully followed, it is likely that the snake has some severe problems. Your only hope is a QUALIFIED herp vet, who may or may not be able to save your pet.

Please follow my care sheet for the first month or so when starting with new acquisitions (posted on my website for the first month's care of new corns).. The first month is crucial in getting the baby established. It is worth a little extra "coddling" for the first month in order to have a trouble free pet for the next 10 or 15 years or more.

Good luck!
Kathy Love

[trashlord]

Okay, I'm not so worried anymore, as it seems he just needs to shed!! I'll give him some time and try again with feeding once his skins come off!! :toiletgra

[Lasairfina]

I was just coming here to post about the same thing! Both my hatchlings regurged today.

When I was cleaning it up I found the female coral snow's UTH not working, so I replaced it immediately as I had an extra just for something like this.

I found my male lavender has regurged TWICE. I never saw or smelled the first one. This means he's regurged both meals I've given since I got him. His UTH is working though.

I can chalk Discord's up to the bad UTH, but I'm worried to death about Choas.

I've been feeding them a pinky every five days. Discord (female) is 13 grams. Chaos (male) is 8 grams. Maybe a whole pinky is too big for Chaos?

I've never had a regurge in all my years of keeping snakes, but I've never had baby corns before, I've heard they can be fragile. They're both active enough, neither seems sick. I'm worried to death about them though.

From what I understand from above, I should wait 10 days with NO handling or stress, then try them both on a half-pinky?

[Lasairfina]

Here's the spreadsheet on their care I've been keeping. Since I can't figure out how to edit my post.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Kot_0Nb_ItPP1cPH1cllEapQYR-6es_hFk877taeu98/edit?usp=sharing

[smigon]

Here's the spreadsheet on their care I've been keeping. Since I can't figure out how to edit my post.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Kot_0Nb_ItPP1cPH1cllEapQYR-6es_hFk877taeu98/edit?usp=sharing

Definitely follow the protocol to a T. If they regurge their stomachs are now especially fragile and need the special diet to help heal.

Lasairfina, to edit you need to be a member, click on the link at the top of the page or the coins on anyone's name/avatar area. Trust me, the $25 membership fee is WELL worth the priceless info you will get here, help keep the site afloat and let you in on member's only benefits like editing!

[Lasairfina]

I plugged Zombiegirl's suggested feeding schedule into my spreadsheet. Just called my local pet store and made sure they have extra small pinkies. I'm slightly less panicked now. I just have never, ever had a snake regurge before. It's flipping scary!

[Lasairfina]

The extra small pinks I just picked up are barely smaller than the ones I already have.

Now for the dumb questions. When you say to cut them in half, are we talking length or width? When you say to cut off the head, do you feed them the head or the body? Since I can't find extra small pinks should I feed half of a bigger one?

I will take a size comparison pic when I get home so you all can see the size I'm working with.

[Lasairfina]

http://i1179.photobucket.com/albums/x386/Chelsy_Cusack/IMG_20150316_151651_318.jpg

[hypnoctopus]

You can cut them either way, although widthwise is less messy. I would probably feed a head for a few feedings and then feed the bodies for a few feedings before moving up to a whole pinkie.

[Lasairfina]

I do believe I might have figured out what's going on. I got new probe thermometers for each cage today. After swapping for my old ones, the hot spot temps read 110F for the male and 96F for the female. That's with the probe under the substrate touching the glass. The ambient in both is 73F.

I have a couple spare thermostats I can plug the mats into, but I had cages overheat and kill my snakes and my Sav with them before. I'm fairly sure it was a power surge and not the thermostats, but I really don't want to risk using them again.

Will they be ok with temps that high on the hot spots until I can get a new thermostat some time this week?

[smigon]

Will they be ok with temps that high on the hot spots until I can get a new thermostat some time this week?

I would keep the UTHs going but only put them under about 1/6 of the tank (leave some hanging out from under the tank). This will give the bottom more cooling area so it isn't that hot.

If you think the thermostats are bad, toss them. It isn't worth risking it again.

[Lasairfina]

I got the temps to 88 for the male and 80 for the female, they are on the same rheostat until I can get another one, so I can't get an optimal temp for both of them at once. But at least I found the problem have fixed it, just not perfected it yet.

Thank you all for the help. <3