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Black pinkies

Lleny
07-21-2015, 09:48 PM
Hi all.
I got my first corn about two weeks ago. He had his first week of alone time before his first feed, all of which seemed to go well.

Five days later I attempted his second feed. It took some convincing but he eventually went for it. Unfortunately, the next morning i found the pinkie regurgitated and mostly undigested.

While I think the regurge is likely a result of temps (He was hanging out on the cool side before i went to bed), I'd like a second opinion on the pinkies I bought for him:
http://i.imgur.com/NeOcSqwl.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/p1wLTSjl.jpg

Like I said, I'm new to this, so I didn't question the look of the pinkies, initially. But after googling some images, I'm a bit concerned. Once they're thawed, they look very black with a yellow tint to their bellies. And the yellow crust that you can see frozen on them melts into a yellowy film that I assume is urine(normal?). It's sticky and makes drying them difficult before feeding, even though I thaw in a bag dipped in water. I'm planning on buying a new pack for his next feed anyway, just to be safe, but has anyone run into pinkies like these before?


As I said, I think there are other issues that I think can explain the regurge. The house gets to an ambient 86F on hot days and down to 60F on cold nights, so I'm having a tough time keeping a consistent gradient. To make matters worse, I had the aspen bedding patted down fairly well, which I think was discouraging him from burrowing in it.

I was also feeding him in his Viv on a plastic "plate" (sauce cup lid), but he pulled the pinkie off the plate and into his hide during this most recent feed. So I'm considering the scary possibility that he might have swallowed some Aspen in there. Planning on getting a feeding tub to avoid the possibility altogether.

Sorry for the long winded question. I think getting these thoughts down is as much for calming my own worry for the stressful 10 days ahead, as it is to get an answer. He's a lovely bloodred stripped and I'd hate to loose him.

Thanks!

Matheus Garrido
07-21-2015, 10:23 PM
The pinkies look rotten, do not feed your snake with them!

Regurgitation is a serious thing and some cares should be done, but I'm a beginner so someone else would help you with that.

Does your snake have a heat source? It's an essential thing.

Zombiegirl
07-21-2015, 11:03 PM
Ick, yeah those don't look very good...I bought some pinkies from a local store (not a big box) cuz I thought "hey cool buy local"...they all looked like this and were frozen together in a ball....he said that they used them for their reptiles...I politely took them then immediately went to PetSmart and bought some pinks from them (much better quality)...my hognose flat refuses anything that looks like this so I buy mine online at this point...

albertagirl
07-22-2015, 12:43 AM
This thread has advice on what to do after a regurge, just in case you haven't already read it, though I suspect you may have already.
http://www.cornsnakes.com/forums/showthread.php?t=28342

I agree those pinkies look *scary*. I would suspect that was the problem... but it could also be temps if you don't have a heat source in your viv. A heat source is a must.

I really hope it all goes well from here!

Zeina
07-22-2015, 02:39 AM
Eeeeeek! Those look really gross lol they should be a healthy pink color, whether they are defrosted or frozen- Good luck with your little baby, I'm sure once you get everything settled he will be just fine!

Lleny
07-22-2015, 03:20 PM
Thanks for the responses, everyone. It's relieving just to know that the likely cause was the food.

And not to worry, he has a UTH on a thermostat with hides on both sides.
My temp concern is just that, during hotter days, the viv will end up with a 83f cool side to 86f warm side. If I'm actively placing ice packs on it, I can only get it down to 80f on the cool side.

But I'm probably over analyzing the temps if the rotten pinkie was the real problem. I suppose wild corn environments vary by a lot more.


Thanks again for the advice and kind words. Once he's had a few successful feeds I'll share him on the pictures subforum.