cutting a fuzzie in half???

[mbrown]

hi. ok heres the problem. my corn ate 2 pinkies so far, so i been told to move on up to a fuzzie, which he regurgitated today, after 2 days. now..should i cut a fuzzie in half next time? or switch back to pinkies? and then, one or two pinkies? he used to eat 2.

[crossmen]

Just one pinkie after the prescribed '10 day wait' regurge rule. One pinkie so it will be easy to digest. Just like your mom after you had the flu would only give you broth, then she worked you back into eating bigger meals. SSSLLLOOOWWWLLLYYYYY
Peace
Paul

[KCReptiles]

How old is your corn snake, how long? I have had them regurgitate and then eat fine the next time, but you don't want to feed them something larger than they can handle. (Cutting in half is messy.)

[jzal8]

I'm gonna go with two pinkies for 3 or 4 feedings. I don't know if this is even really the case but I figure thatll be enough time for my corn to adjust to having that much more food in its stomach, maybe stretch it out. Good luck, i agree with trying one pinkie now and moving to two the next time. Maybe do two pinkies for two feedings and then try the fuzzy again. I think i'll straight up vomit if i have to ever cut a mouse in half though. cracking the bones and stuff slipping out, gross

[mbrown]

its about 4 mths and 16 inches long

[So Pirate55]

before you worry about feeding him again, you need to first identify the reason why he regurged. The main reason most regurge is temperature. Unless it's able to get at the ideal functioning temperature, a reptile's digestive system will not work. high end 85 low end 76, or somewhere in those ranges. 2nd of all if he's only 16 inches long, and depending on how big around he is, a fuzzy might be too large of a meal for him. If that was the case, then there's another reason he could have regurged.

Once you've firgured out why, hopefully within the next 10 days, then i'd try feeding it again. He/She should eat no problem. Feed it a pinkie for the next couple of feedings, making sure to watch for poop...ie signs of propper digestion. Then move up to 2 or a fuzzy. Honestly, if you're at the point where you're cutting fuzzies in half, then i dont think it needs to be on fuzzies yet. They're more nutritious but the risk of regurge outweighs the benefits. A pinkie should be just fine.

Oh yeah i forgot, try to leave it alone for those next 10 days. the seclusion will let it settle and reduce the amount of stress put on the snake(also another reason why it might regurge) That's about the best advice that i could give you but i'm not an expert by any stretch of the word.

ATTN Resident Breeders and those with more Experience: Please feel free to make corrections if there is any major mistakes in my post.


Good Luck mbrown and little flame. It should be fine but you can never tell. No worries.

[Hurley]

One thing you may try, especially with the first meal after a regurge, is just making a couple cuts in the skin of the pinky (or small fuzzy when you move him up). Putting a couple cuts in the skin over the back avoids cracking bones and spilling guts, but has the benefit of allowing the stomach juices to begin digesting right away, rather than having to penetrate the skin or mucosa of the mouth/rectum. Skin is a major barrier to digestion. In fact, I've seen many defecations of a "skin bag" where the mouse was digested through a couple ports (mouth, rectum) but the skin was passed intact and deflated, hair still intact.

Giving the digestive enzymes easy access allows the snake to more easily, quickly, and efficiently digest the food item, a big plus when you are moving up in size on food items.

[mbrown]

thank you all for your replies. maybe i should mention 2 things, and i know those were the reasons for the regurge. i live in upstate NY, and the temperature dropped significantly that night. my house was way too cold. the UTH din't heat enough that night i guess, and also, like i said i IMO the fuzzie was too big....thank you guys again for replying, makes me feel more at ease. oh and he had pooped before the regurge twice. normal stool and one that looked like diarrhea..???or at least really soft. he seems to be fine now, i hedl him a today and he happily came up to me and crawled around on my arm and so on...

[crossmen]

Good that you know what it was and all you have to do is take care of the temps. Sometimes at this time of the year an electric heater in that room that has a thermostat is a big help. You can get the ceramic type with a digital temp thermostat for a small room at walmart and it won't cost an arm or a leg. That way you don't have to heat the whole house.
Peace
Paul